Comments

• As a student of early Australian literature I found several references to drop bears. They were called 'drop bears' by the British settlers but the Dutch referred to them as 'droppy bears' and the Irish 'the acurs-ed bearies'. Curiously the references fade after 1930, around the time when the Australian government began actively campaigning for more migrants and tourists. I wonder if there are any papers in the national archives that show the government's official stance on public statements about drop bears. The period of interest would be 1923-29, under the Prime Minister the Viscount Stanley Melbourne Bruce. He is well documented as having black-barred several references to Australia as a 'convict land' and I would not be surprised if he is historically responsible for this too.