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Note: Indigenous stories as told to C.W. Peck, mostly by Ellen Anderson. Individual authorship of stories is unknown.
Issue Details: First known date: 1925... 1925 Australian Legends : Tales Handed Down from the Remotest Times by the Autocthonous Inhabitants of Our Land : Parts 1 and 2
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AbstractHistoryArchive Description

Australian Legends was the first substantial published work which concerned itself solely with Aboriginal folklore (indigenous stories) of eastern New South Wales.

Notes

  • "The 1925 edition of Australian Legends contained twenty five Aboriginal stories, many apparently having originally been collected in the Burragorang Valley during the 1860s. This edition was illustrated with line drawings done by Peck. Nineteen additional stories appeared in the Sydney Mail between 4 January 1928 and 23 January 1929, under the more precise banner 'Aboriginal Legends'.

    A second, slightly expanded version of Australian Legends was published in Melbourne during 1933, with line drawings by George Pownell and the number of Aboriginal stories increased to thirty four. This edition also featured an Introduction which referred to one of Peck's sources, Ellen Anderson. This latter edition included eighteen 'legends' which had appeared in the first edition, along with eight from the Sydney Mail series and another eight new stories, mostly relating to the Illawarra and Shoalhaven regions of New South Wales."

    - Source: Michael Organ (http://www.michaelorgan.org.au)

  • Listed in Australian Children's Books : A Bibliography (1992) with comment 'not specifically a children's book.'

Contents

* Contents derived from the Sydney, New South Wales,:Stafford , 1925 version. Please note that other versions/publications may contain different contents. See the Publication Details.
The First Waratah : Burragorang Valley, single work short story Indigenous story dreaming story
The First Gymea or Gigantic Lily : Campbelltown area, single work short story Indigenous story dreaming story
How the Waratah got its Honey : Burragorang Valley, single work short story Indigenous story dreaming story
How the White Waratah Became Red : Sherbrooke, single work short story Indigenous story dreaming story
How the Sky was Lifted Up : Murrumbidgee River, single work short story Indigenous story dreaming story
The First Kangaroo : South-east Australia, single work short story Indigenous story dreaming story
The Struggle for Supremacy between Birds and Animals : Megalong Valley, single work short story Indigenous story dreaming story
How the Pistels of the Waratah became Firm : Burragorang Valley, single work short story Indigenous story dreaming story
Why the Waratah is Firm : George's River, single work short story Indigenous story dreaming story
The First Bush Fire : Hunter River, single work short story Indigenous story dreaming story
The First Kangaroo : Yerranderie, single work short story Indigenous story dreaming story
The Bubbling Springs : South Australia, single work short story Indigenous story dreaming story
The Salt Lakes : Burragorang Valley, single work short story Indigenous story dreaming story
Shooting Stars : 'Basalt Country', single work short story Indigenous story dreaming story
Why the Petiole of the Waratah grew Long : Mount Wilson, single work short story Indigenous story dreaming story
The First Crayfish : Shoalhaven, single work short story Indigenous story dreaming story
The Clinging Koala (and Bunyip) : Wollondilly River, single work short story Indigenous story dreaming story
The White Man's BootsNattai : Wollondilly, single work short story Indigenous story dreaming story
The Hand that tried to Draw a Waratah : Burragorang Valley, single work short story Indigenous story dreaming story
Why Trees Have Bark : Eastern Australia, single work short story Indigenous story dreaming story

Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of

Alternative title: Australian Aboriginal Mythology Collection: The Tales, Legends, Myths and History of the Aborigines from Australia (Annotated)
Notes:
The subtitles of the individual stories refer to the location in which the story originated.
    • Melbourne, Victoria,: Lothian , 1933 .
      Extent: 234p.
      Description: illus. (b & w)
      Reprinted: 1938 Copyright November 1938.
      Note/s:
      • Introduction by C.W. Peck.
      • Published without subtitle, Parts 1 and 2.

Works about this Work

y separately published work icon Early Ancestors of Illawarra's Wadi-Wadi People : Part 1, the Unacknowledged Sources of Traditional Stories in C. W. Peck's Book 'Australian Legends, Tales Handed Down from the Remotest Times...' (publ. 1925 and 1933) Chris Illert , Wollongong : Wadi Wadi Coomaditchie Aboriginal Corporation , 2003 Z1365732 2003 single work biography criticism
The Younger Generation 1935 single work review prose
— Appears in: The Opinion , 15 May vol. 1 no. 1 1935; (p. 22)

— Review of Mary Poppins P. L. Travers , 1934 single work children's fiction ; Australian Legends : Tales Handed Down from the Remotest Times by the Autocthonous Inhabitants of Our Land : Parts 1 and 2 Ellen Anderson , 1925 anthology short story
The Younger Generation 1935 single work review prose
— Appears in: The Opinion , 15 May vol. 1 no. 1 1935; (p. 22)

— Review of Mary Poppins P. L. Travers , 1934 single work children's fiction ; Australian Legends : Tales Handed Down from the Remotest Times by the Autocthonous Inhabitants of Our Land : Parts 1 and 2 Ellen Anderson , 1925 anthology short story
y separately published work icon Early Ancestors of Illawarra's Wadi-Wadi People : Part 1, the Unacknowledged Sources of Traditional Stories in C. W. Peck's Book 'Australian Legends, Tales Handed Down from the Remotest Times...' (publ. 1925 and 1933) Chris Illert , Wollongong : Wadi Wadi Coomaditchie Aboriginal Corporation , 2003 Z1365732 2003 single work biography criticism
Last amended 9 Feb 2024 14:07:03
Subjects:
  • Illawarra, South Coast, New South Wales,
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