---

What the Book Explores

A. W. Reed’s Myths and Legends of Australia is a comprehensive collection that seeks to document the oral traditions and foundational narratives of the Aboriginal peoples of Australia. The work examines a worldview where the land is not merely a setting for human activity but a living, breathing record of ancestral deeds. The author explores the diverse stories belonging to various language groups across the continent, focusing on how these narratives explain the origins of the physical world, the behavior of animals, and the moral codes that govern human society.

The Concept of the Dreaming

Central to the narratives explored in this volume is the concept of the “Dreaming” or “Dreamtime” (often referred to by terms like Alcheringa or Altjeringa). The author explores how this is not a finished historical era, but an eternal, parallel reality that informs the present. This work examines the belief that ancestral beings emerged from the earth or fell from the sky to wander across a featureless plain. As they traveled, hunted, fought, and sang, their actions transformed the landscape into its current form—creating mountains, waterholes, and rock formations. Through these stories, the book examines how the topography of Australia is viewed as a sacred map, where every feature carries a specific name and a narrative history.

Ancestral Beings and Animal Transformations

The work examines a vast pantheon of ancestral figures, ranging from the all-powerful Rainbow Serpent to the various animal-human hybrids that populate Aboriginal lore. The author explores the Rainbow Serpent (often called Goorialla or Bolung depending on the region) as a primary symbol of water, life, and unpredictable power. The stories often depict a time when animals and humans were not clearly distinguished from one another, exploring themes of metamorphosis and shared essence. This work examines how the physical traits of specific creatures—such as why the emu cannot fly or how the koala lost its tail—are presented as the result of ancient conflicts or moral failures, serving as mnemonic devices for both natural history and social lore.

Social Law and the Bunyip

Beyond cosmogony, the book explores the use of myth as a tool for social cohesion and safety. The work examines cautionary tales involving creatures like the Bunyip—a water-dwelling monster used to warn children away from dangerous swamps and billabongs. The author explores how many of these myths serve to reinforce skin groups, marriage laws, and territorial boundaries. Through these narratives, the work examines the psychological function of myth in maintaining a highly structured society without the need for written codes, relying instead on the shared authority of the ancestors and the land itself.

Historical / Cultural Context

Alexander Wyclif Reed was a prolific New Zealand-born author and publisher who dedicated much of the mid-20th century to compiling the folklore of the Pacific and Australia. Published in 1965, this work matters as a record of stories that were primarily transmitted through oral tradition, dance, and sand painting for tens of thousands of years. It was part of a larger mid-century effort to document indigenous cultures for a broader English-speaking audience, often at a time when traditional lifestyles were under significant pressure from colonial assimilation policies.

While modern readers and scholars acknowledge that no single volume can represent the immense diversity of the hundreds of distinct Aboriginal nations, Reed’s collection provides a valuable entry point into the structural similarities of their belief systems. The work reflects a period in Australian history where the “Great Australian Silence” regarding indigenous heritage was beginning to break, and there was a growing recognition of the intellectual and spiritual complexity of the continent’s first inhabitants. It serves as a historical document that bridges the gap between the ancient oral record and the modern literary archive.

Who This Book Is For

This work is intended for those who wish to understand the deep time of the Australian continent and the symbolic logic of its indigenous peoples. It is particularly relevant for:

• Scholars of Mythology: Readers interested in how isolated geographical regions develop unique mythological archetypes, such as the Rainbow Serpent.
• Environmental Historians: Individuals exploring the concept of “land-based spirituality” and how narrative can serve as an ecological management tool.
• Cultural Anthropologists: Those studying the transition of oral traditions into written formats and the preservation of indigenous identities through storytelling.
• General Readers: Anyone with a curiosity about the Australian landscape and the ancient voices that have interpreted its mysteries for millennia.

The book is written in a clear, narrative style that makes the often-complex relationships of the Dreaming accessible to those unfamiliar with Australian anthropology.

Further Reading

To further contextualize the themes of Aboriginal Australian mythology, the following works are suggested:

• The Songlines by Bruce Chatwin: A literary exploration of how Aboriginal myths function as navigational and spiritual maps across the continent.
• Dark Emu by Bruce Pascoe: For a historical perspective on the sophisticated social and agricultural systems that these myths helped to maintain.
• Gadi Mirrabooka: Australian Aboriginal Tales from the Dreaming edited by Helen McKay: A collection that focuses on the protocols and contemporary relevance of storytelling within indigenous communities.
• Encyclopedia of Aboriginal Australia by David Horton: A comprehensive reference for the cultural, linguistic, and historical context of the groups mentioned in Reed’s work.

---