The first white man who made his appearance at Port Fairy (a locality named after a small vessel called the Fairy) was considered by the aborigines to be a supernatural being; and, as he was discovered in the act of smoking a pipe, they said that he must be made of fire, for they saw smoke coming out of his mouth. Though they were very ready to attack a stranger, they took good care not to go near this man of fire, who very probably owed the preservation of his life to his tobacco-pipe. Shortly afterwards a tipsy man was seen. He was considered mad, and everyone ran away from him.

The first ship which was descried by the aborigines was believed to be a huge bird, or a tree growing in the sea. It created such terror that a messenger was immediately sent to inform the chief of the tribe, who at once declared the man to be insane, and ordered him to be bled by the doctor.

When the natives first saw a bullock, they were encamped at the waterhole Wuurong Ysering in Spring Creek, near the spot where the village of Woolsthorpe now stands, and were engaged in fishing. The animal, which was evidently a stray working bullock from some exploring party, and which had a sheet of tin tied across his face to prevent him from wandering, came down to the waterhole to drink. The natives, who had never in their lives heard of such a large beast, instantly took to their heels.