Australian Dinosaurs & Fossils
I’ve always had an interest, not in the sense of “I want to be a paleontologist”, I just like learning things. In the past I’ve tried to volunteer on digs without any success.
I saw this news story and did digging (pun) and found out that it had been found at a site near Richmond in central Queensland.
Richmond is about 1650km by road from home, but we will get to that. The whole into area is fossil paradise thanks to what is known as the Winton Formation
The Winton formation is a Cretaceous formation that existed when Australia was part of the Gondwana supercontinent which included Antarctica and Sth America. The Cretaceous period lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago. It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest.
The Winton formation is mostly sedimentary rock, sandstone and the like, in some places it is 400m thick. It is thought that a river the size of the Amazon or Mississippi flowed through the area into the Eromanga sea, slowly filling it.
It was a relatively warm time and is when most of Australia’s fossils were created. Back then Australia had lush forests, rivers, and vast floodplains that supported a wide range of dinosaur species.
The Eromanga Sea covered vast areas of eastern and central Australia, including parts of present-day Queensland, New South Wales, South Australia, and the Northern Territory. It was formed because it was warmer then and sea levels rose to flood and fill the area. The sediments it left behind have shaped much of Australia’s geology, including the Great Artesian Basin.
The fossil record shows that it contained Marine Reptiles, Fish, Invertebrates & Microfossils:
Kronosaurus
There was a variety of large marine reptiles, such as ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs, and pliosaurs, which were among the top predators. One of the iconic species that is used as the basis for the tourist industry that has popped up around dinosaurs is the Kronosaurus. We’ll come back to this as well. But first, some context.
So, Richmond is way up there, it is a bloody long way on the edge of the desert.
Zooming in a bit you can see that it is “not far” from Winton and about half way between Julia Creek and Charters Towers. Of course, when I say “not far” I am talking about by Australian standards, it is actually about 300km.
Lark Quarry Conservation Park over 3,300 individual dinosaur footprints, which are preserved in a rock slab that covers an area of about 210 square meters (2,260 square feet). The footprints are believed to belong to a variety of small to medium-sized theropods and ornithopods. The most prominent tracks are from small, chicken-sized theropods
The theory is that a group of small dinosaurs was foraging or drinking by a waterhole when they were startled, likely by a large carnivorous theropod which may have approached in search of prey. The panicked herbivorous dinosaurs ran in all directions, leaving behind a chaotic jumble of footprints.
It is one of the main tourist features of the area along with the fossils and public sites at Richmond.
So “the girls” were heading to Bali for 10 days and I had the chance to do “something”. I thought about heading to somewhere like Borneo or Sri Lanka or somewhere a bit off the tourist trail, if that is possible these days. I had a great offer from Tiff to ride the Brisbane Valley Rail trail and was quite tempted, we would have had fun. But, as I said, fossils had been on my bucket list forever and this seemed like the perfect chance to do it.
So off I went on August 1st. The Tall Girl wasn’t leaving until the 6th, but this was going to be a long drive with a few days in Mackay visiting my 9 month old grandson on the way home…oh…and my daughter and son-in law.
Typical Aussie outback drive, looong stretches of straight road with nothing and no one in sight.
First night was Charleville, then Longreach, then onto Richmond for about 4 days. Then to Ayr, Mackay for about 4 days then home.
There are quite a few things to do in Charleville. There is a Bilby conservation centre and the Cosmos Centre.
The roof slides back and you end up essentially outside with 14″ telescopes.
It was great but not awesome like the first visit, it was a bit more crowded, not the first time and last time I was there we could see Saturn and the rings.
Originally I was then going through to Richmond, but after the first day doing 800+km I decided against it, as it was a longer drive. Longreach has one of those free campgrounds so I stopped there for the night.
It was a lovely peaceful place that looked like it was on a river
But it is actually the Longreach Waterhole…but a big one.
Winton is quite a nice place with the fabulously art deco North Gregory Hotel, originally built in 1869, it has been rebuilt 3 times after fires.
At the North Gregory, on April 6, 1895, Waltzing Matilda, was played in public for the first time. It was also the place during the 1920s, where secret meetings took place as Winton locals met to form a small airline called QANTAS. The meetings were secret as a strategic move to protect their plans, secure support, and ensure a successful launch.
There was plenty of wildlife, lots and lots of birds, especially kites. Enough emus to be interesting and plenty of dead kangaroos, of course
Which isn’t a very big place at all. Population of about 650 people.
I should add that being vegetarian and trying to eat well on a trip like this is pretty tricky. Two pubs in Richmond and neither had decent vegetarian meals. One of them would do a vege burger at lunch, but despite not vege meals on the menu, wouldn’t make it for dinner…go figure.
The main, maybe the only, tourist attraction in Richmond is the fossil museum known as Kronosaurus Korner. It is actually set up and run by the local council and has a pretty impressive collection of fossils.
The fossil site is about 15 minute drive out of Richmond in a public quarry. You need a permit which is $30 for the week.
This is a drone flyover of much of the site. It is really extensive and you can see that people have been digging all over the place. Spot the plaster encased special bits that have been found.
This is a pretty typical scene. These people had paid to be on a tour. I didn’t do that, watching for 15 minutes and chatting to people was enough to get going. I think the advantage of doing a tour is for people passing through and wanting the experience is that they provide all the tools.
Speaking of which, the basics are a pinch bar or something like that to be able to lever up pieces. A hammer to get the thing under a piece and a brush, the most popular was like you would use with a brush and dust pan, but a big paintbrush was good too.
And there is cool stuff to find, but you can’t keep important things. This is an ichthyosaur found by a 7yo kid.
They get covered in plaster and then manhandled out (this is a stock photo). When I was there there were 2 or 3 pieces waiting to be removed
Here are some photos to finish of the web version.
A fairly intact specimen that is on display in the museum at Kronosaurus Korner
Not a great photo, but it was something “important” that had a “do not touch” sign and was fenced off.
And then I cam home via my gorgeous grandson.
