“There are many springs around Strangways, most of them close to the old Telegraph Station but some on the other (northeast) side of the old main Marree–Oodnadatta road, easily visible as the road approaches the Warriner Creek or Warditji Karla. Some of the mound springs are extinct and a few still active, but they all form part of the one mythological site Panki Warrunha ‘White Ribs.’

The myth to which this site refers is that of the two ancestral Snakes, Kukari the green snake and Yurkunangku the Red-Bellied Black Snake. They have traveled from far away …and they have had many adventures…. They are now travelling south from Toogamoona Creek Thungka-marna, having their mouths full of solanum berries. They camp overnight at Strangways and waking in the morning they say “ mathapurda ngunanayi arimpa pangki warru-thirnda-ki, warritharu yukarndinaru”

“Eh, old fellow, my friend, our ribs have turned white! It’s because we have traveled such a long way!”

The many mound springs around Strangways, both active and extinct, do in fact have bands of white silcrete that look like the ribs of snakes.

Quoted from SA Dept of Environment & Planning (1986) Heritage of the Mound Springs: The assessment of Aboriginal Cultural Significance of Mound Springs in South Australia prepared by Dr Luise Hercus & Dr Peter Sutton.