1893 Australian "Hairy Man" Still Unidentified

 From the Australian Broadcasting Company: "'Hairy man' encountered by Arthur Marrin 123 years ago still unidentified." From the article:

    The story of Arthur Marrin and his encounter with a "hairy man" in 1893 is part of the folklore of the New South Wales Southern Highlands.

    Marrin, a cordial maker, was travelling on horse-drawn cart to Captain's Flat from Braidwood with a load of drinks when something frightened his dog.

    When he went to investigate, a hairy creature standing six feet tall on its hind legs jumped out towards him.

    Marrin's back was to a precipitous drop so he picked up a stone and hit it on the head, before finishing it off with the butt of his whip.

    He left the creature by the side of the road and continued into Captain's Flat where he went to the police station, concerned he might have killed a man.

    The next day a policeman accompanied him back to the site and assured Marrin the creature was not a man. 

It continues: 

     Marrin transported the body back to Braidwood where he displayed it out the front of the cordial factory.

    But his wife was unimpressed and insisted the creature be disposed of, so Marrin buried it in a shallow grave behind the factory that evening.

    Before it was buried it was observed by a reporter for The Braidwood Dispatch, who described the creature in a newspaper article published October 25, 1893:

    "It was four feet long, 11 inches across the forehead and had a face very much like a polar bear.

    "It weighed over seven stone (44kg). Its forearms were very strong with great paws that would be capable of giving a terrible grip.

    "It was a tan colour like a possum with strong hair on its skin."

The newspaper published a second article three days later further describing the creature and hypothesising its identity.

Notwithstanding the description, no one has ever been able to figure out what was the creature, although many suggestions have been advanced including that it was a yahoo, a yowie, an Australian mountain gorilla or even a giant wombat.