With a heatwave and high winds forecast, the call was made at the end of last week to evacuate the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve, near Canberra.

Key points: Endangered brush-tailed rock wallabies and eastern bettongs were evacuated from Canberra during bushfire

Endangered brush-tailed rock wallabies and eastern bettongs were evacuated from Canberra during bushfire Defence aircraft carried the animals to Geelong, Melbourne, and Sydney for safety and treatment

Defence aircraft carried the animals to Geelong, Melbourne, and Sydney for safety and treatment The RAAF's No 35 Squadron, named Wallaby Airlines in Vietnam, carried actual wallabies in a first for crew

It was a last resort decision, made necessary by the Orroral Valley bushfire that continued to burn in Namadgi National Park.

"We had this threshold of when it got to a place called Corin Dam, regardless of where it went from there, we decided we'd evacuate the animals," said Peter Cotsell, director of the Namadgi National Park, Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve, and the Murrumbidgee River Corridor.

"It was a good time to evacuate and I believe we did the right thing."

Calm was key

Moving the evacuees — critically endangered brush-tailed rock wallabies and eastern bettongs — across state lines during a bushfire crisis was not going to be easy.

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 36 seconds 36 s Wallaby being released at Mount Rothwell ( Supplied: Annette Rypalski )

It was not just a matter of booking an aircraft large enough to carry so many animals; like any flight, it was important to keep the 'passengers' calm.

"You're facing the challenges of them getting really stressed and just dying from stress," biodiversity director Annette Rypalski from the Mt Rothwell Biodiversity Interpretation Centre said.

"We had to make sure we kept them as calm as possible."

She estimated there were fewer than 150 brush-tailed rock wallabies left.

Mt Rothwell conservation and Research Reserve at Little River, near Geelong, was chosen as the home away from home for the evacuees because of its fire safety, good infrastructure, and the staff's animal-handling skills.

Wallabies needing medical treatment were sent to Taronga Zoo in Sydney while four others were sent to Healesville Sanctuary, near Melbourne.

Mt Rothwell, a 453-hectare reserve, already home to a colony of southern brush-tailed wallabies, is surrounded by fencing to keep foxes and cats out.

Wallaby Airlines hops to the rescue

The wallabies had been housed in smaller yards while the bushfire threat was imminent, so the team at Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve could move quickly when the need arose.

But there was still the matter of how to fly the animals under incredible time constraints.

Corporal Antonia Guterres and Jenny Pierson from Parks and Conservation Services load a rock wallaby. ( Supplied: Corporal Kylie Gibson )

"This fire really roared over this mountain top and grew quite quickly, so we had to act really fast," Ms Rypalski said.

"We were quite lucky the military stepped in and offered up their services."

Two military aircraft were used to transport the wallabies and the eastern bettongs from Canberra to Avalon airport, near Geelong.

Corporal Antonia Guterres with the RAAF's No 35 Squadron said special care was taken during the loading process.

"We tried to keep the temperature of the cabin down because it was a very hot day," she said.

"We placed bags of ice next to the cages so it was more comfortable for them.

"As we were loading the wallabies on the aircraft, we had to be extremely quiet and do everything as quietly and in slow time so that we didn't disturb them."

Carrying wallabies was a first for squadron members.

Eastern bettongs are unloaded from their evacuation flight at Avalon airport near Geelong. ( Supplied: Annette Rypalski )

"We've been carrying dogs, cats, and koalas — but obviously we were pretty stoked to take the wallabies," Corporal Guterres said.

"This is the first time we've carried wallabies on Wallaby Airlines, so it was pretty special for us."

No 35 Squadron has been nicknamed Wallaby Airlines since the Vietnam War because of its callsign — Wallaby.

First eastern bettongs in Victoria for 100 years

Meanwhile, 26 eastern bettongs were trapped using chunks of pineapple to lure them.

The small marsupials then flew in style on a Royal Australian Air Force C-130J Hercules with crew taking extra care in handling the animals that had joeys in their pouches.

An eastern bettong joey is sedated prior to its flight from fire. ( Supplied: Private Rodrigo Villablanca )

Eastern bettongs are extinct in the wild on mainland Australia due to predation; Tasmania is the only place where the population remains secure.

At Avalon airport, a team of dedicated volunteers and wildlife staff waited to greet the precious cargo, thought to be the first in Victoria for 100 years.

They were released just after dusk, the day before the wallabies arrived.

The wallabies, although initially held back from being released due to high temperatures, eventually went off without a hitch, aided by the day's rain.

Mr Cotsell continued to keep an eye on the marsupials from his office in Canberra.

"They all bounced into their new quarters and were feeding the next day, which is a really good indication that they were happy," he said.

"I think they're in safe, well and good hands and we hope to return them as soon as the imminent threat is over."

