Location: Helensburgh (Royal National Park), New South Wales
Event: Yowie Sighting
Date: 2002
Time: Between 12pm and 2pm
[This is a testimony by Dan, the friend who was with Matt at Helensburgh the day of their sighting in 2002. We spoke to Matt back in 2003 and then Dan years later in 2019 - https://www.yowiehunters.com.au/new-south-wales/1399-helensburgh-new-south-wales-2002 ]
I was 24 years old at the time. It was pretty much what Matt said. We were walking up through the grass and lantana and we heard a noise about 30 metres away to the left that sounded like a horse getting up off the ground.
We looked over and here was this tall thing on two feet with brownish ginger coloured fur. It ran out in the open in full view. I got a better look at it than Matt. He said he thought it was about 8ft tall, I reckon it was 7’4” or 7’5”, but not quite 8ft. Not much of a neck. I didn’t see any ears. It wasn’t really like a human head because it was more elongated.
This was between 12pm and 2pm in the afternoon. It happened 200 – 300 metres from the station, so it was right at the start of the National Park. We rode mountain bikes from Helensburgh.
It must have been laying down sleeping or getting out of the heat because it was hot. It was well over 30 degrees. It was a half shaded lantana area. At first when I heard it, I thought it must have been a Deer or something. Then when I saw it, I was frozen and a bit startled. It stood up and paused for no more than about 5 seconds, and then took off at full speed.
At first, I only saw it from about the elbow up because there were thick shrubs. It was a thick torso, really defined deltoids and shoulders and the head sat right into the shoulders. Its left side was to me. It didn’t look at us, it just took off and ran. When it ran into the bushes it made a screechy type of high pitch noise. Growly screechy. It ran parallel, not away, but more cross ways and then disappeared over this hill and crashed through a huge lantana area at full speed. We went down to where it entered, but like Matt said, we didn’t want to go in there.
It had really big rounded shoulders. It looked like it was pulling its head down [into the shoulders], because that’s how it sat. He didn’t have very good posture, that’s for sure. Didn’t have much of a neck. I estimate it to be around 7’4”. 300kg is a bit exaggerated, I would estimate about 140 or so. It knew that we knew it was there. It ran through the foliage and not even brushing it with its arms, it just ran through it.
He had a really thick torso and elongated head with brown fur. The fur wasn’t messy, it was very clean and a little bit wavy and pretty much the same length all over. I couldn’t see the ears because it was all blended in with hair.
We’d been going in that bush since I was a little boy. I heard the Report from there about the guy and the baked bean can [AYR Audio Report #124]. I know somebody who knows him and I’m going to get in touch with him so we can have a chat about it.
Ever since our sighting, Matty always carries a video camera. In 2007 he found a Wallaby carcass with its head torn off and all its guts had been pulled out by the neck. Its arms and tail were gone, and all its gizzards had been pulled out by the neck.
I think it’s really effected Matt. I’ve been living with this for 18 years. I was supposed to have been at the first interview with Matt, but I didn’t want to talk about it at the time.
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