Strike central Australian as a monster (7)

I believe the answer is:

chimera

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'a monster' is the definition.
(I know that Chimera is a type of mythical creature)

'strike central australian' is the wordplay.
'strike' becomes 'chime' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'central' indicates the central letters.
The middle of 'australian' is 'ra'.
'chime'+'ra'='CHIMERA'

'as' acts as a link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for chimera that I've seen before include "Illusory achievement; mythical beast" , "Mythological monster" , "fabulous creature" , "Lion-headed monster" , "Mythical creature; delusion" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.

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