Koalas were killed in staggering numbers. In 1902 – 600,000 koala skins were purchased in NSW alone. In 1924 it was reported that more than 2 million koala skins were exported from Australia’s eastern states. 

The idea of a koala sanctuary at Kenmore, Goulburn was raised in the Goulburn Evening Penny Post of Tuesday June 20, 1939 to assist the dwindling numbers of the marsupials. 

It was also considered as a possible tourist attraction. 

"Goulburn will gain a first-class tourist attraction if efforts by Dr. S. Minogue, Medical Superintendent at the Mental Hospital, to establish a koala bear park in the Cookbundooon Ranges at Kenmore can be brought to fruition," the article read. 

"In outlining his scheme at last night's meeting of the Goulburn Chamber of Commerce, Dr. Minogue said he knew where there were native bears in inaccessible parts of the Burragorang Valley, and he had discovered that they were indigenous to the Goulburn district… if such a park were established it would be a tourist attraction second to none.” 

Phil Leighton Daly recounts in his book "Wrinkled armpits and woollybutts” a 1915 Queanbeyan newspaper account of a shooting party from Sydney where a young solicitor, and future member of Parliament, spent a morning shooting “native bears “ and killed 31. His excuse was he wanted a rug. It was reported that a dozen were skinned and the rest were wasted. 

Shooting  parties were still popular when the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria caught a train to Moss Vale and then went on to shoot two koalas on a hunting  expedition to Badgerys ‘ Ridge’. The Archduke enjoyed hunting for trophies around the world so much so that some said he took in the sights through his sights .

Knowing that Australia was home to many strange animals he was determined to shoot as many as possible on his 11 day visit. He bagged about 300 native animals, including black swans, emus, at least eight koalas and a platypus. He himself was shot and killed in 1914 - an incident which all students of history know was the spark for WWI, which contributed to approximately 15 million human deaths. Perhaps another lesson from history?

Koalas were all but wiped out in Goulburn and across NSW, nearly extinct in SA and on the way out in Victoria. Church leaders and wildlife conservationists argued for the end of koala hunting, but in Queensland, despite widespread public protests, it continued as the fur industry justified it as providing employment for rural workers

Koala numbers have never been the same since that days of hunting them. Today, koala numbers are estimated today at about 1 per cent of pre-shooting numbers and if the current rate of decline continues koalas are facing extinction in the wild again.

Will history repeat itself? For koalas, the consequences of humans getting it wrong don’t ‘bear‘ thinking about.