The following observation was made by early European settlers encountering the Koala:

He keeps his little round eyes fixed on yours, blinking solemnly; and all you can do is wriggle with delight at your discovery that in this disillusioned grown-up world you have met the most lovable toy of your childhood come to life. Here is the very teddy bear Aunt Alice gave you when you were three. If Aunt Alice put her hand deep down into her handbag and did you really proud, the two are the same size. Perhaps not the same colour, for koala favours grey or silver or a glossy browny-black, and goes in for white waistcoasts; but otherwise, front view, they are twins. The same big bushy ears: the same trusting little face; the same absurd button of a nose.

Source:
Wood, T. (1934), Cobbers: A personal record of a journey from Essex, in England, to Australia, made in the years 1930, 1931, and 1932, London: Oxford University Press, p. 147.

Jackson, Stephen. Koala : Origins of an Icon. Belmont: Allen & Unwin, 2008.