Hexham bunyip folklore continues to intrigue as conservationists work to protect Australasian bittern

One night well over a century ago three miners headed to Hexham Swamp, between Newcastle and Maitland, for an evening of wild duck hunting. 

But instead of finding ducks, they came across a terrifying creature with a tremendous roar "like that of a lion" and two eyes like "golden orbs in the night". 

And so, the legend of the Hexham bunyip was born.

That infamous night in 1879 may have become a local legend, but today this swamp creature is now rarer than ever and residents are trying to save it from extinction.

Mystery of the Hexham bunyip

The bunyip has been a part of Australian folklore since 1845, when fragments of a knee joint were found by an Aboriginal person in Geelong, Victoria.

The Hexham Swamp, known to the Awabakal people as Burraghihnbihng, is home to another mythical being; the Yaa-hoo.

"It's described as resembling a human figure, but with frightful features," Gionni Di Gravio, archivist from the University of Newcastle and chair of Hunter Living Histories, said.

It turns out the mysterious creature that scared the three miners in 1879 was a bird; the endangered Australasian bittern, also known as the 'bunyip bird'.

It was at Hexham Swamp where Jen Lewis heard her first bittern after two years of searching.

"It's a really deep booming sound and you can feel it in your chest, especially if they're up really close," she said.

Ms Lewis, a team leader at Hunter Local Land Services, works to protect the 2,000-hectare wetland and the elusive bird that calls it home.

"The bittern makes its living out of quietly stalking," she said.

"Its predator response is to stick its neck up and stand perfectly still, pretending to be a reed. So they're a tough bird to find."

Saving the bunyip bird

The Australasian bittern is globally endangered, with fewer than 2,500 individuals estimated to be left in the world.

It is also believed that more than 90 per cent of its habitat has been lost in Australia.

"It's really reliant on freshwater wetlands … it can't live anywhere else," Ms Lewis said.

Hunter Local Land Services has teamed up with community stakeholders including NSW National Parks, Awabakal traditional owners and local bird watchers to preserve the Hexham Swamp and save the bittern.

"We've been doing weed and pest control as part of our rehabilitation works," Ms Lewis said.

"We also have listening devices, or song meters, placed around the swamp which have recorded male bitterns calling during breeding season, so this is a good sign."

The team has now pinned its hopes on a thermal imaging camera attached to a drone to get a visual confirmation of the sounds they record.

Ms Lewis said the success of drones in finding bitterns in the rice fields of the New South Wales Riverina district was proof the technology works.

"It's hard to find anything out here, so the thermal camera picks up the heat signature of the bird," Ms Lewis said.

"The Hunter Bird Observers Club has two drones that they've been flying over the swamp, and they've actually found bitterns in this area, so that's really exciting."

Legend lives on

It took Ms Lewis two years to hear her first Australasian bittern, but she's hopeful that she will one day spot one at Hexham Swamp.

"The fact that not very much is known about them and they are so hard to find makes them really intriguing," she said.

The mystery of the Hexham bunyip may have been solved, but Mr Gravio believes the mythology is still well and truly alive today.

"If you have a look at all the accounts, some could be made up, but others sound like real experiences that people have had," he said. 

Is there a local story, colourful character, or important issue you'd like to let us know about?

If you're unable to load the form, click here.