The Loch Eel and the Loch Ness Monster

I always find this swamp, the Lake Bumbunga, fascinating every time I go to Adelaide and drive past the small town, called Lochiel, in South Australia. It is located on Highway 1 about 120-130 kilometres north of Adelaide, or a 1 hour and 40 minute drive from Adelaide towards Port Augusta, South Australia. Apparently, depending on the level of salinity of the water throughout the year, it changes colours from pink, to white, to blue. However, I have always seen it as either bright pink or red or white... but I've never seen it blue.

Lake Bumbunga is reportedly derived from the Indigenous word "Parnpangka" which means "rain water lake". The lake becomes a bright pink colour from minute algae, and becomes white when the algae dies. Lake Bumbunga is made up of three salt pans, and has been harvested for over thirty years for use in swimming pools, water softener and fish and chips. (Source: Kids in Adelaide)

In our recent trip to Melbourne, on our way to Adelaide from our hometown, I was able to capture this photo above (which I took around midday), and the swamp lake was white, but on the way back home, since I was driving, I was not able to take a picture, which was a shame because the lake was pink. My husband had to drive a second-hand vehicle which he bought in Adelaide, so I had no choice but to drive our car back home, all by myself.

What also fascinates me is this snake-like sculpture, which is made from old rubber tyres and pipes, and is sitting in the pink lake. They call it the Loch Eel (hence, Lochiel), which people often referred to as the "cousin" of the Scottish Loch Ness Monster.

The Legend of the Loch Ness Monster

Loch Ness Monster, also known as "Nessie", is a large marine creature which is believed by some people to inhabit the Loch Ness (lake) in Scotland.

The first account of the Loch Ness Monster is written in the biography of St. Columba from 565 A.D.. It narrates the event how St. Columba helped a man from being bitten by this creature. The monster had already bitten, mauled and dragged another swimmer and was going to attack this man when St. Columba intervened, commanded the monster to "go no further, not touch the man, and go back at once," and it obeyed. Over the centuries, there were a few reported sightings which seemed to inspire the Scottish folklores that always depict characters of mythical water creatures.

In 1933, a road, which is adjacent to Loch Ness, was built and finished and it offered a clear view of the lake (depth: 240m or 788 ft; and length: 36km or 23 mi). Ever since, the legend began to grow again.

_{Loch Ness, ScotlandImage Source}

Here is a brief timeline of anecdotal reports of the sightings of the Loch Ness Monster:

Timeline	Sightings of the Loch Ness Monster (Source: Wikipedia)
565 A.D.	St. Columba's anecdotal record in his biography
1871-2	D. Mackenzie of Balnain reported this "log or upturned boat-like creature" which moved slowly at first and disappeared quickly
1933	George Spicer and his wife reported seeing an enormous water creature, which resembles a "dragon or prehistoric monster", that crossed their car's path and then disappeared into the water.
Nov 1933	The first photograph that depicted the monster was taken by Hugh Gray whilst taking his Labrador dog for a walk, but the photo could also depict his dog fetching a stick from the lake.
Jan 1934	Arthur Grant , a motorcyclist, reported to have almost hitting the creature with his motorbike whilst approaching the north-eastern end of the loch. However, it was refuted that it could be an otter or a seal, but not the Loch Ness Monster.
Apr 1934	Dr. Robert Wilson had supposedly taken THE FIRST EVER photograph of the monster's head and neck. The photo became widely known as the "surgeon's photograph", however, since 1994, the photo was said to be an "elaborate hoax" all along.
May 1938	G.E. Taylor of South Africa filmed something in the loch for 3 minutes on 16 mm colour film. A single frame from this film was published in the book The Elusive Monster written by Maurice Burton, who concluded that the object captured by Taylor was not an animal, but a floating object instead.
Aug 1938	Inverness-shire Constable William Fraser wrote a letter and expressed concern about the hunting party that was determined to catch the monster "dead or alive". He said that the Loch Ness Monster was real beyond doubt, but he just didn't have the power to protect the monster from the hunters.
Dec 1954	Sonar readings were taken by the fishing boat Rival III. Its crew reported a large object keeping pace with their boat at the depth of 146m or 479ft.
Jul 1955	Peter MacNab captured a photo in the water with a picture of an object that had two long black humps, which later on, considered as a hoax by some researchers.
1960	Tim Dinsdale reported his sighting of the creature that he described as reddish with a blotch on its side.
May 1977	Anthony Shiels was a magician and a psychic who took "some of the clearest pictures of the monster" and who claimed to have summoned the creature out of the water. He described it as an "elephant squid", however, his report has been declared as a hoax because of its staged look in the photo.
May 2007	Gordon Holmes took a video of "this jet long, black thing that moved fairly fast in the water". His footage was eventually concluded to be that of an otter, seal, or a water bird.
Aug 2011	Marcus Atkinson took a photo of a sonar image of an unidentified object that was 1.5m or 4.9ft wide which seemed to have followed his boat for 2 minutes. He said that it wouldn't be a small fish or a seal. But in April 2012, a scientist said that image was a bloom of algae and zooplankton.
Nov 2011	George Edwards took a photo of "Nessie" that "looks like a manatee, but not a mammal." However, in 2013, he later admitted that that photo was a hoax, but insisted that the photo he took in 1986 was genuine.

All the alleged reports of sightings of this monster have been discredited and now it is widely thought that the monster is just a myth.

The Myth of Loch Eel Monster

According to the Lochiel folklore, the myth of a "Loch Eel" monster reportedly dates back to the 1800s when a bullock team disappeared and believed to have sunk in the treacherous sands of the lake. It was only during the 1980's that this sculpture emerged and has since become the town's tourist attraction.

What is a "bullock team?"

A bullock (or ox) is a mature, desexed bull. Bullocks are usually harnessed in pairs as their strong necks make them ideally suited to wearing a wooden yoke which efficiently transfers their draught power through a chain or pole to the load. When two or more pairs of bullocks are harnessed together to perform draught work, you have a bullock team. (Source: Gleneden Family Farm)

People have linked this myth to the Scottish folklore of the Loch Ness Monster, and probably because a big population of Scottish immigrants settled in regional South Australia where they also brought their family tradition and culture.