Aboriginal creation stories refer to The Dreaming, the time before humans. Clans in different areas or language groups have different stories, and broadly they describe the arrival of people and how some of the local geography was formed. The stories are passed down the generations verbally and in the form of songs, and as you get older you learn more and more detail.

At Uluru we heard some of the stories that centre on the big rock, of course. The big holes were caused by spears, the long curves show the form of a serpent.

In the Royal National Park near Sydney a different group, the Dharawal, have their own stories. This sign was near a set of engravings (that originates from long ago but is still maintained) and gives a fairly representative example of these stories. Of course we only get the most basic children’s versions, but it’s interesting nonetheless.

(You might have to zoom in to see it all, but it should be legible.)