Gu-rang-atch was one of the Burringilling - Dreamtime spirits.  His form was partly fish and partly reptile. One of his camping places was in the large, deep what is now the junction of the Wollondilly and Wingeecaribbee rivers; the waterhole and the country around it being called Murrawall in Gundungurra.  Gurangatch used to lie in the shallow water near the bank in the middle of the day to sun himself.  One day Mirrangan the tiger cat, a renowwned fisherman, who used to search only for the largest kinds of fish, happened to catch a glimpse of Gurangatch's eye which shone like a star through the water.  Mirrangan tried to spear him, but he escaped into the centre of the large waterhole, which was of great depth.  Mirragan then went into the bush a little way off, and cut a lot of hickory bark, or millewa and stacked it in heaps under the water at different places around the lagoon, in the hope to make Gurangatch sick, so that he would come to the surface.  The poisoned water made Gurangatch very sick, but it was not strong enough to kill him.

 

A disappointed Mirrangan went into the bush again to cut more hickory bark to increase the poison in the water.  As soon as Gurangatch saw him going away, he suspected what he was after and began tearing up the ground along the present valley of the Wollondilly, causing the water in the lagoon to flow after him and bear him along.  He went on forming several miles of the river channel, and then he burrowed and tunnelled under the ground for some distance at right angles.  He came out again on a high rocky ridge on one side of the valley, where there is now a spring known as "Rocky Waterhole", or Bir-rim-bun-nung-a-lai, because it contains birrimbunds or sprats.  There is a subterranean passage from Rocky Waterhole to Wollondilly.  Sprats are found there as well as in the river.

 

Gurangatch raised his head above the waterhole and pushed out his tongue which flashed like lightning.  From this ridge he saw Mirrangan starting out from Murraural along the trail.

 

Gurangatch then returned along his burrow or tunnel to the Wollondilly where he had previously left off, and continued making a channel for himself.  When he reached what is now the junction of Guineacor river, he turned left and made a few miles of the channel of that stream.  Coming to a very rocky place which was hard to excavate, he changed his mind and turned back to the junction and resumed his former course.  He had some difficulty in getting away from this spot and made a long, deep bend or loop in the Wollondilly which almost doubles back on itself at that place.  When Gurangatch got down to where Jock's Creek now joins the Wollondilly, he turned up Jock's Creek excavating a watercourse for himself.  Being a great magician he could  make water flow uphill as easily as downhill.  On reaching the source of Jock's Creek, he burrowed under the range, coming up inside of Wambeegang caves, known as Wombeyan these days.

 

We must now return to Mirragan.  When he came back to Murraural and saw how Gurangatch escaped, he followed on down the river after him, going on and on until he overtook him at Wombeyan.  Mirragan did not go into any of the passages, therefore he went up on top of the rocks and dug a hole as deep as he could go and then prodded a long pole down it as far as it would reach, for the purpose of frightening Gurangatch out of his retreat, much in the same way as we poke a kangaroo or other creature out of a hollow log.  Not succeeding in this purpose with the first hole, he dug another and still another and shoved the pole down each one as before.  There are several weather worn pot hole on top of the Wombeyan caves still, which are said to be those made by Mirragan.

 

When Gurangatch saw that his enemy was continuing his pursuit, he started off one morning at daylight through his tunnel or burrow and returned down Jock's Creek till he came out into the Wollondilly again.  Some miles farther down was where Mirragan's family lived.  When they heard Gurrangatch coming and the water roaring after him like a flood, they ran away up the side of the hill in great terror.  By that time, Mirragan himself appeared on the scene and his wife began yelling at him for having meddled with Gurangatch and begged him to give up the chase.  But  he wouldn't listen.  He went on after Gurangatch and overtook him at "Slippery Rock" or Woonggaree.  There they fought for a long time, which made the rock smooth and slippery.

 

Gurangatch at last got away and went downwards, making the water flow after him.  Every time that Mirragan overtook him, he hit him with his big club or boondee, and Gurangatch struck Mirragan heavily with his tail.   This continued down to the junction of Cos's river, where Gurangatch turned off to the left, digging out the present channel.  He went on till he came to  Billa-goo-le Creek, or "Black Hollow" on our present day maps.  He travelled some distance, but turned back, and resumed his course up the Cox to the junction of Kedumbar Creek, now known as Katoomba.  He dug up Kedumbar Creek as far up as Reedy Creek, turned into it a little way, then he formed a deep water hole in which he rested for a while.

 

Gurangatch then journeyed back to the Cox.  He worked his way for some distance and formed the waterhole Karrangatta.  In order to dodge his enemy he burrowed under ground, coming out on Mee-oo-wun, where he made a very deep canyon.  Returning to the waterhole, he made his way up to the junction of Kanangra where he and Mirragan had another fierce encounter.  Gurangatch went on up the Cox to Harry's Creek.  He then excavated the vally of Harry's Creek till he came to Binomil, the present Jenolan Caves, where he had the good fortune to meet with some of this relatives.  Gurangatch was weary from the hard work and sore from all the blows he had received during his journey.  He suspected that his enemy would still be in pursuit of him and therefore begged his friends to escort him away.  So they took him out of the caves and led him over the main range into a deep waterhole, called Joolundoo.

 

While this was going on, Mirragan had arrived close to Binomil or Jenolan Caves, but he was very tired and lay down on a little hill to rest.  After resting, he searched about the caves and found tracks of where Gurangatch had been staying, and also the tracks of where he had been taken away to Joolundoo by his friends.  Mirragan was worn out, and when he saw that his enemy was with his family, he decided to get help. He thought it would be wise to block Gurangatch's escape back to old haunts.  So he set out to build a wall of rock, Wundakmaloi which is the sandstone escarpment between Jenolan caves and Joolundoo. 

 

Mirragan then hurried away to his friends out West.  On reaching their camp they were eating roasted eels and offered him one.  Although he was weary and hungry, he answered, "No, no, this is too small a thing for me to eat.  I am chasing a great big eel and want you to come and help me."  As this great eel was in a very deep waterhole he asked for the very best divers in the camp.  They selected Billagoola the shag, Gool-a-gwan-gwan the diver, Gundharen the black duck and Gooharring the wood duck.

 

When Mirragan returned to Joolundoo with his divers, the black duck dived into the pool but returned after a while saying he was unable to get down to the bottom  The Wood duck also dived but without success.  The diver bird, Goolagwangwan was next to go down and after a considerable time brought a small eel or Gurangatch to the surface.  He said to Mirragen, "Is this what you have been after?"  Mirrigan replied rudely, "No! that is too small; try again."  Goolagwangwan dived down a second time and brought up an eel, but Mirragan would not look at it.

 

The shag tried to take hold of the eel, but its head and tail was jammed into the crevices of the rock so that he could not shift it.  Being a very strong and expert diver, he pulled a large piece of flesh off the back of Gurangatch and started up again.  On reaching the surface, Mirragan explained with delight, "That is a piece of the eel I was chasing."  When the meat was cooked, Mirragan and his diver friends had a great feast and they returned to their homes.

 

Along the course of the Wollondilly, as well as along the Cox, there are big waterholes which are Gurangatch's resting places.  They are still inhabited by Gurangatch's descendants.