Oh! Kangaroo, why smell flowers is a drawing by artist John Olsen in the Parliament House Art Collections.  

The Australian landscape and its plants and animals were one of Olsen’s primary creative focuses. He was particularly inspired by Kati-Thanda-Lake Eyre, a place he first visited in 1974 when it was flooded and teaming with animal life. He made several visits to the area over the next three years and observed the landscape changing. He has produced numerous artworks in response to his visits to Kati-Thanda-Lake Eyre.¹  

When speaking about Kati-Thanda-Lake Eyre, Olsen said,

Lake Eyre has become a special spiritual place that draws me to it, a soul place of rich emptiness and fullness… You feel so insignificant in that vastness. When I witness this miracle of nature, and look up to the stars at night, I think surely there must be some giant creative force behind it ... The force of nature is my muse, my god.²  

John Olsen  
Born in Newcastle, John Olsen AO OBE (1928-2023) was one of Australia most highly acclaimed artists whose career spanned over seven decades. Olsen studied at the Dattilo Rubbo Art School, Sydney and the Julian Ashton Art School, Sydney. He won the Archibald Prize in 2005, the Wynne Prize in 1969 and 1985, and the Sulman Prize in 1989. Olsen was appointed an Order of the British Empire for services to the arts in 1977 and an Officer of the Order of Australia and Centenary Medal in 2001. His work is represented in all Australian state gallery collections, the National Gallery of Australia and several regional galleries Australia-wide.³  

References
1. Ripley, Amy, “John Olsen: the last of Australia’s great generation of artist”, The Sydney Morning Herald, April 11, 2023, accessed September 12, 2023. https://www.smh.com.au/national/john-olsen-the-last-of-australia-s-great-generation-of-artists-20230207-p5cif9.html  
2. Ibid.  
3. Art Gallery of New South Wales, “John Olsen”, accessed August 26, 2026. https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/collection/artists/olsen-john/