Taggerty Walking Trail
A 1.7km walk within the township of Taggerty which starts at the Taggerty Little River Day Visitor Area which is a lovely park beside the Little River. At the back of the park is a bridge across the river leading to Wylie Street. Head north to the Taggerty-Thornton Road and drop into the Taggerty General Store. Continue to a basic playground beside the junction of the Acheron River and Little River. Then return along the Maroondah Highway to the Taggerty Little River Day Visitor Area.
The park and area along the Maroondah Highway have some boards telling a lovely indigenous story.
In the past, stories were told to warn children against wandering off from their campsites into the forest. This was the story told in the Taggerty area.
The old woman who stole children
A long time ago a party of Kulin were camped in the forests in the vicinity of what is now Mansfield. Among them was a much-loved little boy. When the boy walked through the camp he was offered many things to eat such as slices of freshly cooked possum.
Near this area there lived a wicked creature called Thadagun, who wore a necklace made from writhing snakes and lizards. Thadagun had no children herself so she grabbed this little boy and spirited him away.
The people were very angry and called out: 'Give back the boy, he belongs to us.' But Thadagun would not. She took the little boy to the Goulburn River and looked for a place to hide him. Eventually Thadagun discovered a hollowed-out rock. She placed the little boy inside the hollow rock and blocked the entrance with stones.
The people, who were now very, very angry, pleaded for Bunjil?s help to get the boy back.
Bunjil called everyone from all over the country to a great meeting. He then summoned the Echidna, which has the power of thunder. The Echidna dug a hole under the rock where Thadagun had hidden the boy and filled it with thunder. The thunder burst the rock into pieces and freed the child.
At the same time, the thunder struck Thadagun and smashed her into bits.
Bunjil took the little boy out of his prison. Bunjil?s intention was to teach people not to take someone else's child but to look after their own, and keep to their own business. At the place where this happened there is a big flat rock that carries the marks where Bunjil sat down as well as the mark of Thadagun. This rock can still be seen today and is called Cathedral Rock (Aboriginal name: Naah-Naah Dhong).
Even though her body had been destroyed, the ghost of Thadagun still managed to cause alarm.
Hunting parties camping near Cathedral Rock had reason to feel nervous, for sometimes a ghostly Thadagun, wearing an ashen face, would enter their camp during the evening and try to warm herself by the fire.
Taggerty Walking Trail Map
Location
3306 Maroondah Highway, Taggerty 3714 View Map
