Three Brothers Mountains: Creation story
Link to original document: https://mnclibrary.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Three-Brothers-Mountains-Middle-and-North.pdf
Why is it an Aboriginal Place?
The story of the three brothers told by the local Biripi Aboriginal people explains the creation of the mountains.
Why is it important to Aboriginal people?
The Three Brothers dreaming story links the Three Brothers Mountains Middle and North Aboriginal Place to the Three Biripi Brothers Mountains South Aboriginal Place. The Aboriginal legend that explains the creation of the Three Brothers Mountains has been passed down through many generations of Aboriginal people. The telling of the legend is a creative act so no two tellings are the same, but the general storyline remains unchanged.
The story …
According to an often quoted account of the legend given by Harry Buchanan in 1975, there were 3 brothers who lived near the Camden Haven River near the sea. As part of their initiation, they were required to live alone in the bush for several months before they would be recognised as fully initiated.
After being in the bush for several months they began to worry about their mother and father, so the youngest brother volunteered to go and check up on them. Just as he left the camp he saw an old witch but paid her no attention. He told his parents about her when he reached them, and his father gave him a special boomerang, and told him to quickly return to his brother's camp to warn them that the witch would try to kill them.
The youngest brother headed back to his brother's camp but did not make it there by night fall, at first light he continued his journey but the witch was at the camp when he arrived. He asked the witch what she had done to his two brothers, and she replied that she had eaten them and would eat him too. Before the witch had a chance to do anything, the youngest brother hit her on the head with the boomerang and split her in half. He buried half her body in the river and half in the sea. Then returned to his brother's camp and gathered up their bones. He buried their bones where the North and Middle Brother mountains now stand, then went to where the South Brother mountain now stands and died. That night a mountain rose up where each body lay to mark the tragedy. The mountains were then named after the Three Brothers.
The Three Brothers Mountains are a spiritual place for Aboriginal people, who feel a connection to their country and their ancestors when they go there. The mountains are visible from all around, and the local Aboriginal people believe that the mountains protect them.