Pictures just in from Estella and Boorooma show Santa has popped in to see the locals, including Mick the Koala and Jarret the Emu. Image: Supplied.
While the rest of the world waits for him to arrive on Christmas Eve, Santa Claus has been spotted at Estella and Boorooma, and even more surprisingly, he’s with a koala named Mick and an emu named Jarret, who can talk.
Mick and Jarret have become local legends around Estella and Booroma, at least on social media, thanks to a little help from local Daniel Khan, who has a passion for good, clean larrikin Aussie fun, and some trusty AI software.
Under his banner of True Blue Animations, Daniel is known as the TikTok Koala Guy, and has thousands of followers on his site.
And with all the controversy surrounding AI, maybe that’s why Santa has dropped in to the Riverina before the long-haul flight around the world on Christmas Eve, to meet these two Aussie Swamp Donkey champions and show us that it’s not all bad.
Daniel Khan with Mick the Koala and Jarret the Emu in Estella. Image: Supplied.
To explain all that, we need to find out a little more about Daniel Khan, a Wagga local for more than 20 years, who started his life in the outback, in Byrock, a town of 20 people, halfway between Bourke and Nyngan.
“The old man was a shearer. My mum was a barmaid and she ended up being a shearer’s cook and we travelled around the outback in a little steel caravan and they were told not to do it because they had a young baby that wouldn’t last in the heat, but they did, and I grew up in Byrock,” Daniel said.
As well as being a culturally significant Aboriginal site, Byrock was a stopping point for Cobb & Co coaches in the gold-rush days of the 1800s.
“My great-grandfather had a camel train that hooked the Cobb & Co. And when horses couldn’t go way outback due to lack of water, his camel train would take the mail. He’s actually in their book,” Daniel said.
From Byrock to high school in Nyngan, then Dubbo, and over to Adelaide for work, Daniel and his New Zealand wife settled in Wagga, which has been their home for more than two decades.
With a passion for computers, it may be surprising to discover that Daniel’s day job for the past 25 years has been at Wagga’s abattoir. Perhaps this side hustle drives his need to bring laughter and good humour to those around him.
“I think I’m institutionalised, but I stay because of the people I work with, they’re my friends,” Daniel said.
The inspiration for Mick the Koala is one of his workmates, who makes him laugh.
“He’s real Australian, he’s totally ocker,” Daniel said. “He wears stubby shorts with a shearer’s singlet and thongs to an outing, he’s that sort of guy. Lovely bloke and he’s going through such a hard time, but he still smiles when he comes to work.
”He’s an amazing person and he inspires me with his outlook, and I thought I’d put that into a character.
“I based it on my outback experience, so I made Mick have a “swamp donkey lager”, which is a home-brew beer that Mick would make.
“I’m no specialist, but I try to offer a joyful experience with a bit of tongue-in-cheek Aussie banter, and I really want to make kids laugh when they get a shoutout from a hero or character they like.
“I”m finding it really brings people together, especially when I do community videos.”
The big difference is Daniel does not like rudeness, so you won’t hear swearing or see cruelty in his videos. It’s all lighthearted and funny.
Fighting the trauma of bullying is another benefit that Daniel has discovered.
“I had a friend come to me and say, ‘My son’s being bullied at school’ and I said, ‘Why don’t I do something for your son’ and I asked, Who’s his favourite superhero? Well, it’s Wolverine. So I did a scene, cinematic action like a movie, and I had Wolverine talk about being bullied and how he’s been there and he told this boy, ‘You’re my hero’, and it really helped.
“I did another one for my grandson. He loves Ninja Turtles, so I made him a member of the Ninja Turtles and I got Splinter [the Sensei rat master] talking to him and all the turtles talking to him, and I added, ‘You’ve got to be good at school and be nice to your brother and look after your mum’.”
Advice the Big Man in Red would approve of.
