1. Aboriginal Australians
2. Art, Aboriginal Australian
3. Cape York Peninsula (Qld SC54, SD54, SD55)
4. Creation
5. Culture
6. Dreaming
7. Landscapes
8. Lardil people (G38) (Qld SE54-01)
9. Snakes
10. Stories and motifs
11. Storytelling

This is the Dreamtime story of the Rainbow Serpent, Goorialla, creator of the landscapes of the Cape York Peninsula. It tells how the Rainbow Serpent goes in search of his people, only to discover that they need to be taught a lesson about how to correctly uphold traditional ways. Angered by the way they treat him, the Rainbow Serpent destroys a mountain, turning his people into the birds, animals, insects and plant life that now inhabit the landscape. For them, there is no escape from his wrath, for the shooting star that races across the night sky is the Rainbow Serpent’s eye watching them.

Roughsey’s illustrations are aglow with the colours of the sky and the soil of Cape York––rich gem-like hues of ochre, blue, green and yellow. And his Rainbow Serpent is a sinuous, menacing beast that dominates the pages in which he appears. Dick Roughsey, whose tribal name is Goobalathaldin, was born near Mornington Island in the Gulf of Carpentaria. The Rainbow Serpent was the CBCA Picture Book of the Year in 1976.

Series : Australian Children's Classics

1. Scholastic Weston Woods Study Guide for 'The Rainbow Serpent' http://teacher.scholastic.com/products/westonwoods/study_guides/rainbow_serpent.pdf
2. Weston Woods Book Reading of 'The Rainbow Serpent' https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9aQc0Ubjmg
3. Reading Australia lesson plan for 'The Rainbow Serpent' https://readingaustralia.com.au/lesson/the-rainbow-serpent/
4. Queensland Gallery of Modern Art, ‘Goobalathaldin Dick Roughsey: Stories of this Land' https://blog.qagoma.qld.gov.au/goobalathaldin-dick-roughsey-stories-of-this-land/
5. National Museum of Australia 'The Rainbow Serpent' by Dick Roughsey Original artwork http://collectionsearch.nma.gov.au/?f%5B0%5D=obj_collectiontitle%3ADick%20Roughsey%20Rainbow%20Serpent%20collection