Southern Koala and Echidna Rescue at Onkaparinga Hills, south of Adelaide, gets a rehab centre in 2022

Southern Koala and Echna Rescue founders Mish and Wade Simpson and some of the young koalas in the centre's care at Onkaparinga Hills, south of Adelaide.

Southern Koala and Echidna Rescue at Onkaparinga Hills, south of Adelaide, opened its rehabilitation centre in 2022 after receiving more than 945 callouts to assist wildlife in the previous two years.

Founded by Mish and Wade Simpson in 2018, Southern Koala and Echidna Rescue was registered as a charity in 2020 to protect and support native animals, such as koalas, echidnas, possums, kangaroos and wallabies, bats, wombats and platypuses and their habitats.  

Southern Koala and Echidna Rescue offered a 24/7 free koala rescue service (hotline 0435 056 252 or 0435 0 KOALA) dealing with incidents such car/truck accidents and bushfires. It was run by fully-trained professional carers and passionate volunteers including veterinary surgeons and veterinary nurses. It worked closely with other rescuers, sanctuaries, specialist vets, the Country Fire Service, traffic management, arborists and government bodies in South Australia and nationally.

With a 22 acre property bought for its site, the centre’s state-of-the-art koala rehabilitation centre included a triage area, indoor and outdoor hospital wards, outdoor gunyahs for koalas in long-term care plus enclosures for echidnas and other native wildlife that come into care. The centre would also have onsite koala food plantations.

Plans for the centre included ecological self-sufficiency, powered by solar panels/batteries and with water supplies through rain capture and bore water.