© Brian Perren

Maroochy sat quietly and gazed at her man
As he speared a large fish as only he can,
And softly and sweetly she sang of her love
the best of his catch he laid at her feet
She’d cook them for Coolum and give him a treat
and softly and gently she spoke of her love.

But Ninderi hid in a small clump of trees
And as he moved closer, he sank to his knees
and listened in silence as she told her love.
For NInderi had courted Maroochy himself.
But she’d chosen Coolum, he was left on the shelf,
And he just could not bear to hear of her love.

His heart swelled with rage, his head hung in shame,
He stumbled off blindly lest one call his name
But still in his thoughts she sang of her love
He saw Coolum standing on a cliff near the shore,
Thought, ‘If I kill him. She can love him no more.
While the leaves softly whispered her soft words of love.

He seized a rock. His range knew no limit.
And hurled it at Coolum, who died at that minute.
Still the rocks softly echoed her soft words of love
NInderi flew to the hills in disgrace, all alone
For the elders at him had pointed the bone.
While Maroochy shed tears at the loss of her love.

The tribe helped Maroochy to move from the shore
But she cried and she cried until she was no more
And left only her tears to tell of her love.
NInderi still stands with his head bowed in shame,
And Coolum lies still, never hearing his name
As Maroochy cries softly to show him her love.

Old Woman Island stands alone off the shore
Where it fell after striking poor Coolum so sore,
But it feels every tears she sheds for her love
Maroochy, heartbroken, cried hard and so long.
That today we see two rivers run along
the path of the tears she shed for her love.

She created the rivers that now bear her name
as they flow past Ninderi, still bowing in shame
For she gave her own life as proof of her love
Now the tribes will gather to feast and to dance
And to tell once again this tale of romance
As these two rivers meet to pour out her love.