Giants From the Dreamtime the Yowie In Myth And Reality

Cardwell Range 1923

Cardwell Giant

The Cardwell Range, rising high above the coastal flats inland beyond the Tully River, begins inland from Cardwell township and extends northward up to Tully Falls National Park. A wild, rainforest-covered mountainous area, it is, say the Aborigines the home of the "Cardwell Giant".

Back in 1923, a large work gang was laying tracks on the railway line through to Cardwell. On a number of occasions they would emerge from their tents of a morning to find that during the night 'someone' had disturbed camp cooking utensils, upset tables and work gear, and left huge manlike footprints about the area.  Word soon spread of the Cardwell Giant, which Aborigines of the district said was only one of the many hairy manlike beings that inhabited the surrounding forests. Workmen soon took to carrying guns while working on isolated sections of track.

One weekend the men left their camp to have a break in town some distance away. When they returned on the Monday morning they were dismayed to find their tents all torn down and equipment scattered and smashed. Huge footprints in the surrounding soil told them that the Cardwell Giant did not appreciate their presence in 'his' domain!.