Mysterious sightings of rogue goat on Callington Hill

Many believe that the story of Billy the goat is nothing but a hoax or a myth, but a local and his friends have showcased proof of the mythical goat.

The stories of the goat begin around two or three years ago, when a lady had said she saw a goat on the Callington Hill, standing proud with his black horns and long goatee, but at this stage, nobody else knew of the mysterious creature.

Years passed, and it was not until somebody mentioned the goat to a local man and his friends at work that the mystery of Billy the goat started to become public.

He could not believe the idea of a goat living by the Freeway at first, but his friend was sure he had seen Billy, once again, standing on the hill with pride.

"We were just talking before handover, and then a guy came into work and said 'I've seen a goat on the way to work today, it was sitting on the hill', and my friend that I was working with asked 'like a big horned black and white goat? I've seen him about four months ago'," Jeffrey said.

"My friend didn't really believe it, he's just seen it sitting up there and never seen it again so he thought it had just popped up and run away, but then it was spotted again."

Jeffrey himself had not seen the goat before, to him it was still a mystery, but after carpooling with his workmates - one of which had already seen Billy in the past - he was struck with the truth.

He was not sure what to believe, with two people saying they had seen the goat it could mean anything, but after seeing the goat for himself on a warm summer evening, himself and a group of friends created a Facebook group for people to note their sightings.

Billy has accumulated quite a following from this group, with 53 current members, most of whom have seen him at least once.

People have uploaded their videos and pictures of Billy, some of which he is only a black and white blur as people speed past at 110 kilometres an hour, adding to his mysterious nature.

While Billy may be attracting a few visitors to his Facebook group, he has only recently been officially acknowledged by a government body.

The Department for Infrastructure and Transport and the Department of Primary Industries and Regions, South Australia, both had no knowledge of any reports regarding Billy; however, the Hills and Fleurieu Landscape Board have made a statement regarding their removal process of feral grazing animals.

Tom Kloeden, Regional Coordinator for Grazing Pressure Management for the Hills and Fleurieu Landscape Board, said under the Landscape South Australia Act of 2019 goats are a declared animal that must not be released.

"In situations where populations of uncontained goats are identified, efforts are made to determine whether they have escaped from neighbouring properties, and if so their owners are provided an opportunity to recover the escaped animals," Mr Kloeden said.

"If the goats are un-tagged and owners cannot be identified, appropriate measures are taken to remove or humanely destroy the feral goats.

"The Hills and Fleurieu Landscape Board will investigate the reported sighting at Callington Hill, and work with the relevant landowners to remove any feral goats that may be present," he said.

It is likely the mysterious creature, Billy the goat, may be removed from his current location and returned to his original owner, but Billy's followers may have something to say about it.

The truth about Billy's story and where he came from is still a mystery to all, and there is a chance that it always will be, but he has become something of a mythical creature on Callington Hill.

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