Message Stick – Babinda Boulders
Clip 1: Devils pool
2 min 0 sec
Taken from the TV program Message Stick – Babinda Boulders (2005)
Original title classification not known – this clip chosen to be G
Availability of the complete title
Please be aware that this clip may contain the names, images and voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who may now be deceased.
Curator’s clip description
Annie Wonga, an elder of the Yidinji people, tells the history of her family and the Devils Pool of Babinda. Annie did not visit the waterhole until 1985 because it is a sacred space. Daryl Murgha tells of how, as children, they would swim in the Devils Pool and play games like follow-the-leader. Daryl says that today, and also as boys, they believe they were protected from drowning in the Devils Pool.
Curator’s notes
The Devils Pool is a place that serves as more than a waterhole. It is a place where multiple cultural beliefs clash, and different stories may account for truth. While the local folk have never been in danger at the Devils Pool, male strangers visiting the area fall victim to its waters.
Romaine Moreton, curator
