Nipper, a fox terrier, belonged to Mark Barraund and after Mark’s death, his brother Francis Barraund noticed that the dog listened intently to the voice of his dead master as it came over the trumpet of the phonograph. Francis painted the dog listening, and in 1899 the picture became the trademark for The Gramophone Company Ltd.

Copyright expired

TO THE MEMORY OF
TRIM
The best and most illustrious of his race
The most affectionate of friends,
faithful of servants,
and best of creatures
He made the tour of the globe, and a voyage to Australia,
which he circumnavigated, and was ever the
delight and pleasure of his fellow voyagers

Trim

Trim, a black cat with white paws and white mark on his breast and chin, was born on board a ship in 1799. He fell overboard when only a kitten but climbed back onto the ship. From then on, he enjoyed swimming. Matthew Flinders owned this remarkable cat that was to sail with him as he made the first circumnavigation of Australia. Trim also circumnavigated the world with his master. He was with Flinders when they were wrecked on Wreck Reef and the crew had to spend some weeks waiting there to be rescued. Trym was imprisoned with Flinders on Mauritius by the French but disappeared. Flinders was deeply saddened. The statue of Trim is in the Mitchell Library in Sydney, NSW Australia.

Simpson and his donkey

Simpson and his donkey are famous in Australia for their actions during World War 1. Simpson’s real name was John Simpson Kirkpatrick, but as he had deserted from the Royal Navy in 1910 and come to Australia, he enlisted in the AIF as Simpson. On 25^th April 1915, Australian and New Zealand troops landed at Gallipoli in Turkey, with great loss of life, at what has become known as Anzac Cove. Simpson found a donkey and although he was unarmed, he took wounded soldiers on the donkey from the front line back to medical assistance. Day after day he did this and became known for his bravery. The donkey was known as Duffy and sometimes as Murphy. Sadly Simpson was killed by Turkish gunfire four weeks later. He is remembered by Australians on Anzac Day 25^th April, each year.    

No photo of Sparkie is available, but this is a similar bird.

Sparkie

Sparkie was a a remarkable budgie who is still remembered 50 years after his death in 1962.  He won a contest in 1958 for the BBC International Cage Birds. He could say ten rhymes, 383 sentences and 531 words. There were 3,000 birds in the competition from all over Europe. He soon became famous on TV shows and made a fortune for himself. He could repeat almost anything and was owned by Mrs Mattie Williams and lived in Newcastle's Forest Hall. Sparkie's  preserved body was donated to Newcastle's Hancock Museum. 

Phar Lap

Phar Lap was born October 1926 in New Zealand and bought  to Australia by David Davis on the advice of race horse trainer Harry Telford. From 51 starts, Phar Lap had 37 wins, three seconds and two thirds. Telford and jockey Jim Pike, loved Phar Lap, and said he could do anything except talk. The horse became the darling of people all over Australia and when he was sent to America to race and died 5^th April 1932 soon after his arrival, there was outrage and suspicions that he died of foul play. His body is on display in the museum in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

This photo comes with permission from the museum:

Skippy was a kangaroo that featured in an Australian TV series for children named Skippy the Bush Kangaroo. Ninety thirty minute episodes were made and the series was shown in many countries, making Skippy famous. The part of Skippy, an eastern grey kangaroo, was played by a number of kangaroos and the tricks shown were provided by technology rather than the animal itself. The story was set in a National Park where Sonny Hammond lived with his Ranger father, Matt. Skippy often came to the rescue or discovered a plot to endanger other animals or people.