This Just In: You Can Explore Australia's Prehistoric History During the First-Ever Queensland Dinosaur Week
From the bones of the biggest animal to ever exist in Australia, to the ancient birds that early Australians relied on for food, Queensland is inviting you to see it all this May.
Australia's human history makes for a dense history book, filled with highs and lows from tens of thousands of years of culture, war and identity recorded in words and stories alike. But what about the history before then? The millions of years that only survive by etchings and impressions in the rock? Australia's prehistoric past is filled with creatures you wouldn't believe, and they're the stars of the show in the first-ever Queensland Dinosaur Week.
Queensland is home to many of Australia's paleontology sites, and a lot of what we know about the giants of the ancient land, seas and skies of our country comes from the dirt and stones of the north. So, to expand on the already-existing National Dinosaur Day, Dinosaur Experiences Australia is inviting Aussies to explore that history in full over the course of a week, Monday, May 4 to Sunday, May 10.
Throughout the week, events will be hosted at museums, science centres and dig sites across the state, welcoming experts from the Australian paleontology community to share their knowledge of Australia's ancient history and its ongoing impact on us today. Choose from events like Dinosaurs After Dark at QLD Museum Kurilpa and seeing Australia's most important fossil finds in person — you can also venture into the outback and see the biggest bones in Australian history or become a volunteer fossil preparator to handle and prepare fossils (under supervision, of course).
If you prefer a more choose-your-own-adventure-style itinerary, you can browse a number of pre-prepared road trip itineraries to visit Queensland's biggest and best fossil sites and most famous discoveries — such as the big seven. These fossils chart Queensland's history from the ancient Eromanga sea to coastal floodplains and ice-age riverlands that giant mammals and birds called home before humans hunted them to extinction.
The legendary finds, scattered everywhere from Mt Isa to Eromanga, are among the largest and most fearsome animals ever to exist in the world, let alone Australia. They include Banjo, the most complete Australovenator (a vicious carnivore) to ever be discovered, Cooper the Australotitan, one of the biggest animals of all time, Krono, the killer king of Australia's Cretaceous-era seas, and the so-called demon ducks, giant flightless birds that lived just before the ice age.
Whether you're planning on attending one of the many events or designing your own prehistoric adventure, Karen Hanna Miller, Executive Officer of Dinosaur Experiences Australia, says you'll see that "Queensland's fossil story is not complete. Every season, new finds reshape our understanding of ancient ecosystems and evolutionary changes. Visitors are not just observing history, they are stepping into a landscape where science is still unfolding."
And as Dr Scott Hocknull, Principal Research Fellow in Applied Palaeontology & Palaeotourism at CQUniversity puts it, "When most Australians think of dinosaurs, they picture Hollywood blockbusters or far-flung fossil fields overseas. But if you want to stand where giants actually walked — or swam — you don't need a passport."
Queensland Dinosaur Week runs from Monday, May 4 to Sunday, May 10. For more information, visit the website.
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