Dreamtime stories tell how the Rainbow Serpent came from beneath the ground and created huge ridges, mountains and gorges as it pushed upward. The name also reflects the snake-like meandering of water across a landscape and the colour spectrum sometimes caused by sunlight hitting the water.

Renowned author and artist Dick Roughsey's first paintings were on bark using the traditional pigments from soil and black from charcoal. After developing these bark paintings into a form suited to paper, he began to create children's books, including The Rainbow Serpent, an enduring classic that celebrates the paintings of the Rainbow Serpent that first appeared in Arnhem Land rock art more than 6000 years ago.