Are bilbies a part of Easter?

Answer 1

Bilbies are not traditionally a part of Easter, and form only a small part of Easter celebrations in Australia. In Australia, the development of the Easter Bilby has been a protracted campaign by many groups concerned with preserving the critically endangered bilby.

The idea of an Easter bilby has actually been around since the 1970s. One of its sources may be a book entitled Billy the Aussie Easter Bilby being launched by author Rose-Marie Dusting, in Adelaide in 1979 (sources indicate she conceived the concept of the story as a child). Dusting donated a percentage of the sales of her book to conservation of the bilby, and has continued to support effort to raise awareness of Australia's endangered species. There are other claims of small groups implementing the concept of an Easter bilby, all around the same time, i.e. late 1970s to early 1980s.

The first chocolate bilbies in Australia were produced in 1993 by South Australian companies Haigh's Chocolates, Melba's Chocolates and Cottage Box Chocolates, and were an initiative of the Anti-Rabbit research Fund of Australia (now Foundation for Rabbit-free Australia). The purpose of this campaign was to highlight the destruction caused since the introduction of rabbits in Australia in the 1860s.