Dhui Dhui Story

The Bandjin people of Hinchinbrook Island and Lucinda Point on the adjoining mainland of North Queensland, as well as Gould and Garden Islands and part of Dunk Island. The Dhui Dhui story appears courtesy of Russell Butler, of the Bandjin People. Bandjin means saltwater people.

Where you look due south toward Hinchinbrook (Muddamuddanaymy; pronounced Mudda-mud-ah-nah-me) from Dunk Island (Coonangalbah; pronounced Koo-nang-gol-bar), two boys paddled out in a canoe and dropped their stone anchor. The elders had told them not to fish on that sand spit because there was a big shovelnose ray (Dhui Dhui; pronounced Doo-ee Doo-ee) that lived there. The boys fished anyway. The ray bit their line and started to tow them around in the canoe but the boys wouldn't let go of the line. It towed them around the ocean for a while before going down the Hinchinbrook channel. They disappeared into the horizon. By then it was getting dark and everyone was worried about the boys. As they were looking south with the night sky rising, the Southern Cross appeared, which was Dhui Dhui; the shovelnose ray, and the two pointers; the two warriors in their canoe.

Courtesy of Russell Butler of the Bandjin People

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Citation and/or URL

http://www.reefed.edu.au/home/explorer/hot_topics/gbr_traditional_owners

Spatial Coverage

Hinchinbrook region

Temporal Coverage

Not applicable

Update Frequency

Not applicable 

Other Information

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