KOALAS LEAVE FIRST COLONISTS A TAD COMPLEXED
A piece of the New South Wales State Library collection is on display at Grafton’s Sir Earle Page Library until Thursday.
The travelling exhibit depicts drawings of koalas and waratahs from more than 200 years ago.
Australian artists say the koala was so unique, early colonists found them difficult to draw.
The first known picture was drawn by John William Lewin in 1803.
Grafton’s Katrina Shillham says there was one interesting artwork which followed a few decades later.
“Another one, which is a lovely fuzzy… I think they call it monkey and bear, or bear in the tree, which is a little bit different.”
Dorothy Wall brought the koala to life in 1933, when she came up with the cheeky character Blinky Bill.
The exhibit will next travel to Glenn Innes.
(AUDIO IN PARTS)