Devil's Pool, Australia
Encyclopedia
Devil's Pool near Babinda in Far North Queensland is known in Aboriginal
legend as a cursed place
. The dangers are held to be geographical, but local tribespeople and Babinda locals generally believe and recount the legend of an Aboriginal woman's curse on the waterhole.
In 2005, the Australia TV program Message Stick
gave an account of the Pool through interviews and testimonies of witnesses to investigate the prevalence of deaths to young male travellers over the years. The pools have taken 17 lives since 1959. The local council urges visitors to stay within a designated swimming area to be safe.
One local, Annie Wonga, gave this account:
Local Aboriginal people believe that when people disrespect the site, the site "disrespects" them in return. One account given was a man who was warned, but kicked the plaque, slipped into the hole and drowned where a body had just been recovered. Another tells of a drowned man whose father photographed the site in memoriam. When the photograph was developed the son's face appeared on the rocks:
The Aboriginal people, among them Rainforest people, feel they are protected and anyone who goes there with them as friends are also protected.
On November 30, 2008, Tasmanian naval seaman James Bennett became the 17th person to drown at the site since 1959.
In November 2009, a woman claimed a photo she took at the site showed the ghost in the water.
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
legend as a cursed place
Curse
A curse is any expressed wish that some form of adversity or misfortune will befall or attach to some other entity—one or more persons, a place, or an object...
. The dangers are held to be geographical, but local tribespeople and Babinda locals generally believe and recount the legend of an Aboriginal woman's curse on the waterhole.
In 2005, the Australia TV program Message Stick
Message stick
A message stick is a form of communication traditionally used by Indigenous Australians. It is usually a solid piece of wood, around 20–30cm in length, etched with angular lines and dots....
gave an account of the Pool through interviews and testimonies of witnesses to investigate the prevalence of deaths to young male travellers over the years. The pools have taken 17 lives since 1959. The local council urges visitors to stay within a designated swimming area to be safe.
Origins
The legend arises from the story of a woman who married a respected tribal elder but ran away with a beautiful young man visiting for the event. When they were captured she threw herself into the waters to escape, calling for her lover to follow her. The legend goes that her spirit guards the boulders and that her calls for her lover can still be heard.One local, Annie Wonga, gave this account:
Incidents
A sign warns of the dangers of swimming there because the water is deep and fast flowing through channels and over underwater rocks but deaths still occur – some by swimming, others by falling in unexpectedly, many being wedged in a rock "chute".Local Aboriginal people believe that when people disrespect the site, the site "disrespects" them in return. One account given was a man who was warned, but kicked the plaque, slipped into the hole and drowned where a body had just been recovered. Another tells of a drowned man whose father photographed the site in memoriam. When the photograph was developed the son's face appeared on the rocks:
The Aboriginal people, among them Rainforest people, feel they are protected and anyone who goes there with them as friends are also protected.
On November 30, 2008, Tasmanian naval seaman James Bennett became the 17th person to drown at the site since 1959.
In November 2009, a woman claimed a photo she took at the site showed the ghost in the water.