my chat with ian kraemer ..md.., page-9

"The Eekoo, a mountain devil, inhabits a lake on the top of Ngarrabullgan. The story of the Eekoo and the formation of Ngarrabullgan, was recorded in 1926 by F. Richards who wrote: `The Eekoo`s home was a lake on Mount Mulligan (Lake Koongirra) and natives were very afraid to go near this lake or its waters; though the Rhoonyoo (or witch doctor), being a companion of the Eekoo, could enter the water without any fear. The Eekoo was generally held responsible for any sickness when on the mountain. The mountain, which was built by wallabies on the advice of the eaglehawk, was originally a huge pile of stones. A swamp pheasant built its nest on the mountain and hatched its young. The Eekoo came along and killed the nestlings. The pheasants in their anger thereupon started a bush fire to burn the Eekoo and so great was this conflagration that it melted the stones and so formed the towering cliffs of Mount Mulligan. To save his life the Eekoo created the lake and took refuge in its waters; and so the lake became his home. Although the lake is the home of the Eekoo, strictly speaking he is not a water devil but wanders about anywhere on the mountain.` (Richards 1926: 256)"

Ngarrabullgan, Mount Mulligan Rd, Dimbulah, QLD

"Ngarrabullgan - Bruno David has been undertaking archaeological research in Ngarrabullgan in northeast Australia. Ngarrabullgan (Mt. Mulligan) is an 18km-long, 6.5km-wide Dreaming mountain at the heart of Djungan Aboriginal country in north Queensland. Almost entirely surrounded by 200 to 400m-high cliffs, it forms a dramatic sandstone monolith surrounded on all sides by undulating volcanic and metamorphic sediments; it is in this sense a geological and biogeographic ‘island’. Ngarrabullgan’s creation story was recorded many years ago by a local resident, and tells the tale of how Eekoo, a dangerous spirit, took-up residence on the mountain. Eekoo’s presence means that the mountain-top is not suitable for general camping. Our archaeological studies have revealed that, consistent with the Dreaming story, there are very few signs of recent occupation on the mountain. But what of earlier times?
Could it be that the ancestors of the present-day Djungan community abandoned the mountain when belief in Eekoo began? Can we date the antiquity of this Dreaming belief by tracing back in time its archaeological signature, the beginning of abandonment? With this aim in mind, the Ngarrabullgan Archaeological Project attempts to investigate the antiquity of this perception of the mountain by studying changing uses of the landscape through time. After excavating every known rockshelter on the mountain-top and a few at its base – 16 in all – we found that the mountain was extensively used from about 38,000 to 700 years ago. But by around 650 years ago occupation had ceased at every site. We conclude that major changes took place in the way Aboriginal people related with the mountain during the 14th century AD. Contrary to the way they are reported in the popular media, Ngarrabullgan presents evidence for dynamism in Aboriginal society and in the Dreaming itself."

Monash University School of Geography and Environmental Science

Looks like from 650 years ago only the witch doctor was allowed to go swimming in the lake on Mt Mulligan. Do some research before jumping on a bandwagon.