Australian Legendary Tales

Australian Legendary Tales, Folk lore of the Noongahburrahs as told to the children.  Collected By Mrs K. Langlor Parker (1896).  It must be remembered the original book was written by the wife of a colonial settler.    For all intents it is a valuable resource and should be remembered as a work of love.    Mrs Parker collected the stories she had heard over some 20 or more years by elders who lived and worked on the property    run by her husband.     These stories are stories designed to be told to children.   They are teaching stories.   There is a common theme and thread through out.   People who are selfish or greedy will be punished, cheats and thieves do not prosper.   They are linked to natural features and constellations as a reminder, when the children (and in many cases Adults) look at these places and constellations they are reminded of the story and more importantly the morals attached to it.      For me the most valuable parts of the book are the appendix and glossary.   The appendix is a repeat of the first story, but it is written in the language of the Noongahburrahs.   The Glossary is a word list with some 138 common Noongahburrah words.  I have made some minor changes to the text where I found words and phrases, that would cause offence to some, I have changed them to more suitable words.   If I have missed any I can only apologise if you contact me I’ll correct it and issue a new version of the app.      The book itself is out of copyright and available on line.  These works are my contribution to helping share Australian history to ensure it is not lost to time.