“My father-in-law and both his boys years later would go white and be obviously bothered when talking about their experience”
Yowie Encounter – Maalan Scrub – QLD
I received this report from the son-in-law of a Timber cutter accompanied by his sons, who had a frightening encounter in the Maalan Scrub. Report was relayed second hand and I don’t think you would get a first hand report here, following the description of the incident.
Year: Believed to have taken place around 1950 – 1952.
Location: Maalan Scrub – near Ravenshoe QLD.
Environment: Rainforest/Scrub
As described to me, the father-in-law and his two sons were to cut timber in the Maalan and had set up their camp near a creek. Just on dark, one of the sons went down to the creek to have a sponge off, and while doing this he heard a noise and called out “is that you pa? He then heard a crashing and splashing in the creek, and observed with his carbide lamp in hand, a “large dark hairy thing” step out of the creek and climb the far bank. He went back to the camp and told the others who all returned with torches. There were no further observations of the creature, but they found what was described as “huge humanoid tracks” in the mud and up the bank. The son who witnessed it said it appeared like a “huge man with a fur coat on“. These tracks were human looking but they knew no man with feet anywhere near that large. The men were so troubled by the encounter that they packed up and left the area quickly. This was the only time they worked in the Maalan and swore never to return again.
Knowing these men well, the son-in-law described the men’s character as “not wimps” and “it would take a lot to throw them” These were “tough no nonsense blokes who had spent their lives timber felling and weren’t scared types“. Years later in the 1980s, when discussing the incident with the father in law, his reaction was the same, one of trauma from what had happened. The son-in-law told how “My father-in-law and both his boys years later would go white and be obviously bothered when talking about their experience“. He mentioned how much the incident impacted him and how he was “so scared“.
The son-in-law also described a personal experience further east of the Maalan. They were travelling up a forestry road in 1971 that ran up through to Downey Creek from Mena Creek for a camping weekend. The witness had previously helped forestry push through the area and wanted to show his wife some beautiful spots he knew of. After pitching their tent for the evening , they were settling for the night when they heard what he described as “growls, grunts, and a lot of thrashing and branch breaking“. It was described as “too dark to see what was causing it“. The witness stated “it was too scary for us knowing the father-in-law’s experience. I threw everything in the car and hightailed it“.
Yowie Tracks 