COOPER COUNTRY 2011 COOPER COUNTRY. Volume IV Gibba, the most complete Cretaceous chelid yet collected in Australia was excavated in 2010.

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1 COOPER COUNTRY 2011 PAGE COOPER COUNTRY Volume IV 2011 Gibba, the most complete Cretaceous chelid yet collected in Australia was excavated in 2010.

2 COOPER COUNTRY 2011 PAGE 2 science and great results. Even in the prep laboratory discoveries were made as a new dinosaur, Sid, emerged from the rockbound fossil bones. Buoyed by these outstanding results, the foundation continues to pursue every opportunity to fund the Eromanga Natural History Museum, a facility that becomes of greater importance and necessity with the passing of each discovery laden year. Message from the OGF Chairman The and the Eromanga Dinosaur Project continues to expand, dare I say it, exponentially. Each year we seem to be able to report new discoveries and developments but 2011 has turned out to be a quite amazing year and the OGF area of operation, both in a geographic and scientific sense, has increased dramatically. Even this newsletter, can t fully capture the enormous steps forward made by the organization in The OGF team has moved from the I Dig Dinos exhibition in Brisbane to the Botanical Gardens presentation in Adelaide, from the amazing fossil plant discoveries at Durham Downs, Eromanga and Quilpie to new sites near Eulo and west of Eromanga. These activities were not planned or expected at the beginning of 2011 but through the quality of our participants and the integrity of the foundation, new discoveries and opportunities continue to present themselves. The OGF group has traveled to Adelaide three times in 2011 to meet with sponsors, Santos and Beach Energy. The federal member, Bruce Scott, has travelled to Plevna to see the project first hand and numerous visits and presentations have been enacted with various government departments. 2011/2012 has seen the employment of a Chief Executive Officer and a Business, Administration Development Manager and a third fossil preparator and these initiatives have seen a major advancement in OGF s capacity to fully facilitate the enlarged area of operation as well as give us every opportunity to finally develop the Natural History Museum. I have every confidence that 2012 will see the continue to explore, discover and build credibility as a genuine scientific institution in South West Queensland. Best wishes Stuart Mackenzie Chairman OGF Amongst this the 2011 dig at the Eromanga dinosaur sites continues to produce new

3 COOPER COUNTRY 2011 PAGE 3 QUEENSLAND MUSEUM I DIG DINOS The Queensland Museum held its second dinosaur festival at South Bank in Brisbane in January this year. The femur from Eromanga dinosaur Zac was once again a special feature of the display along with the bones from Cooper and George which have been on loan on display at QM for many years. The Zac metacarpal was also taken down for the displays. OGF volunteers and fossil preparators worked on the Zac femur and helped man the interpretation desk. Representatives from other regions across Queensland were also part of the I Dig Dinos team, giving everyone a great opportunity to meet. This year the regional organisations were given retail space at the QM shop, although the sales were slow, it provided a great insight into the retailing process. Unfortunately I Dig Dinos was cut short by the Brisbane floods but was rescheduled again for April. The combined January and April programs were once again outstanding successes swelling the numbers through the door for QM considerably. Did You Know.. The Tookoonooka Impact Crater, located in Quilpie and Bulloo shires is a buried 66km crater dated around 125 million years old. Covering areas of Eromanga properties (Mt. Margaret station, Buckaroola and Plevna Downs) the Meteorite landed in an icy shallow Eromanga Sea, potentially causing local extinction and tsunamis. nd largest impact crater, and the 10th largest confirmed in the world, impactoclasts (debris from the impact) cover an area of approximately 375,000 square kilometres. It is possible Tookoonooka was part of a binary impact with the Talundilly event. The impact event is one of very few known recorded ancient tsunami sequences.

4 COOPER COUNTRY 2011 PAGE 4 CULTURAL HERITAGE

5 COOPER COUNTRY 2011 PAGE 5 WANGKAMURRA PEOPLE Malcolm Ebsworth provided the dig team with another fascinating day to look at sites of geological and cultural significance. A cave in the McGregor Range has preserved painting of emus feet. It is unusual to see painting preserved in these areas as most of them have been exposed to the weather or ruined by native and feral animals. Scott Hocknull noted that it may be possible to OSL date these paintings because of the wasps nests built over them. Above: Scott Hocknull and Jo Wilkinson studying the cave paintings. Below: Jo Wilkinson and Malcolm with the stone tool. A beautifully preserved stone tool was also found in the area and shown to Malcolm and his daughter Renee. With their permission this tool was collected along with the appropriate data. Jo Wilkinson glued the pieces together and made a cradle to conserve the stone tool. Thank you Malcolm and Renee for taking us to see these interesting places. What is different about these two images of dried cracking silt? Answer: Their age! The image on the left is an approximately 100 million year old fossilised version of cretaceous silt from when Eromanga dinosaurs trampled the area. On the right is modern day silt lain down after the record floods of 2010.

6 COOPER COUNTRY 2011 PAGE 6 Boonthamurra People Members of the Boonthamurra People met with OGF to discuss the proposed plans for the Eromanga Natural History Museum. Mark Wallace expressed his support of the project. Boonthamurra members surveyed for cultural heritage artefacts the museum site and the surrounding land to be excised for the project. OGF staff and supporters also took the opportunity to walk the site to discuss the plans and its potential. Cultural heritage clearance was granted for the area and appreciation on behalf of OGF to the Boonthamurra people was expressed for their enthusiasm and help with this step. Below: Robyn Mackenzie, Bill Pegler, John Sommerfield, and Boonthamurra representatives.

7 COOPER COUNTRY 2011 PAGE 7 COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT Dr Scott Hocknull talking to visitors at the Plevna Downs field labaoratory

8 COOPER COUNTRY 2011 PAGE 8 Combined, the 2011 excavation, preparation and research expedition was exceptionally successful with the discovery and recovery of major extensions to the preparation of Zac. It was established that the Zac skeleton most likely continues within a newly discovered concretionary band, which suggests there may be the remaining section of the skeleton preserved. Additional excavation will be required before we can determine this. The preliminary floral lists are growing due to the exceptionally well preserved remains. The preservation standard of all of these fossils is of the highest grade and will form the basis for the outcomes of the ARC Linkage project, including the description of the fauna and flora, ichnofossils, stratigraphy and Dr Scott Hocknull OGF Honorary Paleontologist Senior Curator, Geosciences Queensland Museum

9 COOPER COUNTRY 2011 PAGE 9 VISITORS DAY This year the visitors day was held at the wool room at the Plevna Downs shearing shed and the field laboratory. There was not time for visitors to travel down to the dig site. The dig team all pitched in to help with the finishing touches of the set up and provided an exceptional experience for the visitors on the day. Due the large number of people and mixed ages, two tours of the lab were given. Scott Hocknull provided an entertaining and informative interpretation of what was happening in the fossil preparation lab. Two local school groups came out and visitors came from as far away as the Gold Coast. Approximately 100 people turned up although our limit was about 50! The wool room at the shearing shed provided a large safe place to set up the SWQ natural history time line exhibition. With the backdrop of the very large Santos frieze and the help of the dig team this exhibition came together very well. A Dino theatre was set up in the smoko room to view the 2009 Eromanga Dinosaur Dig video and provided quiet activities for the children. Complimentary lunch was provided and catered by Malcolm, Liz and Renee. Limited merchandise was available for purchase. Scott Hocknull finished the day with a short presentation about the Eromanga dinosaurs and the new discoveries being made. Visitors as far away as the Gold coast for the day and Channel Seven team took footage for a National News segment. 2006

10 COOPER COUNTRY 2011 PAGE 10 Kids News and Views Left: Principle Eromanga State School Mr Brims with students showing off their beautifully painted titanosaur at the Eromanga Christmas Tree. Left: Channel 7 crew with Quilpie State College Students at the 2011 Eromanga Dinosaur Project Visitors Day Left and Above Left: All the children enjoyed comparing sizes at the Dinosaur Project Visitors Day! You can watch the Search for Dinosaurs Channel Seven news video by typing the following link into your browser. watch/333aeb0b_6261_3c8c_8e76_d502ecbdfcd0/s/ If you are viewing this newsletter online simply click on the link. You can also see the story featured on Queensland Weekender by following the following link: gsec2cqw/story.asp?weekid=853&storyid=3991

11 COOPER COUNTRY 2011 PAGE 11 SCIENCE & ART

12 COOPER COUNTRY 2011 PAGE 12 OGF PhD student and Brisbane based artist, AK (Anita) Milroy was 2011 Artist in Residence for the Eromanga dinosaur dig. Anita first became involved with the Eromanga Dinosaur Project when she volunteered at the annual dig in Anita was so impressed with the dig and OGF that she has now joined the ranks of our most enthusiastic supporters. Anita has a studio gallery in the leafy Brisbane suburb of Samford and the artwork produced reflects a diverse array of content, technical skill and presentation. AK Milroy will exhibit works inspired from the 2011 dinosaur dig at an exhibition at her Greenvale Gallery in Please check the website for details Local Quilpie Artist, Leah Cameron was the 2010 Dig Artist. Leah entered one of her artworks of the 2010 dig into the Quilpie Show Art section. The exceptional piece of work depicting the dig team working at Zac site on the articulated dinosaur skeleton and the surrounding stunning outback scenery, won first prize at the show. The painting shown at left is another recreation by Leah of the 2010 Zac dig. Leah has very generously donated the artwork to be raffled at the upcoming AK Milroy exhibition to be held at Mt. Cootha in December All monies raised will support the work of OGF. THANK YOU LEAH FOR YOUR V E R Y G E N E R O U S CONTRIBUTION! Artists in Residence: "A unique opportunity for artists to interpret the beauty and timelessness of our natural and ancient world"

13 COOPER COUNTRY 2011 PAGE 13 TRAINING new STUDENTS, LOCALS and OVERSEAS VISITORS in the Lab Opportunities to be able to work with QM technicians and OGF technicians became available during the 2011 Eromanga dinosaur project field trip and when it could be resourced throughout the year. This provided valuable training for people who have an interest in the development of the Eromanga Natural History Museum. UPSKILLING OGF STAFF Left: QM Senior Technician, Jo Wilkinson, explains new jacketing products to OGF Fossil Preparator Robyn Mackenzie and Cindy Mackenzie at the QM Geosciences laboratory. R i g h t : O G F f o s s i l preparator, Jo Pegler, turns her skills to working with bone in rock.

14 COOPER COUNTRY 2011 PAGE 14 The gratefully acknowledges the generous support of all out sponsors and volunteers. If you are interested in becoming a part of this amazing adventure into history, please contact us to discuss sponsorship opportunities. Please direct all enquiries to info@ogf.org.au