Le Wombat; Phascolomys Wombat, Peron et Lesueur

Early French engraving of a Wombat.

First reported sighting February 1797, after the ship Sydney Cove ran aground on Clarke Island in February 1797, the crew of the salvage ship, Francis, discovered wombats on the island. A live animal was taken back to Port Jackson. Governor John Hunter later sent the animal’s corpse to Joseph Banks at the Literary and Philosophical Society to verify that it was a new species.
Naming 26 January 1798 ‘We saw several sorts of dung of different animals, one of which Wilson called a Whom-batt, which is an animal about 20 inches high, with short legs and a thick body…’ Bargo, N.S.W. John Price.
First detailed description 25 August 1798 Letter from Hunter to Joseph Banks.