![TRACKER: Anaiwan man Don Fermor said he has seen a number of Yurri's [Yowie's] in Stanthorpe, Nundle and Nowendoc throughout the years and that they are likely nocturnal. Photo: Gareth Gardner 270619GGC05](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/hAWJC77isbRCSsmqzS5A6F/b380b6f6-d806-40a0-928e-b7fc97a0f06a.jpg/r0_0_3000_1852_w576_h298_fmax.webp "TRACKER: Anaiwan man Don Fermor said he has seen a number of Yurri's [Yowie's] in Stanthorpe, Nundle and Nowendoc throughout the years and that they are likely nocturnal. Photo: Gareth Gardner 270619GGC05")
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Scattered light filtered through thick scrub near Stanthorpe and an inhuman scream reverberated as two young boys were out shooting rabbits.
It came from the mouth of a Yowie, Anaiwan tracker Don Fermor said, when he was just an 11-year-old.
Closer to home he believed the shadowy figure in a Narrabri Shire Council video was a 'hairy man' too.
It turns out that 'Yowie' is a council prank, but the mythical being has existed in Aboriginal folklore for thousands of years.
"In Kamilaroi the word for it is Yurri [the physical one]," he said.
"They've been around as long as our mob have been around, I used to hear the old fellas talk about them.
"I was only a kid but around the campfire they used to talk about the hairy man."
Yowie. Australian Bigfoot. Bunyip. Mumuga. Quinkin.
The other mob.
Whatever they're called, the bi-pedal creature is believed to be six to eight foot tall and covered in thick, dark hair.
Much like humans, the Yowie is believed to be an omnivore, perhaps even nocturnal.
"I'm a tracker, that's my job," Mr Fermor said.
"A Yurri got no clothes, he's only got hair all over him. That's why he got the name hairy man - he looks like the ones I've seen before.
"Sometimes I get laughed at, it don't worry me none.
"There's old stories about them, it's part of our folklore even some of our Dreamtime stories talk about them."
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And, Mr Fermor isn't the only believer in the creature.
Hundreds of Yowie encounters have been documented on an Australian Yowie Research website.
A number of them have been reported in the Pilliga, near Narrabri.
![TRACKER: Anaiwan man Don Fermor uses his skills as a tracker to determine locations where the Yurri [Yowie] may have been. Photo: Gareth Gardner 270619GGC05](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/hAWJC77isbRCSsmqzS5A6F/7ea32a6c-32f2-44a1-936c-1d8ec9213888.jpg/r0_0_3000_1820_w576_h298_fmax.webp "TRACKER: Anaiwan man Don Fermor uses his skills as a tracker to determine locations where the Yurri [Yowie] may have been. Photo: Gareth Gardner 270619GGC05")
Yowie's aren't believed to be dangerous but have been known to throw rocks and sticks, Mr Fermor said.
A surefire way to spot one, he said, is to look for structures made from trees or bowed branches.
Some people believe they have been known to mimic human speech.
"If they were dangerous they would be attacking people all the time," Mr Fermor said.
"They are still wild creatures, but in my eyes they are part human - they're the other mob - that's what I always call them.
"To me they are real."
Sightings of hairy human-like creatures have been reported all over the world.
Madeline Link
Madeline Link is a journalist at the Newcastle Herald, with a focus on Lake Macquarie City Council. To keep up with my stories, follow my Twitter @madeline_link, for tips email madeline.link@newcastleherald.com.au.
Madeline Link is a journalist at the Newcastle Herald, with a focus on Lake Macquarie City Council. To keep up with my stories, follow my Twitter @madeline_link, for tips email madeline.link@newcastleherald.com.au.
