During the tough economic times of the Great Depression of the 1930s, the rabbit became a welcome commodity rather than the pest it had been to farmers. The skins could be sold for money and the meat was often the only option available to poor families. Rabbits could be caught fairly readily even in the outskirts of big cities such as Melbourne, in suburbs that are now densely populated.

In the 1990s, after years of being shunned as 'underground mutton', rabbit overcame much of its depression-time reputation as the poor person's last resort. It has been reintroduced as a respected and even fashionable gourmet food in Australian restaurants and public bars.

Whether valued exclusively for their taste or in combination with a sense of nostalgia for earlier times, other cuts of meat and offal that were once only eaten by poor people who could not afford anything else - such as ox tail, lamb shanks and kidney - have found their way onto menus in even the most expensive restaurants in Australia.

Information provided by the Australian Government's Culture Portal.