Dinosaurs Discovered in Newstead
Posted on 20 September, 2012 by Connecting Country
A good crowd gathered at Newstead Community Centre on Sunday 9 September to hear palaeontologist Pat Rich from Monash University give a fascinating presentation on Victoria’s ‘polar dinosaurs’.
Pat’s talk described the work that she and her husband Tom have been involved in for many years and the types of dinosaurs that lived in Gondwana, when Victoria’s latitude was 70 degrees south. This was followed by a ‘show-and-tell’ session with some bones. Pat and Tom have been responsible for the discovery of virtually all of the dinosaur fossils in Victoria and they brought along some great examples of their discoveries. Apparently Australia is not a particularly fertile landscape for fossil hunters because of its geological stability and deeply eroded surface, but there are a few locations – Cape Otway and Western Queensland – where dinosaur bones are found. So far, there have been no complete skeletons found in Victoria – only tantalising bits and pieces. These are often matched up to complete skeletons from other parts of the world for identification.
It was interesting to learn that, like Landcare, none of their work would have been possible without the help of volunteers. Tom estimated that at least 50 years worth of volunteer hours have gone into their work. They have also received in-kind support from many organisations, including the use of helicopters, mining equipment and, most creatively, bamboo poles from the Royal Botanic Gardens! No doubt the potential for a company to have a dinosaur named after them (Qantasaurus) helps.
Connecting Country received a Foundation Project Grant for this project, which is part of the Victorian Government’s $12 million Victorian Local Landcare Facilitator Initiative to provide local Landcare support.
What about the ‘Dinosaurs discovered in Newstead’? Or is this one of those sensationalistic headlines more regularly seen in Murdoch press?