The Coolatai panther — folklore, not fact

Visit Gwydir records that stories of a Coolatai panther persist — first “seen” in 1958, with later claims of breeding and newspaper correspondence in the Inverell Times. One yarn even has a reader blaming the pub.

Coolatai Local treats this as folklore. It is useful cultural colour for the district, not evidence of a large exotic predator. If you walk the bush around Coolatai, do it for the birds, skinks and quiet country — and leave the big-cat yarns for the pub verandah.