Keiffee the toy koala

A toy Koala made of rabbit or kangaroo fur outer and straw filling. Nose is made of leather. A black, red and grey scarf is tied around the koala's neck. Made in Australia.  Toy heavily used, worn areas, one ear was partially detached prior to conservation treatment. Purchased at either John Martins or Peoplestores. The contributor had called him Keiffee when she was a small child, after her father Keith, which she could not pronounce correctly at the time.

The donor of this item stated: This is my toy koala given to me by my father on his return from World War Two stationed in Darwin. He returned home to Hamilton, Victoria via Adelaide. It was in Adelaide that he purchased Koala as a birthday gift for me on my 3rd birthday! I remember my birthday vividly and being thrilled to be given Koala, one of my favourite Australian animals. On my actual birthday my mother dressed me in my new party dress complete with my 'Shirly Temple' curls (a hairstyle formed by rolling long hair in rags the night before and sleeping in them!). Also posing me on the piano stool with my gift for a snapshot (as Mum called it!). Koala became my constant companion as my brother was still a baby. Koala was wheeled about in a metal pram, wrapped in a blanket to go to sleep and at night slipped under my bedcovers. I told my Dad 'Koala smells funny!' Dad told me he was made of rabbit fur and straw, that was the different smell. I especially loved his dark, smooth nose. During my childhood years in Hamilton many cousins came to visit and when my family knew that two rougher cousins were visiting Koala was hidden on top of Mum's bedroom wardrobe. I did not want him damaged! When I was ten years old our family moved from Hamilton, Victoria to Adelaide, South Australia. We lived in various suburbs - Parkside, Unley, Hyde park and Ashton (in the hills) - lots of house moves with my koala safely stowed away in my teenage years (in a pillowcase with lavender sprigs to ward off the moths!). Twenty odd years later in the 1950s my own two sons Aaron and Shaun were born and koala was brought out of storage. They played with Koala in a different way. He was put in the back of a peddle car and whizzed around the garden or in a basket on a three wheeled tricycle, then seated on a cane chair in the sunroom until the next adventure. I put Koala away again for another twenty years until the arrival of my granddaughters Rebekkah and Lauren, in the 1990s. When they stayed with me after school or in the holidays they also played with Koala. By now Koala was a bit worse for wear! His ears were not as fluffy and his claws bent. This made no difference to the girls and they lined him up with their own soft toys to enjoy a tea party or picnic on the lawn in my garden. Koala is now over 70 years of age. He has been played with and loved by three generations of children in our family in different ways. Like me, my family wish Koala to be cared for and admired by other children.

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