Once, long ago in the Dreamtime, there was one creature that was feared by all Aborigines - Turtaruli, the Giant Red-shelled Turtle. Turtaruli’s shell was 400 metres long and 250 metres wide, and 100,000 square metres in area. His head was 15 metres long and 10 metres wide. He would eat twenty Aborigines before his hunger was satisfied, and a few hours later he would return for more. Many times had men tried to slay him, only to be slain and eaten themselves.

There came an Aboriginal boy of sixteen, named Naurerd, who was determined to kill Turtaruli, though he was not sure how.

One day Turtaruli came to Naurerd’s village looking for breakfast. Seven men tried to kill Turtaruli, but he shot balls of poison at them and they died. Turtaruli turned away, and Naurerd darted out and dragged the seven corpses behind a hut. When Turtaruli looked back the bodies were not there. Naurerd propped up the corpses at the back entrance to the village. When Turtaruli looked towards the rear entrance he saw the bodies and thought they were alive. He strode towards the corpses at the rear entrance.

Naurerd ran to the front of the village, grabbed a stick and set fire to it. Now, if there was one thing Turtaruli hated it was smoke and fire, so when he saw the smoke from the flaming stick blowing past him he was terrified, and fled. He lumbered out the back entrance - into the desert.

Naurerd tied his spear to the flaming stick and ran after Turtaruli. When Naurerd caught up he climbed Turtaruli’s leg. Taking aim, he threw his spear. The spear landed in the top of Turtaruli’s back. It not only pierced his back, but also set fire to his shell. Turtaruli was terrified, and thinking the fire was behind him rather than on him, he tried to run away from it. As Turtaruli ran, the spear punctured one of his lungs. Eventually Turtaruli was suffocated and burnt so badly that he stopped, drew in his legs and head, and died.

Turtaruli’s shell is still there today. People nowadays call it Uluru. And from then on the Aborigines lived without Turtaruli plaguing them and killing so many of their brave men.