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Audiobook: Red Dog [Read by Mr Eaton]
W.A. Folklore: Red Dog
Red Dog, as he came to be known, started his life with the name Tally Ho which, in typical Australian style, was quickly shortened to just Tally. He started out in Paraburdoo and was born sometime in 1971. The family who originally owned him moved to Dampier and it was here that the legend of Red Dog really began. Until reaching Dampier Red Dog was just another Kelpie, Cattle Dog cross. He showed signs of his wanderlust early in life but once he reached Dampier his travels really started to reach epic proportions.
Red Dog took to travelling on the local buses. He made friends with one of the local bus drivers but was said to have become very distraught when the driver was later killed in a vehicle accident. Some say that Red Dog spent the rest of his days looking for his lost friend. We will probably never know which of Red Dog's antics are folklore and how many actually happened, but it is said that he would board a vehicle and refuse to get off until it took him exactly where he wanted to go. His eating habits were less than savoury causing him to break smelly wind regularly. In the enclosed confines of various vehicles this must have been a testing time for the other occupants.
Red haired people in Australia are often called 'Blue' and so it was that Red Dog also picked up the nickname 'Blue'. It was at Dampier Salt that he got this name and it was this location that he chose to make his home base. Red Dog was adopted by the workforce at Dampier Salt and they saw to it he was correctly registered with the local council and they tended his wounds after his numerous fights and scrapes.
Not everyone was a fan of Red Dog and on one occasion he was found with two bullet wounds in a back leg. He was taken all the way to Port Hedland for treatment and the trip eventually cost quite a sizeable sum. His travels are said to have taken him as far afield as Perth and Sandfire. In 1979 his journey came to an end when he picked up a poison bait and eventually had to be humanely put to sleep. A memorial was erected to the memory of Red Dog and his statue still stands today on a hill overlooking the town.
SOURCE: Glasby, Marc (Ed.) (2016), The Folklore of Western Australia [PDF], from WA Now and Then website, https://www.wanowandthen.com/EBooks/folklore.pdf
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| About the Author | Red Dog (Pilbarra) | Red Dog: Official website |
- "Red Dog" Teachers' Notes [PDF]From publisher.
- Extracts from "Red Dog" [PDF]Chapters: Red Dog and Nancy; Nancy, Red Dog and John.
- Film Review: Red Dog (2011)" ... Notions of the Australian identity, previously seen throughout the decades, have been displayed with sheer earnestness. Larrikinism and mateship feature strongly, often frequently evidenced in a pub setting ... "
By James Madden (August 15 2011, Film Blerg) - Essay: Red Dog by Elizabeth BryerThese hand-me-down images, as much a part of my childhood as the reality of 1990s country Victoria, were tethered to an actual time and place: mid-1970s to mid-1980s Dampier, a port town in Western Australia's Pilbara region that was developed in the 1960s to accommodate the workforce of the Hamersley Iron mining company.
SOURCE: Griffith Review 36 - Newspaper Article: Trail of the Pilbara Wanderer: Discover Western Australia's rugged beauty"We had only just driven into the mining town of Karratha in Western Australia when my guide Michael slammed on the brakes and pointed along the road at something very exciting. A dog - medium-sized, a bit scruffy, and the rich, warm colour of dark rust - was padding along the path, tail bouncing in the air, nose glued to the floor, nostrils no doubt hoovering up a wealth of smells ... "
SOURCE: Daily Mail Australia, 10 October 2011 by Wendy Gomersall - Newspaper Article: 'Australia's favourite': Red Dog's true star dies"The canine star of Red Dog, Koko, has died in Perth. The producer of the hit film, Nelson Woss, said he was devastated to lose his "best mate" from a congestive heart disease diagnosed this year ... "
SOURCE: Garry Maddox (Dec 18, 2012) Sydney Morning Herald