Mick Quilliam

The story for this painting can be found in “The Land of the Sleeping Gods” pages 67-69. Stories from the past tell us that the parents of Pukerin were Peeper-Dop and the Sea Maiden. They also tell that the miraculous birth occurred when Peeper-Dop stood on the lady’s head. This ancient pixie man for centuries the official messenger of the gods and eventually handed over his work to Pukerin. But I am ahead of my story. Ne-Ianta Niripa (Maiden of the Sea) was one of Culla-Minna’s many daughters, and guardian of all sea life in Oana Legana (Oyster Bay). She dwelt in that part of the bay which can be found by talking a line from the centre of Tiana Gune (the Singing Sands) to Mara Cartela (the Island of Seals), crossed by another line from Rea-Rarra to the mouth of May-Noon-Er (the Meredith River). Where these lines cross was the home of Ne-Ianta Niripa. She lived here with her myriads of servants the shellfish, whose constant grunting, clacking and squeaking could be heard on the surface above. For this reason the natives called the area Tiana Mookaria (The Singing Water). The Sea Maiden was huge in comparison to mortals. She had great flipper-like feet and a very long neck. As she flipped along the sea bottom her long neck would stretch out on the surface as she look through the clear water at her loved sea creatures. Every now and then she would raise her head up and look to the south. And if Ne-Ianta Niripa saw a storm coming up the bay she would raise an alarm, driving all the sea creatures down to the deep water, which was calm and unaffected by the tempest. Of Culla-Minna’s many children the Sea Maiden was the ugliest, the kindest and the most unhappy. She loved all creatures but none loved her. True, all who knew her loved he in a kindly, friendly way, as a child loves its mother – but Ne-Ianta Niripa wanted to be loved as a woman; loved as the Eastern Star was loved by Dromerdene, as Vetea was loved by the great god Moinee, and like the host of happy loves all over this land. She hated herself for being so envious of the fluffy little wife of Tringenene the swallow, who twittered with happiness whenever his flirty little spouse deigned to smile upon him. The Sea Maiden, who loved tiny, helpless creatures above all others, despaired of having babies of her own because of her extreme ugliness. Then one day a wonderful thing happened to her. She was patrolling the bay as usual, scanning the sea bottom from the surface, and lifted her head up to see if any storms were coming from the south. Suddenly there was a terrific thump on the top of her head. Ne-Ianta Niripa saw stars – in fact she was sure a falling star had crashed on her head. Then she fainted. When she came to, the Sea Maiden opened her eyes, and there, sitting on her forehead, was the tiniest, funniest-looking little man she had ever seen. But, he had the kindest, gentlest eyes in all the world, and when he leaned forward and kissed her on one eyelid, saying sorry for hurting her, Ne-Ianta Niripa knew that this strange little man was going to make this world a happier place for her. Then she flipped completely. In her excitement the Sea Maiden swished her great flipper feet with such gusto that she sped across the bay like Parappa, the porpoise. She finished off the joyful exercise with two half-rolls and a complete flip-over, backwards. When she surfaced, the Sea Maiden coyly rolled her eyes up, expecting to see the fascinating little man. But he was gone. Ne-Ianta Niripa was beside herself with anxiety when she realised what had happened. She knew that he was not a sea creature and was terrified he might have drowned. Frantically she rushed around the bay calling, “Please come back to me!”. Suddenly she heard her friend Parappa calling and, as he ranged up beside her, she saw the little man sitting up on Parappa’s water-spout. The Sea Maiden gathered him up in her arms, kissed him lovingly and placed him back on her forehead. Feeling some kind of movement, she looked down at her bosom. There, to her amazement, was the tiniest baby thing she had ever seen – a miniature replica of the little man sitting on her head. Pepper-Sop the pixie had been working hard all day, painitng the flowers. He was getting old and had stopped for a rest on Pyananu as he made his way home. His mode of transport differed from that of his successor. Pepper-Sop depended on his powerful legs to take him from point A to point B with one mighty leap. He had the legs and hooves of a tiny horse, and they did the job perfectly. But he was getting on in years and not a spry as of old. So when he had gathered those powerful legs beneath him to spring from the heights of Poyananu, his tiny hooves had felt as heavy as lead, and some rocks had broken away beneath them as he tested the force of gravity. Peeper-Dop’s bad take-off was the cause of his landing on the Sea Maiden’s head in Oyster Bay. The pair lived in great happiness for many ages, and when Pukerin was ready to take his father’s pffice, Pepper-Dop and ne_Ianta Niripa devided to reture and went to rest with the other gods at Pyananu. Today they sleep in the craggy heights overlooking Coles Bay. Peeper-Dop lies at the north-eastern end of the granite range, his two hooves firmly planted on the top of Ne_Ianta’s head. The Sea Maiden, her great flipper-like feet jutting out into the bay, rests in sweet content. A happy smile softens her craggy features, for she sleeps at the feet of her beloved Pepper-Dop, and she knows that with every rainbow their little son Pukerin will swoop low and wish them well. We know this great mass of red granite today as the Hazards. If the gentle reader should doubt that Pepper-Dop had the legs and hooves of a horse – and who can blame you, for such animals were unknown in this land before white men came – take a drive along Dolphin Sands Rd at Swansea. Leaving the car at the end of the road, it is only five minutes’ walk along the banks of the Swan River to where it flows into Oyster Bay, at the eastern end of the Singing Sands. Then look east to the sunrise sky, and beyond the hills of Swanwick homestead you can see the grinning face of Pepper-Dop. If the day is very still and you listen carefully, you may be lucky enough to hear his impish chuckle as you stare in disbelief at his outlandish extremities. When the Oyster bay natives first saw a horse they were dumfounded. The animal was immediately named Lare Peeper-Dop (Half Peeper Dop) and Latanama Peeper-Dop (Legs of Peeper-Dop). For a while they worshiped the horse as a partial reincarnation of one of their gods. But in the end they turned from it in sorrow, for they thought Peeper-Dop had forsaken them when horses were seen working for the hated white man.