If you’re looking to experience something unique in Australia’s outback, think ... dinosaurs! Outback Queensland is now established as the home of Australia’s dinosaurs, with most of the country’s fossil finds occurring in or around the central Queensland districts of Winton, Richmond and Hughenden, creating what’s popularly called Australia’s Dinosaur Trail.
Australian Age of Dinosaurs is a relative newcomer to the Dinosaur Trail, although it was actually started almost a decade ago by local sheep farmers David and Judy Elliott after David discovered a dinosaur fossil on their property. The discovery caused a media sensation at the time for ‘Elliot’ was Australia’s largest dinosaur. Elliot was a sauropod, one of the largest animals to ever walk the Earth. Inspired by this, David and Judy marshalled a volunteer army and set up regular dinosaur digs and fossil preparation facilities on their farm. These early endeavours have blossomed into the Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum of Natural History.
The Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum is essentially a working research facility that’s open to the public. Visitors can take a guided tour hosted by a qualified fossil preparator. The open-door science policy means that anyone can become directly involved with the project. So if you’d like to experience the thrill of working with real dinosaur bones, all of which are new to science and each a national treasure, you can book in to help out in the fossil preparation laboratory by simply calling (07) 4657 0078. You’ll learn to clear away the rock from dinosaur bones that haven’t seen the light of day in 100 million years! Although the preparation lab is the largest and most active in the Southern Hemisphere, you will need to book ahead as there’s room for only a dozen preparators at a time.
“It’s a zen-like experience preparing dinosaur bones and you have a great sense of achievement at the end,” said David Elliott. “We have many regulars who come back year after year for days or even weeks at a time to help us work on the fossils. It feels like one big extended family in the lab.”
Australian Age of Dinosaurs has been so successful that it now holds the world’s largest collection of Australian dinosaur fossils. In July 2009 they announced three new huge dinosaur species in an international science journal. The new dinosaurs included Australia’s most complete carnivorous dinosaur, Australovenator wintonensis, nicknamed Banjo, and two new gigantic sauropods, doubling the number of Australian sauropod species known to science.
Visitors to the museum can see original bones of the meat-eating Banjo and plant-eating giant sauropod Matilda (Diamantinasaurus matildae) at the museum.
Tours include interpreted history of the Winton dinosaur discoveries and digs, staff and volunteers working on real dinosaur bones, the dinosaur fossil collection and interpretation of the geology of the Winton district.
The Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum is located on top of a giant mesa called The Jump-Up. The turnoff is 13km from Winton on the road to Longreach and clearly signposted. It’s a spectacular site, with lookout views, canyons, giant boulders and abundant wildlife.
Stage 2, due for completion next year, will incorporate a beautiful building perched on the edge of a cliff – a magnificent place to view the collection, soak in the landscape and relax over coffee and a bite to eat.
Australian Age of Dinosaurs
Winton, Queensland
Phone (07) 4657 0078
Visit Australia's largest fossil preparation facility, home to the world's largest collection of Australian dinosaur fossils. Find us on a mesa plateau with spectacular lookout views; turnoff is just 13km from Winton on the road to Longreach
Guided tours daily - 9.00am, 11.00am, 1.00pm, 3.00pm
Website: australianageofdinosaurs.com
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