Is there an Aboriginal spirit at Hanging Rock?

When it comes to the mystery of Hanging Rock there's consensus on a few points only. Everyone agrees that the rock does exist: it's near Mt. Macedon, some 75km (45mi) northwest of Melbourne. It's also agreed that the place has an eerie charm and that the trip up the rock is worth it for the view over the valley. But after those few short facts things tend to get murky.

The mystery was bought to the attention of the world by Peter Weir's film Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975), based on the novel of the same name by Joan Lindsay (1967). On St Valentines Day 1900, a party of schoolgirls from nearby Appleyard College set out for a picnic at nearby Hanging Rock. During the afternoon three girls and a governess disappeared. One girl returned almost immediately in a state of near hysteria, another turned up a week later (apparently unharmed but suffering from amnesia) and a third, Miranda, was never seen again. No-one seems to know or care what happened to the governess.

Some say the incident never happened and is just a bit of Australian blarney. Others insist that the Lindsay novel is true, albeit a tad embellished. Some say it was not only true, it was supernatural; others trot out the usual UFO-abduction scenario; outraged libertarians insist that that's what comes of trussing up young girls in corsets and white dresses and repressing their active imaginations.

The most popular theory however is that Hanging Rock harbours an Aboriginal spirit that protects it from unwelcome intruders. The dripping trees, the eerie rock formations, the catacombs and caves (not to mention the flashbacks to Gheorge Zamfir's bloody panpipe music in the film score) all contribute to a back-of-the-neck chill. Significantly enough, Hanging Rock is a sacred site of the Wurrenjerrie Aboriginal tribe and was also used as a hideaway by the notorious outlaw Mad Dog Morgan.

These days, in true Australian fashion, it's all nags, snags and car drags. Those fey young girls in virginal white dresses have been replaced by large robust groups of picnickers, hordes of car club members involved in sparkplug-changing competitions and, well, anyone who can pay the A$5 admission price. The two most important calendar events are the annual Hanging Rock Picnic (usually sometime in late February) with its emphasis on regional grog, and the New Year's Day Hanging Rock Horse Races.

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