A collage of a wombat, Bob the Railway Dog and Samorn the Elephant.

Some of the cutest, dangerous, hardworking and famous animals Australia has ever seen are immortalised in records held by our public cultural institutions.

State Records of Australia, State Library of South Australia and National Archives of Australia proudly presented Animalia, a battle of knowledge and persuasion about our furriest, featheriest and fabulous creatures, as part of South Australia’s History Festival in May 2026.

Among the animals presented by State Records of South Australia was the Hairy Nosed Wombat.

Records in the collection reveal the state was looking to update its Coat of Arms in the 1980s, with a draft design pitched to the Tonkin government including a koala and a wombat styled like a lion standing on its back legs.

But the incumbent Bannon government chose the final design – sans wombat – that was introduced in 1984.

David Brooks from the State Library of South Australia warmed hearts with a story of Bob the Railway Dog, a scruffy German Collie born in the 1880s in Macclesfield. Aged nine months, he followed railway workers to the rail line and travelled endlessly on the entire railway system, hitchhiking on trains, trams and steamers across South Australia, plus even all the way to Sydney and Brisbane.

Kelly Drake of National Archives of Australia unfolded the beautiful relationship between Samorn the elephant at Adelaide Zoo and her caretaker, Hero NUUS.

Samorn arrived in Adelaide in 1956 as a gift from the King of Thailand, whose Thai name translates as “beautiful lady”. Samorn was bright, curious and hardworking, and was adored by the public for 35 years, giving cart rides and loving to scoop up peanuts left by children on fence posts.

Samorn shared an incredible bond with Hero, who was responsible for her health and happiness while at the zoo.

Stories like these can be uncovered at these public institutions. Click on their pages below to find out more:

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