“It’s like trying to pin down a kangaroo on a trampoline.”
Sid Waddell
If krill are fish, then kangaroos are goodness knows what. The scientific name used for their family is ‘Macropodidae’, meaning literally ‘big foot’. So one could easily claim that kangaroos are the somewhat less-imaginary Australian counterpart to mythical sasquatch-type creatures “found” globally. A nice thought, but stretching the truth just a little, perhaps.
One interesting claim to the origin of the word ‘kangaroo’ itself dates back to the arrival of Captain Cook and the naturalist Joseph Banks on the Endeavour in 1770. The story goes that this pair were out for a stroll when suddenly they spied a strange hopping animal in the distance. Enquiring to a nearby Aboriginal person as to what this creature might be, they received a response that meant simply ‘I don’t understand.’ Of course, with a remarkable touch of unwitting irony, the two simply believed this response, which sounded like ‘kangaroo’, to be the name of the animal, and it has been used as such forevermore. The beauty of the story is that, whilst no-one has ever found a shred of evidence to suggest this is the case, there has been no conclusive alternative origin of the word presented either, and thus the legend can live on.
Now, being the iconic Australian animals they are, I’m assuming that you the reader already now something about kangaroos. If you’re really on top of your game, you might even be aware of some of the more obscure facts about them- that they smell like curry, supposedly love apricots, and until the year of 1899 were faster than the fastest cars (about 70kph). So to save you all from complete and utter boredom, I’m going to take a historical approach to this article and look into what I believe are the two most interesting occurrences of kangaroos in history. Sit down, buckle up, and prepare for a blast from the past…
There’s a beautiful photo of Australian troops training during World War One in Egypt with their mascot kangaroo. His name was Skippy, and he was probably smuggled over by the 9th and 10th battalions as they were leaving Australia aboard the army ships. He wasn’t the only one. Kangaroos were taken all around the globe by our soldiers wanting for a reminder of their home, and a boost for morale when times got tough. They appeared with troops fighting in the Boer war, and one was later smuggled into Malaysia in World War Two in a box labelled as ‘Medical Supplies’. Cared for by besotted soldiers and army nurses, these animals not only survived but thrived during the war. Skippy was donated to the Cairo Zoological Garden after the war, and spent the remainder of his days there.
There’s another fine photo featuring kangaroos in history, and it appears in 1965. It depicts a man on a trampoline, bouncing alongside a kangaroo, and this is the story of how it came about. George Nissen was an American gymnast, but more importantly also the inventor of the trampoline. As it happens, Nissen chose the kangaroo as his company logo, and not being short of cash, had this design emblazoned on the side of a private aircraft he owned. The reason for his choice of branding was obvious- kangaroos bounce; trampolines bounce too (that’s right, isn’t it?). But Nissen wasn’t going to stop there. Determined to make a mark on the world that would ensure his invention was never forgotten, he set out to create the image of a lifetime.
Fortunately for Nissen, he quickly managed to locate a pair of kangaroos owned by an animals supplier on Long Island, just of New York- a bit closer to home than the alternative. He recounts: “I went and asked what it would cost me to get some pictures. The guy told me he would change $50 one of them and $150 for the other. When I asked what was the difference between, he said, ‘Well, the one for $150 won’t kick you so hard.’” Choosing to put his money and not his body on the line, Nissen went with the safer option, and spent the day attempting to take this famous photo. He himself admits to learning that kangaroos cannot be trained the hard way, but after many hours of patient gymnastics training for his assistant the two finally worked things out. In a time before social media and the internet, the image of Nissen bouncing alongside a kangaroo went completely viral across Europe and America. Nissen’s sales boomed, and all thanks to the help of this helpful New York boomer.
Photo Credit: structuresxx/Shutterstock