Series 05

STORY 5
The Stone Canoe
as told by Glanda McPhail - NSW

The story of a love that could never be.

Synopsis:
There was once a time in the far North when only two tribes could marry into each other, The Yeagl and the Gunbaybil. These two tribes held a corroboree and they invited the Bungalung tribe (a neighboring tribe).

At this corroboree a young man from the Bungalung tribe fell in love with a young woman from the Gumbaygil tribe. This was forbidden because of their tribal lore. The lovers secretly met whenever they could. After a few days the father of the young woman travelled up the coast by canoe to get his daughter back. The father used magic on the tribe while he took his daughter back. He put his daughter in the canoe and travelled back down the coast.

The next day the young man found his young love had gone. This brought shame upon the young man and he knew that because he disobeyed his tribal lore it would reflect on all of his tribe. The young man ran up the beach never to be seen again by anyone. The canoe that carried the young man was washed up onto the beach where it was turned into stone waiting for its owner to return.

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