1892
A local
bullock driver called Stan McGregor, was forging a trail from Smithfield to
Kuranda during the monsoonal rains when he became stranded on a peak now
known as Saddle Mountain. He was near death when he was found by a local
Aboriginal tribe and nurtured back to health. Despite their warning of the
dangers involved Stan left the tribe and forged on towards Kuranda never to
be seen again.
1927
A
local timber cutter was felling timber on the high peaks behind Smithfield
when he discovered a hideous sight, an old saddle with a scrambled message
carved roughly into the leather wedged high in a rainforest tree: The
message read "Something is here. Something is stalking me" –
there was also a strange paw-like symbol alongside the words.
1962
A
surveyor, working in the misty rainforest peaks behind Smithfield came
across remains that he believed to be bullock bones and leather harnesses,
scattered underneath a rocky ledge. Not far from this evil lair, he noticed
a panther like animal stalking him from the slopes above. He quickly made it
to a trail that lead to a waterfall where he dived into the water and made
it to safety. Since that day all attempts to find evidence of this illusive
creature have failed.
1992
While cutting trails through the Smithfield hills, Glen Jacobs, president of
the local mountain bike club, discovered a strange sabre-toothed skull,
which he believed to belong to the conspicuous legend. Aboriginal legend
talks about a sabre-toothed rainforest cat named the Minjin, which means
"mountain devil".
2000
AJ
Hackett unearths the legend that is the "MINJIN" and with it the
symbol derived from the strange paw-like print found in 1927. The Minjin has
returned to Saddle Mountain, the evil karma however has run its course and
is now gone forever. The Minjin sits at the bottom of Saddle Mountain and
"Screams" at speeds similar to that of a mountain cat.