Australia: The Land Where Time Began

A biography of the Australian continent 

The Dieri people from the area near Lake Eyre had a story of 2 giant frogs from the Dreamtime. These 2 giant frogs, who were men at that time, left their country, Malooka,  near where Mataranka is now, to go on a long walkabout. They travelled north to the Katherine River. There they met 2 other frog men from a different country who were also on a walkabout, and camped together. Koit-nong-me, the elder of the 2 frogs from Malooka asked the other 2 frogs to get them some water. He told the other 2 frogs that they were young men and he and his companion form Malooka were old men frogs, so they should carry water for the older frog-men.

The 2 young men refused to carry water for the older frogs so the 4 frog-men began to fight. Koit-nong-mee and his companion killed the 2 young men and began walking back to their own country. Some time later men from the country of the 2 dead frogs found their bodies and took them back to their country. These frog men gathered an army then set out for the country of Koit-nong-me and his tribe to make war.

When Koit-nong-me heard about the army that was heading for his camp he also formed an army of his tribe. The 2 frog armies met on the plain called Jartee-kunder-wenai, near the Katherine River. The 2 frog armies formed long lines across the plain facing each other, and an old woman sat on her own on the plain watching them.

The battle began, they attacked each other with stone-headed spears and shields, clubs and stone axes. All the frogs on both sides were killed and lay on the plain in lines and heaps, where they were turned to stone, and the old woman also turned to stone. They can still be seen today on the plain in lines of stone and the old woman who was also turned to stone is still there.

The remains of giant frogs from the Pleistocene have been found in fossil sites such as Riversleigh in Queensland.

Sources & Further reading

Jennifer Isaacs, Australia Dreaming: 40,000 years of Aboriginal History, New Holland Publishers