Kangaroo | National Museum of Australia

The word 'kangaroo’ comes from the Guugu Yimidhirr people sharing the word ‘gangurru’ with James Cook and the crew of the Endeavour in 1770. Emblematic of Australia’s unique wildlife, the kangaroo is part of the coat of arms, is seen in various logos and is a mascot at international sporting events.

Terence Lane kangaroo collection

More than 150 Australiana objects, from a Doulton ceramic kangaroo umbrella stand to jewellery inspired by the kangaroo.

Aboriginal language game

Match words in Guugu Yimidhirr language with words recorded by James Cook’s Endeavour crew in our free online game.

Curiosity to official emblem

A gouache painting on paper. The design features four kangaroos of various sizes, facing left. Each kangaroo is multicoloured with red, blue, olive green, yellow ochre and brown in an X-ray style that is outlined in beige. There are several black handprints, each within dark ochre 'smudge'. In the lower left corner is a transparency of text taped on that reads 'in dreamtime journeys kangaroo spirit ancestors travelled ...'. The text 'Balarinji' is handwritten in pencil on the lower right hand corner of the art work. - click to view larger image — *Kangaroo Journeys 1*, 1998

After the Endeavour's visit, the kangaroo soon appeared in exhibitions, collections and printed works across Europe. By the 1880s, this hopping marsupial was used to brand products ranging from bicycles to Billy Tea.

Hunted for meat and for sport, and used as a motif in the decorative arts, the kangaroo was finally recognised as an official symbol of Australia when it was included on the nation’s coat of arms in 1908.

The kangaroo has appeared on currency and stamps and on Royal Australian Air Force aircraft. From Ken Done to Qantas, Australian Made to the Jillaroos, the kangaroo bounding through the landscape is an enduring symbol of Australia.

Kangaroos feeding on grass. - click to view larger image — Kangaroos at Cape Schanck, Victoria, 2019

A cast kangaroo candlestick mounted on a rectangular plinth. The candle nozzle and pan are mounted on the kangaroo's head. - click to view larger image — Kangaroo candlestick, 1885

A flag with a cartoon of a yellow kangaroo wearing red boxing gloves. - click to view larger image — Boxing kangaroo flag (detail)

Black and white cover image showing a cartoon kangaroo wearing boxing gloves and carrying a bucket with 'Ashes' written on it. The kangaroo has a cricket bat tucked under his arm and an Australian flag tied to this tail. 'Keep Your Tail Up Kangaroo' is printed at the top of the page, followed by 'The Big Australian Cricket Chorus Song by Neil McBeath'. - click to view larger image — ‘Keep Your Tail Up Kangaroo’ musical score, 1930s

Central portion of a postage stamp with perforated sides. 'Australia Postage' is written across the top and 'Two Shillings' across the bottom. The stamp is rust and white in colour and includes a central illustration of a kangaroo in a map of Australia. - click to view larger image — Postage stamp (detail), about 1913

White mug with gold rim showing a kangaroo in a garland of leaves. 'Australia A Nation' is printed at the top, between the Union Jack and Australian flags which hang at either side of the illustration. 'May 1927, To commemorate the opening of the federal parliament house, Canberra' is printed at the bottom of the cup. - click to view larger image — Federal Parliament souvenir mug, 1927

A black and white photograph taken at Agnone. Flying Officer D Davidson (left) of Sydney, NSW, looks on whilst his fitter, 16528 Leading Aircraftman Jack Ronald Clifford Featherby (right) of Sydney, NSW, puts the finishing touches to some nose art, a boxing kangaroo, which some (possibly a flight), of the 'Desert Harassers' of No 450 (Kittyhawk) Squadron, RAAF, have adopted as an insignia during operations over Sicily and Italy. - click to view larger image — The boxing kangaroo at Agnone, Italy, about 1943

‘Buy Australian sultanas’ poster, about 1927

Colour illustration of a kangaroo with two joeys in its front pouch. The kangaroo holds a small tree branch with one of its paws and gives leaves to a joey with the other. - click to view larger image — Kangaroo print, 1802

Large inflatable kangaroo mascot at a crowded stadium. - click to view larger image — Matilda the Commonwealth Games mascot, 1982

Art work in three sections portraying the Australian coat of arms, made up of postage stamps. The mural has a pale green border and is dominated by images of the kangaroo and emu either side of the state shield and six-sided star. '1788 AUSTRALIA 1988' is written across the bottom, again made of stamps. - click to view larger image — Coat of arms postage stamp mural, 1980s

Soup tureen with a white base and gold-rimmed lid and handles. The tureen is adorned with elaborate imagery including flowers and curlicules. A black and white kangaroo and emu appear in a stylised coat of arms with 'Union Club' printed in between. - click to view larger image — Union Club lobed tureen, about 1840

Art work showing a country landscape framed by trees either side and hills in the distance. In a grassed clearing at the front a man doffing his hat rides a black horse. Another man on a brown-coloured horse rides alongside him. Two dogs are pictured chasing a bounding kangaroo. - click to view larger image — ‘Kangaroo Hunt near Braidwood’, about 1870s

Cartoon showing eight kangaroos, wearing striped jackets with the name of the Australian states across the bottom, surounding a lion dressed in a Union Jack cap and holding a cricket bat over his shoulder. Umpire Punch, wearing a cream-coloured dust jacket and black hat stands beside the group. A bag of cricket gear appears in the foreground. - click to view larger image — ‘Combine, Australia!’ cartoon, 1899

Image of kangaroo standing on a mound or rocks with mountains and trees in the background. Text across the top reads 'An Animal of a new Species found on the Coast of NEW SOUTH WALES.' - click to view larger image — *An Animal of a New Species*, 1773, after George Stubbs

Kangaroos belong to the Macropodidae family, meaning ‘big foot’ in Latin. The family includes red and grey kangaroos and smaller wallabies, potoroos and tree kangaroos. The red kangaroo is the world's largest marsupial.

Stubbs’ kangaroo

Endeavour botanist Joseph Banks returned to England with the skull and skin of a kangaroo collected at Waalumbaal Birri, near modern-day Cooktown, Queensland.

These were among a vast number of specimens of plants and animals previously unknown to Europeans. Banks commissioned George Stubbs to paint the animal.

The official account of the Endeavour's voyage was published in 1773 and was illustrated with an engraving of Stubbs’ kangaroo. This was the first printed illustration of a kangaroo and quickly came to symbolise the Australian continent.

Coloured illustration showing a British gentleman, wearing a top hat and joining hands across the sea with an Australian settler, who is wearing a bush hat. A bulldog stands behind the British man, a kangaroo behind the Australian. - click to view larger image — 'Hands across the sea' postcard

Landscape poster with a large kangaroo caricature. The kangaroo is dressed as an Australian solider and has speared a red fez with his rifle bayonet. The kangaroo stands straddling a narrow body of water. 'Assisting Queensland's patriotic day' is written at the top. 'Public service patriotic carnival & concert. 31st July 1915' is written beside the kangaroo. 'For our wounded soliders' is printed at the bottom. - click to view larger image — ‘Assisting Queensland’s patriotic day’ poster, 1915

Colour poster showing a caricatured kangaroo dressed in Australian army uniform and holding a red ensign and Prussian-style helmet. The kangaroo stands on a map of 'France', with 'Belgium' nearby and 'Blighty' across a body of water. The kangaroo has 'From Aussie to the Rhine' printed on his tail. 'Queensland public service, Patriotic Carnival, Exhibition Grounds, 12th October 1918' is printed in the left side of the poster. - click to view larger image — ‘Queensland public service patriotic carnival’ poster, 1918

Colour postcard showing an Australian bush scene, with 'A Bush Home' illustration inset. The inset shows a male settler standing in front of a slab hut. A kangaroo stands to the left of the inset and a kookaburra is in the bottom right corner of the card. - click to view larger image — ‘Sunny Australia’ postcard

Postcard with an illustration of a kangaroo in the bush at left and a brown boomerang with the word 'Cooee' written on it at right. 'Like the Boomerang may you Come Back' is written in the top left and 'Good Luck' in the top right of the card. 'We are Waiting for Your Safe Return' is written in larger text in the middle of the card. A verse attributed to 'Leuname' also appears. - click to view larger image — ‘Like the boomerang may you come back’ postcard, about 1914–18

Postcard with a central illustration of a brown-coloured kangaroo wearing an Australian army hat and backpack, balancing a rifle with bayonet over one shoulder. '"Our Boys", Greeting! Blotter, Correspondence Card, Just a few lines' is written at the top. The postcard includes a verse attributed to 'Alec Barr'. - click to view larger image — ‘Our boys’ postcard, about 1914–18

Postcard showing the rear view of two cartoon kangaroos sitting on a bench. One kangaroo wears a collar and glasses and has his top hat and walking cane resting beside him. He has one paw extended around the other kangaroo, who wears a hat, with feather. 'A Jolly Christmas' is printed at the top, above the verse: 'Whether you can keep a "car", Or must your "bluey" hump, Recollect, where'er you are, I'm with you "from the JUMP", And this Jolly Christmas time leave you "fit" and plump'. - click to view larger image — ‘A jolly Christmas’ postcard, 1914–18

Trevor Kennedy Collection

Qantas established

17 June to 4 August 1770 Waalumbaal Birri – Endeavour River

Daily, free First Australians

Australian Embassy coat of arms

Top