[Ads-l] Antedating of "bunyip"

[Arnold Zwicky]

On Dec 19, 2014, at 4:00 AM, Hugo <hugovk at GMAIL.COM> wrote:

> bunyip (OED: 1848)
> 
> 1845, Trove:
> 
> [Begin]
> On the bone being shown to an intelligent black, he at once recognised it as belonging to the "Bunyip,"
> which he declared he had seen. On being requested to make a drawing of it, he did so without hesitation. The bone and the picture were then shown separately to different blacks who had no opportunity of communicating with each other; and they one and all recognized the bone and picture
> as belonging to the " Bunyip," repeating the name without variation.
> ...
> The Bunyip, then, is represented as uniting the characteristics of a bird and of an alligator.
> [End]
> 
> "WONDERFUL DISCOVERY OF A NEW ANIMAL." Geelong Advertiser and Squatters'
> Advocate (Vic. : 1845 - 1847) 2 Jul 1845: 2. Web. 19 Dec 2014 <
> http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article94443733>.
> 
> It goes on to give a long description of the mythical creature.

the bunyip redivivus, from Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bertie_the_Bunyip
Bertie the Bunyip was the lead puppet character on the popular American children's television series The Bertie the Bunyip Show in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, during the 1950s and 60s. He was portrayed as a black-colored seal-looking character with a duck-bill-type face. For children he was cute and friendly, getting into harmless situations.
 
Created by Australian Lee Dexter, Bertie was a bunyip (a mythological Australian creature), described by Dexter as "a cross between a bunny, a collie dog and a duck billed platypus."
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