The stories contained in this book have been gathered from many different sources. So far as possible, continuity of theme runs through the collection, but because of the widespread origin of the tales. each legend can be considered as a self-contained narrative, without attempting to put it in the context of other stories in the same chapter

For this reason animals sometimes appear as humans, and at other times in their natural form. The value of this collection is in its representative nature. With hundreds of communities and hundreds of languages, there is no uniformity of nomenclature, but a common ethos can be found by sampling the legends of these different peoples. Variant accounts have been compared and the tales rewritten in a form that It is hoped will appeal to readers of the present time

The Word List compilation gives a representative selection of Aboriginal words from all parts of the continent, with a short selection of phrases and sentences. and an indication of the origin of the words