Tiddalik
One of Australia’s best known Creation Stories
Tiddalik is a small mischievous and very thirsty frog who appears in one of Australia’s best known Creation Stories. It’s the story of a frog whose greed results in all of the water in the creeks, lakes and rivers being depleted, resulting in the other animals working together to see it returned.
Tiddalik’s story is found in many parts of Australia, however the way Tiddalik’s story is told in the Pauline Gandel Children’s Gallery and at Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Centre is a version that belongs to the Gunnai Kurnai people of Gippsland.
Video credits – Artist: John Patten / Narrator: Uncle Herb Patton / Animator: Isobel Knowles / Sound Effects: James Cecil / Nature Recording: Marc Anderson
What can we learn from this story?
The Tiddalik story helps to teach children a number of different lessons:
- The importance of our environment and the preciousness of our water resources.
- The value of our Elders and the importance of listening to those whose life experiences can help us make good decisions.
- To share and not be greedy or selfish.
- The importance of teamwork.
What is a Creation Story?
A Creation Story is a type of story that helps to explain the history and some of the traditional beliefs held by First Peoples. They are stories which blend scientifically verifiable events from our ancient past with stories that relate to our beliefs, tales of morality and life lessons.
Ours is an oral tradition which is over 60,000 years old, spanning more than 2,000 generations. Some of our Creation Stories talk about events from the last ice age, when long extinct animals still roamed the land, of lands being flooded and of stars turning super nova. Our stories also teach us to be good to one another, to listen to our Elders, look after our country and understand how many things work.
