It’s the legend that put Eucla on the map and it dates back to 1971. It started in late December in the bar of the Eucla Motel, where two kangaroo shooters were telling the tale of a half-naked white woman they’d seen wandering the desert, living amongst the kangaroos. As the beer continued to flow, more and more of the gathered crowd swore they’d seen such a woman. A broke PR man from Perth – who couldn’t pay his bill – was in the bar said he would put the Eucla Motel on the map with the story.
Suddenly, Eucla was inundated with visitors. The story had blown-up to international recognition, with the BBC sending a full documentary crew. Journalists from the US, Sydney, Adelaide and Perth travelled to the area, all hoping to catch a glimpse of the Nymph with long, blonde hair who had been photographed wearing a kangaroo skin and holding a kangaroo by its tail. The people wanted to know more!
About a year after the initial reports, the validity of the story was questioned, and one of the original yarn-spinners confirmed it was a myth. A journalist phoned the story out from Eucla's phone box for the Sunday Mail's front page, "Nullarbor Nymph was hoax". Eucla Motel owner of the time, Steve Patupis, will not deny the Nullarbor Nymph was good for business, yet he maintains he was not involved in her creation.
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