Australia's fossil heritage : a catalogue of important Australian fossil sites

201 Pages·2012·21.766 MB·English

by  Australian Heritage Council

The National Heritage List was created in January 2004 to recognise, celebrate and protect places of outstanding heritage A AustrAliA’s
value to the nation. National heritage encompasses those places that reveal the richness of Australia’s extraordinarily u
diverse natural, historic and Indigenous heritage. One aspect of natural heritage that has been little explored is Australia’s s
wealth of exceptional fossil sites. While a small number of fossil sites have risen to public prominence, there are many tr Fossil Heritage
lesser-known sites that have important heritage values. a
l
i
a
The Australian Heritage Council engaged palaeontologists from state museums and the Northern Territory Museum
’
and Art Gallery to compile lists of outstanding fossil sites and to document their characteristics and relative importance s
against a range of categories, with a view to further our understanding about Australia’s important fossil heritage. Sites F
that were listed for National or World Heritage values were not included in the places for consideration, with the focus o
A Catalogue of Important Australian Fossil Sites
being on lesser-known but still important sites. This book is an account of the palaeontologists’ findings. Some of the sites s
s
that were included in the initial lists have since been recognised through listing on the National Heritage List or the
i
l
World Heritage List.
H
e
Australia’s Fossil Heritage provides a useful reference to the outstanding fossil sites it catalogues, and gives a clearer
r
understanding of the heritage values of such sites. More generally, it contributes to a greater appreciation of Australia’s i
t
geological and fossil diversity and enables readers to learn more about Australia’s prehistory. a
g
About the author e
The Australian Heritage Council is the Australian Government’s independent expert advisory body on heritage matters.
The Council plays a key role in assessment, advice and policy formulation and support of major heritage programs.
T
h
e

A
u
s
t
r
a
l
i
a
n

H
e
r
i
t
a
g
e

C
o
u
n
c
i
l
The Australian Heritage Council
Australia's_Fossil_Heritage_Cover_FA.indd 1 26/04/12 10:35 AM
AustrAliA’s
Fossil Heritage

AustrAliA’s
Fossil Heritage
A Catalogue of Important Australian Fossil Sites
The Australian Heritage Council
© Commonwealth of Australia 2012 Plant fossil sites: Raymond J. Carpenter and
Robert S. Hill
All rights reserved. Except under the conditions
described in the Australian Copyright Act 1968 and Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water,
Population and Communities: Kate O’Callaghan, Leah
subsequent amendments, no part of this publication
Schwartz, Rachel Sanderson, Stephanie Russo, Tessa
may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or
Bird, Ruth Donovan, Robyne Leven, Tania Laity and
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic,
Kirsty Douglas
mechanical, photocopying, recording, duplicating
or otherwise, without the prior permission of the Editors: Alex Cook, John Magee, Karen Roberts, Kirsty
copyright owner. Contact CSIRO PUBLISHING for all Douglas, Kate O’Callaghan and Rachel Sanderson
permission requests. All images are © Australian Government Department
of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and
National Library of Australia Cataloguing-in-
Communities, Canberra or used with permission.
Publication entry
Cover image: Peter Schouten. Images in this catalogue
Australian Heritage Council.
by acclaimed palaeoartist Peter Schouten are inspired
Australia’s fossil heritage : a catalogue of important by Henry Thomas de la Beche’s Duria Antiquior or a
Australian fossil sites / by the Australian more ancient Dorset (1830), an early and very famous
Heritage Council. dioramic representation of ancient life, a Jurassic scene
based on fossils found on the Dorset coast. De la Beche’s
9780643101777 (pbk.)
images helped to establish a tradition of pictorial
9780643101784 (epdf)
representation of scenes from the deep past ably
9780643102309 (epub)
realised by Schouten in his series of evocative dioramas.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Set in Adobe Century Schoolbook 9/12 and
Paleontology – Australia Century Gothic
Fossils – Australia. Edited by Elaine Cochrane
Natural history – Australia. Cover and text design by Andrew Weatherill
Cultural property – Protection – Australia Typeset by Andrew Weatherill
Index by Russell Brooks
560.450994
Printed in China by 1010 Printing International Ltd
Published by
CSIRO PUBLISHING CSIRO PUBLISHING publishes and distributes
150 Oxford Street (PO Box 1139) scientific, technical and health science books,
Collingwood VIC 3066 magazines and journals from Australia to a worldwide
Australia audience and conducts these activities autonomously
from the research activities of the Commonwealth
Telephone: [phone]
Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation
Local call: 1300 788 000 (Australia only)
(CSIRO). The views expressed in this publication are
Fax: [phone]
those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent
Email: [email protected]
those of, and should not be attributed to, the publisher
Web site: www.publish.csiro.au
or CSIRO.
Contributors
Original print edition:
New South Wales: Yong-Yi Zhen
The paper this book is printed on is in accordance
Northern Territory: Peter Murray and Dirk Megirian with the rules of the Forest Stewardship Council®. The
Queensland: Alex Cook, Robyne Leven FSC® promotes environmentally responsible, socially
(Lark Quarry entry) beneficial and economically viable management of the
world’s forests.
South Australia: Dennis Rice with Jim Gehling,
Liz Reed (Naracoorte entry)
Tasmania: Clive Calver, Max Banks, Patrick Bender,
Jim Jago, Greg Jordan, Patrick Quilty, Andrew Rozefelds
Victoria: John Long, Tom Rich, David Holloway,
Erich Fitzgerald
Western Australia: Mikael Siversson
Foreword
The Australian Heritage Council was formed in 2004 as preserved in the fossil record. In 2004, the International
an independent expert body to advise the Minister for Union of Geological Sciences ratified the Ediacaran
the Environment on the listing, protection, promotion Period, the first new geological period in 120 years, and
and management of heritage places. the only one named for a southern hemisphere site. The
As Chair of the Australian Heritage Council I Ediacara fossil site in South Australia was added to the
have the privilege of overseeing Australia’s most National Heritage List in 2007.
prestigious heritage list, the National Heritage List. The Yea flora fossil site in Victoria [the Silurian
The National Heritage List captures critical moments Baragwanathia site] is an example of how a seemingly
in our development as a nation. It reflects the lives insignificant fossil site can reveal an important national
and times of many exceptional Australians; it also tells story. Although first discovered in 1875, the significance
the stories of those places that reveal the richness of of the Yea flora fossils was not realised until 60 years
Australia’s extraordinarily diverse natural heritage. later, when they were studied by pioneering botanist
The National Heritage List was established to list Dr Isabel Cookson in 1935. Dr Cookson identified the
places of outstanding heritage significance to Australia remains as ancient vascular land plants, about 415
and includes natural, historic and Indigenous places. million years old and the oldest of their kind in the
I am honoured to introduce the publication of this world. Her findings were internationally significant as
inventory of Australia’s fossil heritage, which will make they suggested that not only did complex land plants
a valuable addition to our understanding of Australia’s develop much earlier than previously thought, but that
natural heritage. they also first evolved in the southern hemisphere. The
Australia has a wealth of fossil sites that includes Yea flora fossil site was added to the National Heritage
some of the oldest fossils in the world. The information List in 2007.
we learn from fossil sites helps us to piece together a One of the ways the Council determines outstanding
national story about how Australia’s plants, animals significance is to compare and contrast sites with
and environments have transformed over many millions similar attributes in order to show which select few
of years. Australia’s fossil history contributes to an sites best illustrate an understanding of the evolution
understanding of past and present biodiversity and of our flora and fauna. This book lists a relatively large
situates Australian biota and ecosystems in a global number of sites. Some of the most outstanding sites
perspective. are already included in the National Heritage List,
This book makes a valuable contribution to and some more may be included in the future. I hope
cataloguing many of our most important fossil sites, and that this publication will serve as a useful resource for
serves as a useful resource to draw from in determining students and scientists to understand our important
those fossil sites that are of outstanding significance fossil heritage, and more broadly increase our
to Australia. What do I mean by ‘outstanding’? I understanding and appreciation of Australia’s National
mean sites that have fundamentally shifted our Heritage List.
understanding of the development of Australia’s flora
and fauna, or sites that illustrate incredible diversity
of species, or act as a catalogue of different species over
a great length of time, or sites that house exquisitely
preserved specimens. Professor Carmen Lawrence
For example, the Ediacara fossil sites in South Chair, Australian Heritage Council
Australia record the first discovery of the fossilised
remains of an entire community of soft-bodied creatures
in such abundance anywhere in the world. Before their
discoverer Reg Sprigg unearthed and interpreted the
sites in 1946, scientists believed that only organisms
with hard parts, such as shells or skeletons, could be
preserved in the fossil record. As the oldest known
evidence for complex multicellular organisms, these
sites in the Ediacara Hills gave scientists a new
understanding of the evolution of life on Earth, as well
as a better understanding of how soft tissue can be
v
Contents
Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v
Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi
1. New South Wales ................................................................. 1
Fennel Bay (Kurrur-Kurran) fossil forest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
lake George . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
lightning ridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Belmont insect beds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Canowindra fossil fish site . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Cuddie springs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
taemas–Cavan–Wee Jasper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Cliefden Caves – Belubula river Valley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
talbragar fossil beds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Wellington Caves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
2. Northern Territory ................................................................ 19
Alcoota vertebrate fossil beds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Bauhinia Downs flora, Balbarini . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Bitter Springs Formation, Ross River Homestead . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Bullock Creek vertebrate fossil site . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Ellery Creek Cambrian–Ordovician trace fossil locality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Cape Van Diemen flora . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Ellery Creek section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Mt skinner fauna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Mt Watt and Mt Charlotte . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
3. Queensland .................................................................... 31
Walsh river and Elizabeth Creek . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Fletcherview – Big Bend ‘leichhardt Cliffs’ Devonian reef complex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Mount Morgan Jurassic dinosaur footprint site . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Rewan, The Crater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Black Mountain Cambrian–Ordovician Boundary section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Chinchilla Rifle Range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Chatsworth limestone echinoderm and trilobite localities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
redbank Plains Formation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Mount Crosby triassic insect locality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Jack Hills Gorge and Fish Hill, Broken River Province . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
riversleigh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
Homevale station . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Dinmore Quarry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
lark Quarry Dinosaur stampede National Monument (Winton Formation) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) Winton Formation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
4. South Australia .................................................................. 51
Ediacara sites, Nilpena, Flinders Ranges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Emu Bay (Cape d’Estaing to Big Gully), Kangaroo Island . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
Myponga Beach, Fleurieu Peninsula . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Ajax Mine archaeocyathid locality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Stuart, Poole and Nelly Creek fossil plant sites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Moon Plain Cretaceous fossil site, Coober Pedy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
vi
Lake Palankarinna, Lake Eyre and Tirari Desert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Green Waterhole Cave . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Lake Frome Basin, Namba Formation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
lake Ngapakaldi leaf locality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
lake Callabonna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Naracoorte Caves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
5. Tasmania ....................................................................... 71
Christmas Hills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Darwin Meteorite Crater . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Ordovician faunal succession of the Florentine Valley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
Fossil Cliffs, Maria Island . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Early Oligocene macroflora sites of north-western Tasmania . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
lune river Jurassic plant site . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Eastern shore of Macquarie Harbour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
The Shoreline near Point Hibbs, Western Tasmania . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Table Cape – Fossil Bluff, Wynyard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Triassic vertebrate faunas, Knocklofty Formation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
6. Victoria ........................................................................ 89
Mt Howitt fish fossil site . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Genoa river Devonian tetrapod site . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Otway and strzelecki ranges . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Hines Quarry Diprotodon site, Bacchus Marsh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Grange Burn Pliocene mammal site, Hamilton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Victorian Ordovician graptolite province . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Silurian Baragwanathia site, Yea . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
torquay Oligocene whale and invertebrate site . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
Hamilton Miocene–Pliocene invertebrate sites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Early Cretaceous (Aptian) Koonwarra site . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Middle Eocene Anglesea site, Eastern View Formation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
latrobe Valley coal measures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109
7. Western Australia ............................................................... 111
Devonian ‘Great Barrier Reef’ and Gogo fish fossil site, Fitzroy Crossing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Devil’s Lair, Cape Leeuwin–Cape Naturaliste region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Tumblagooda Sandstone, Kalbarri and Murchison River Gorge trace fossils . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
West Dale, Darling Plateau . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Roe Calcarenite invertebrate fauna, Roe Plains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Callytharra Formation, Callytharra Springs (Permian invertebrates and foraminifera) . . . . . . . 121
Broome Sandstone dinosaur trackways and macroflora, Broome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Miria Marl, Giralia Anticline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Warrawoona Group (North Pole and Strelley Pool sites), Proterozoic early life fauna . . . . . . . 123
Cundlego Formation Permian invertebrate fauna, Gascoyne Junction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Appendix A: list of sites by type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Appendix B: Geological timeline . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129
references and further reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
vii
This page intentionally left blank
Acknowledgements
This catalogue is compiled from reports by a number Musser; Steve Bourne; the Centre for Learning
of contributors from each state and the Northern Innovation, New South Wales Department of Education
Territory. Thankyou to Yong-Yi Zhen (New South and Training; Gavin Dally and the Museum and Art
Wales/ACT chapter), Peter Murray and Dirk Megirian Gallery of the Northern Territory; the Museum Board of
(Northern Territory chapter), Alex Cook (Queensland South Australia; Catherine Rogers; John A. Long; and
chapter), Dennis Rice, Jim Gehling (with Liz Reed, who Museum Victoria.
contributed the Naracoorte entry) (South Australia A particular thanks to all of the academic and
chapter), Clive Calver, Max Banks, Patrick Bender, amateur palaeontologists and fossil hunters whose
Jim Jago, Greg Jordan, Patrick Quilty and Andrew vocation and enthusiasm has led to the uncovering of
Rozefelds (Tasmania chapter), John Long, Tom Rich, Australia’s rich fossil heritage.
David Holloway, Erich Fitzgerald (Victoria chapter),
and Mikael Siversson (Western Australia chapter),
and to Raymond J. Carpenter and Robert S. Hill whose
reports on significant plant fossil sites were used
throughout this publication. The state and territory
museums were particularly helpful in providing the
assistance and expertise of their palaeontologists, which
was critical to the success of this project.
Thankyou to Alex Cook, Kirsty Douglas, John
Magee, Karen Roberts, Kate O’Callaghan and Rachel
Sanderson who played a vital role in transforming a
series of diverse reports from numerous authors into
a single manuscript. John Magee also prepared the
glossary.
Publication of this book has been made possible by
the financial support and personnel provided by the
Australian Government Department of Sustainability,
Environment, Population, Water and the Arts. Jane
Ambrose, Terry Bailey, Tessa Bird, Jennifer Carter,
Ruth Donovan, Kirsty Douglas, Kate O’Callaghan,
Stephanie Russo, Rachel Sanderson and Leah
Schwartz provided expertise and management that
enabled the initial reports to be commissioned and
subsequently transformed into a book. Tania Laity
provided invaluable creative and technical assistance
with locality maps. The project was first envisaged by
Cameron Slatyer, and Robyne Leven’s excellent work on
the Lark Quarry National Heritage assessment in 2004
underpins that entry.
Peter Schouten, whose artworks feature throughout
the publication, created beautiful paintings that bring
to life the stories told in the pages of this book. Peter
understood the need to create paintings that would
invoke the imagination of the audience, drawing them
into the stories and places of our past.
The following individuals and organisations are
gratefully acknowledged for granting permission to
reproduce images, as well as for providing images: The
National Library of Australia; Australian Museum;
Richard Barwick and The Age of Fishes Museum;
Sarine Locke and ABC Rural; Gavin Young; Anne
ix