Home
Politics
Rudd described her death after surgery for chlamydia-related cysts on Thursday as a tragedy, saying she had been a symbol of hope for many around the world during the deadly Victoria state blazes which claimed 173 lives.
Victoria Premier John Brumby said the four-year-old marsupial was to be stuffed and displayed at Melbourne city's museum, where the body of legendary racehorse Phar Lap was also on show.
"The story of Sam will help us to understand and remember the devastation that the events of February 2009 had on the people of this state, and their extraordinary determination to recover and move forward with their lives," Brumby told the Herald Sun newspaper.
The museum's exhibitions director Robyn Hirst said Sam ought to be preserved, as a "very important image from those terrible times".
Footage of helmeted fireman Dave Tree giving Sam water scored almost 150,000 hits in two days on the Internet video site YouTube, and was shown on TV news bulletins the world over.
The cuddly marsupial died Thursday after surgery at the animal shelter where she had been recovering since February from her burns.
Entire towns were flattened when fire swept through vast tracts of bushland outside Melbourne. Millions of unique native animals, including koalas, kangaroos and wombats, were also estimated to have perished.
Rescuers had hoped to return Sam, who was of an unusual breed that is fluffier and larger than other koalas, to her home in the Strzelecki Ranges in southeast Victoria state.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Victoria Premier John Brumby said the four-year-old marsupial was to be stuffed and displayed at Melbourne city's museum, where the body of legendary racehorse Phar Lap was also on show.
"The story of Sam will help us to understand and remember the devastation that the events of February 2009 had on the people of this state, and their extraordinary determination to recover and move forward with their lives," Brumby told the Herald Sun newspaper.
The museum's exhibitions director Robyn Hirst said Sam ought to be preserved, as a "very important image from those terrible times".
Footage of helmeted fireman Dave Tree giving Sam water scored almost 150,000 hits in two days on the Internet video site YouTube, and was shown on TV news bulletins the world over.
The cuddly marsupial died Thursday after surgery at the animal shelter where she had been recovering since February from her burns.
Entire towns were flattened when fire swept through vast tracts of bushland outside Melbourne. Millions of unique native animals, including koalas, kangaroos and wombats, were also estimated to have perished.
Rescuers had hoped to return Sam, who was of an unusual breed that is fluffier and larger than other koalas, to her home in the Strzelecki Ranges in southeast Victoria state.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
