Thomas Austin

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Thomas Austin was an Australian farmowner and hunting enthusiast who is generally credited with the introduction of rabbits into Australia in 1859. While living in England, Austin had been an avid hunter, regularly dedicating his weekends to rabbit shooting. Upon arriving in Australia, which had no native rabbit population, Austin asked his brother in England to send him 24 grey rabbits, five hares, 72 partridges and some sparrows so that he could continue his hobby in Australia by creating a local population of the species.

Because the rabbits had no natural predators in Australia, the population exploded. In 1867 Austin killed 14,362 rabbits on his property alone. By 1868, 8000 square kilometres of Victorian farm land had been rendered unusable because of the infestation of rabbits. In 1907 the Western Australian government attempted to combat the problem by building a fence to contain the rabbits between Cape Keraudren in the north and Starvation Boat Harbour in the south, some 1,833 km long. Due to damage from storms, sand shifts, and local wildlife however, the fence failed in its goal to contain the problem.