Monkeying Around With Shared Kobe Steel(e)s

Of the many commonalities shared by Australia and Japan, perhaps one of the quirkier ones is that both countries are home to a Kobe Steele known for monkeying around.

Australia’s Kobe Steele founded the Orangutan Foundation International Australia (OFI Australia), and was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia in 2021 for her services to conservation and the environment.

Japan’s Kobe Steel Ltd., meanwhile, monkeyed around in a far less noble way, falsifying inspection and quality data on steel, aluminium and copper products for years, affecting hundreds of customers and resulting in billions of yen in fines after causing one of Japan’s most significant industrial quality scandals in recent years.

Kobe Steele, the Aussie with the “e” on the end, has nothing to do with the Japanese corporate giant other than their homonymous names, initially gained fame in Australia back in the 1970s.

She was the first woman in Australia to host her own national music TV show back in 1977, moved into radio, and then became a publicist for record labels and touring agencies.

She hung out with Leif Garrett at the height of his fame in the late 1970s.

Her move into caring for orangutans came following a personal tragedy where her only child was killed in a car accident.

Steele grieved deeply over the loss of her daughter until a friend took her to Borneo in the belief that being with orangutans would help in her healing. There, Steele met Faisal, a bald, orphaned orangutan.

 “Faisal gave me back my happiness. I was me again and I have the orangutans to thank for that,” she states on the OFI Australia website.

Steele thereafter devoted her life to the primates and conservation.

Japan’s Kobe Steel, meanwhile, may have nothing to do with the orangutan advocate, but it still has plenty of Aussie connections.

Kobelco Construction Machinery Australia Pty Ltd is a 100%-owned group subsidiary that imports, sells and services Kobelco excavators, cranes and other machinery across Australia and New Zealand. The Kobe Steel/KOBELCO group’s overseas affiliates also include Australian operating units for sales, services and distribution. It’s also a direct investor in mining projects and imports iron ore, coking coal and other feedstocks from Australia.

On the sporting field, Japan’s Kobe Steel has a strong past connection with Australian rugby players.

Kobe Steel dominated Japanese rugby union throughout the 1990s with Aussie Ian Williams a core member of the team.

Williams became a lawyer and is a keen supporter of strong Japan-Australia ties to this day.

Kobe Steel became the Kobelco Kobe Steelers when the professional Top League was formed in 2003, and plenty of Australians have played for the team since, including Adam Wallace-Harrison, James Hilgendorf, Joel Wilson, Adam Ashley-Cooper and Rocky Elsom.

Shared names provide an uncanny connection between Australia’s Kobe Steele and Japan’s Kobe Steel, but it’s best to keep in mind that one was awarded for advocating for orangutans and the other used rugby union players to win awards. Read into that what you will.

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