Swamp 'creature' and strange noises sparked bunyip tales at Hexham

Illustrations of the Australasian bittern in 1888 and a bunyip in 1900.

It was the "eerie booming call" of an elusive bird that led to the myth of the Hexham bunyip.

The myth may have been solved in the mid 1800s, but that didn't stop people believing it in the decades ahead - partly driven by the tabloid press and, no doubt, campfire tales.