Case file · Cryptid
Charles Harper's hairy man
Surveyor Charles Harper told the Sydney Sun in 1912 that he and companions saw a huge hairy man-like creature by their campfire in the ranges of south-eastern New South Wales.
1912 CE · -35.45, 149.95 · status: account
The account
Harper's vivid description (long arms, a pot belly, large canine teeth) became a template for yowie reports, and 1912 saw a second small outbreak of 'ape' sightings in the colonial press.
The sceptical view
The newspaper's accompanying drawing was fanciful and the story was told for a popular audience; no corroborating evidence was gathered.