Location: Oberon (plus other areas), New South Wales
Event: Yowie Various
Date: 1983 - 1993
Vulcan State Forest, near Oberon, NSW.
Location: The Vulcan State Forest, pine plantations around 18km south of Oberon, NSW (off the Oberon-Goulburn Rd).
Date: Several events from around 1983/84, last incident around 1993.
Witnesses: A Gosford man was the primary witness (name on file with AYR). His sister and several other relatives were also involved in incidents in the forest
Witness's parents owned land close to the Vulcan State Forest south of Oberon and when younger (he was 25 at the time of the interview in 1995) he and his family would spend every second weekend at their property. Whilst there, he and his older sister would often ride their trail bike through the pine plantations in the forest. The witness told me of several separate incidents that had taken place between 1984 and 1993 during these weekend visits. These are listed chronologically.
Incident One: Around 1983 or 1984.
The witness and his sister had been riding their bike one afternoon along a Forest fire trail near Willow Springs Road. The witness was on the pillion seat, and his sister had pulled over because a tree stump blocked the trail. He looked up a nearby hill, and was amazed to see a large creature standing in amongst the pine trees about 100-150 metres away.
His first impression was that the animal was “a big monkey”, however, as the pair had brought binoculars with them, they were able to observe the animal in some detail for several minutes. It was “like a gorilla”, about seven feet tall and covered in black hair. The hair was “messy” and about 5cm long all over the body. There seemed to be less hair on the chest than on the rest of the body.
The creature was big-chested, more “solid” than muscly. No neck was visible, although there seemed to be more hair around the neck area. Its arms appeared long. No other definite features were noted. It stood face on, close to a pine tree, without any noticeable movement.
The witness estimates that they watched the animal for between 5 and 10 minutes. They attempted to make the creature move by shouting at it, with no result. His sister then revved the trail bike engine, again with no noticeable result. Finally, as she went to turn the bike around, the witness glanced around at the bike and then looked back towards the animal, which was no longer there. He and his sister then “bolted” out of the forest.
Incident Two: Three Months later
One afternoon, the witness and his sister decided to visit a dam within the forest to try and catch some yabbies (small crayfish). The dam was located around 30 metres from the main (Oberon-Goulburn) road within a grove of pine trees. On arriving at the dam, they noticed the front half of a large footprint in the mud at the edge of the dam.
The partial print was 5 toed, with the big toe being “oversized”. The creature that made the print must have been heavy as the track imprint was deep. Both the witness and his sister’s first thought was that the creature they had seen previously was responsible.
Amazingly, looking up, the witness saw the same animal standing behind a log about 3 metres away. The animal’s legs were partially obscured by a fallen log, It stood motionless with its arms by its side (see sketch below). This time they did not stay to-study the creature and immediately ran to the trail bike and departed the scene.
Incident Three: Probably within a few months of Incident Two.
Witness had stopped on Shooters Hill Road (about half way up the hill towards the fire tower) after bike riding with his sister. The hill overlooked the pine forest. They both heard a “thumping” sound, like something running.
Looking down the hill for the source of the noise, they saw the same creature running through the pine trees (the trees in this grove were only 6 feet high). The creature was running flat out, pushing through the trees as it ran. Pete stated he felt the animal ran faster than a human; “He could outrun you if he wanted to catch you”.
Incident Four: Date Unclear.
This incident occurred near his parent's property. His cousins and his sister were also present.
Just on dark, the witness and his sister were approaching the front gate of the property when they heard a tree branch in the bush being heavily shaken (there was no wind). Believing it had to be the creature, his sister went to get their cousins, whom the witness had told of the previous incidents.
The cousins arrived and, using the bikes headlight, they scanned the edge of the bush and came across the animal standing close to a tree. All of the witnesses saw the creature perfectly clearly in the bikes headlight. After about a minute and various exclamations (“shit!”) they all took off back to their camp on the property.
Incident Five: Date Unclear
After Incident Four, the witness, his sister and their cousins frequently went looking for the creature. One afternoon, the group saw the animal standing on a nearby hill (on a neighbour’s property), this time leaning against a gum tree. The group had taken along a dog, which proceeded to “go berserk”.
They had binoculars, which they passed around, and an air-rifle. Several shots were taken at the animal, which refused to move. After around ten minutes, the group watched the animal clearly walk around 10 metres down the hill towards the group. Scared, they all ran back to the campsite.
Incident Six: Date Unclear
While driving in car in the area one evening, the witness and a friend claim to have caught a glimpse of what may have been the animal running across the road in their headlights.
Incident Seven: 1993
The Witness and a friend were spotlight shooting in neighbours paddock when they saw what may have been the creature running through the paddock.
Despite the more unbelievable aspects of this report (multiple sightings of the same creature over more than ten years) I found the informant an impressive witness. He was lucid, intelligent and fairly low-key about the whole affair. He told me that he hadn't even told his parents about his experiences!
Given the fact that almost all the incidents involved multiple witnesses, I hope to be able to circulate a more detailed report in our book 'The Yowie' - Paul Cropper
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