Kenny

"Kenny"

Pam Finlay 

Watercolour on Paper

September 2017 

"Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary" in the heart of Brisbane, sits on the summit of Mount Coot-tha, and is somewhere I visited as a child.  There's meaning in a name.
Mt. Coot-tha is Brisbanes' highest peak and the name is an aboriginal word meaning "place of honey".  It's named because the Aboriginal people used to come to the mountain to collect "ku-ta"(honey) that was produced by the native stingless bee(www.australianexplorer.com).

Honey in the heart of Brisbane on the mountain.  What a perfect place to have a wildlife sanctuary.  I still think of that place from time to time.  It's the world's oldest and largest Koala Sanctuary and was founded in 1927 (www.koala.net).   It is a beautiful wildlife sanctuary and the perfect place to see and cuddle a Koala, my favourite Australian animal.

I remembered this place when I had a moment with a Koala earlier this year with a group of friends in South Australia.  I was able to get up close to the Koala to pat him and take his photo and hence this painting came into fruition.

A couple of interesting facts about one of God's amazing creatures.
The word "Koala" is thought to come from the Aboriginal word meaning "no drink".  Although Koalas do drink water on occasion, most of their hydration requirements are fulfilled by the moisture they get from eating Eucalyptus leaves (www.mnn.com).
I was amazed when researching the Koala to find that hundreds of thousands of them were slaughtered in the 1920's and public outrage forced the government to declare them a "protected species" by the late 1930's (www.savethekoala.com)

The things that happen when I am given a painting to paint. Many hidden truths are revealed on my journey of discovery.

I hope you love Koalas as much as I do and care about their future as one of our cuddly animal ambassadors.

Blessings

Pam