Back about 200 years before Mrs Cook's little boy, Captain James Cook came and found our piece of the world, the Red Chief and his Gunn e daar tribe had their main campsite along this billabong. The story of the Red Chief was passed down from generation to generation to the story teller in the tribe. Old Bungaree was the last of his tribe left when Gunnedah was first settled. Old Bungaree was an aboriginal tracker for the Gunnedah Police and he relayed the story to Sargent Ewing who wrote down the story and passed it on to Ian Iodress were it was eventually published. The book can be purchased from the Visitor Information Centre. In the book it tells the story of how the Gunn e daar lived by this waterhole at various times through the year. It is believed to be one of only a couple of dreamtime stories that has been published.
Some of the Red River Gumtrees around you may have been growing when the Red Chief was still around.