2023 $1 Aussie Big Things The Big Koala PNC

The Giant Koala is located in the western Victorian town of Dadswells Bridge, 20 kilometres south east of Horsham. Made in 1989 by Dutch sculptor Ben Van Zetten, it is composed of bronze and fibreglass supported by a steel frame. The interior, accessible through the koala's front forearms, houses a souvenir shop. The Giant Koala is a tourist complex and includes a café and farm and native animal petting zoo. In the wake of the devastating Black Saturday bushfires of 2009, it was named Sam as a tribute to a Koala rescued from the inferno near the Gippsland town of Mirboo North.