Island History – Koalas Traditional Cache
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Koalas are found throughout eastern mainland Australia, but not naturally on Phillip Island. The koala populations here and on many other small offshore islands were introduced after European settlement.
In the late 19th century koalas were facing extinction, as this excerpt from the Mount Gambier “Border Watch” attests. (The full article can be found at http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/78103311 )
In the 1880/90s a 'handful' of koalas were deliberately moved from mainland Victoria to Phillip Island in an effort to preserve them. Between 1923 and 1994 approximately 10,000 koalas were relocated from Phillip and French Islands to replace populations which had disappeared from mainland Victoria and South Australia.
During a visit to Phillip Island in 1938 the Victorian Premier, Mr Dunstan, announced plans for the preservation of the koala (to read all about it in Melbourne’s “Argus” newspaper, go to http://trove.nla.gov.au/ndp/del/article/12063318 ). Among the people meeting the Premier that day was Mrs Florence Oswin Roberts, a member of the committee of management of the Phillip Island koala sanctuary.
Mrs. Oswin Roberts was the only person to legally own a koala. In 1936 she found an injured joey which she reared and named Edward. The Fisheries and Game Department gave her a special permit to keep Edward, who was actually a female. Edward slept in a cot and joined the family for meals, sitting in a child's high-chair. As a young koala, Edward enjoyed sitting on Mrs Oswin Roberts’ head as she went about her garden.
Unfortunately, koalas are still in decline; the Australian Koala Foundation estimates that there are less than 80,000 koalas left in the wild, possibly as few as 43,000. As well as suffering from habitat destruction, domestic dog attacks, bushfires and road accidents, populations founded from the original 'handful' of koalas are highly inbred, with reduced genetic diversity and vigour. Additionally, during the 1980s the fertility of koalas on Phillip Island dropped to unsustainable levels due to chlamydial infection.
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