It has been suggested that the jokey humour of ‘Mr. Bunyip’ set the tone for the description of bunyips in later books. To an eager Mary Somerville who has strayed from the path in a ‘Red Riding Hood like’ ramble Mr. Bunyip is not a monster who wants to eat her but is a kind hearted chap giving her some social and historical pointers. The Murray River and Melbourne contrast with the magic of the talking beast and references to the old country (England).
Mary has all the qualities needed to be the 'perfect' Colonial chick. She is a good scholar, winning school prizes, obeying her father, is trustworthy, neat, prayful and rises early. The disparity between her goodness with Mr. Bunyip’s admission of alcoholism and wife beating is thought provoking. Mr. Bunyip is forgiven by his wife for this lapse into the unacceptable practice of thrashing one’s wife as he was under the influence of the evil alcohol. However, the fish in the river who become silly and meander stunned and dazed under the influence of the barrel contents that Mr. Bunyip emptied into the water is seen as funny.
Many variants of Fairy Tales, especially those intended for children, delivered morals with their magic and Mr. Bunyip (an elder motif) is intent on illustrating the force of evil which needs to be overcome to realise his lost Paradise (a happy home life).Veering from the traditional fairytale structure to becoming a intriguing educational monologue Mr. Bunyip talks of ‘progress’: mia-mia to whiteman’s cottage to church bells; and of history: the shooting of indigenous peoples and their ill treatment by settlers; reminisces about ‘old England’ and sings of English flowers. He lectures about the value of education, giving charity to poor orphans and the impact of modern patent feeding bottles for babies at risk. His rambling conversation weaves its way through his adventures to make social commentary on women and men’s behaviour and life in 1870s in general.
It seems that Lockeyear’s tale was well received with one reviewer suggesting that it ‘displays a considerable amount of humour, and is written with a good moral purpose, but, like most books of the kind, the language employed is too often above the capacity to understand it possessed by those to whom it is specially addressed.’ Perhaps that is why Lockeyear visited schools to read the book and it is stated in another publication, Bachelor's Hall (1894), that Lockeyear says that he has, 're-read [Mr Bunyip] in fifty State Schools on behalf of the Adelaide Children's Hospital.'
Mary has all the qualities needed to be the 'perfect' Colonial chick. She is a good scholar, winning school prizes, obeying her father, is trustworthy, neat, prayful and rises early. The disparity between her goodness with Mr. Bunyip’s admission of alcoholism and wife beating is thought provoking. Mr. Bunyip is forgiven by his wife for this lapse into the unacceptable practice of thrashing one’s wife as he was under the influence of the evil alcohol. However, the fish in the river who become silly and meander stunned and dazed under the influence of the barrel contents that Mr. Bunyip emptied into the water is seen as funny.
Many variants of Fairy Tales, especially those intended for children, delivered morals with their magic and Mr. Bunyip (an elder motif) is intent on illustrating the force of evil which needs to be overcome to realise his lost Paradise (a happy home life).Veering from the traditional fairytale structure to becoming a intriguing educational monologue Mr. Bunyip talks of ‘progress’: mia-mia to whiteman’s cottage to church bells; and of history: the shooting of indigenous peoples and their ill treatment by settlers; reminisces about ‘old England’ and sings of English flowers. He lectures about the value of education, giving charity to poor orphans and the impact of modern patent feeding bottles for babies at risk. His rambling conversation weaves its way through his adventures to make social commentary on women and men’s behaviour and life in 1870s in general.
It seems that Lockeyear’s tale was well received with one reviewer suggesting that it ‘displays a considerable amount of humour, and is written with a good moral purpose, but, like most books of the kind, the language employed is too often above the capacity to understand it possessed by those to whom it is specially addressed.’ Perhaps that is why Lockeyear visited schools to read the book and it is stated in another publication, Bachelor's Hall (1894), that Lockeyear says that he has, 're-read [Mr Bunyip] in fifty State Schools on behalf of the Adelaide Children's Hospital.'
Comments