Australia's Fossil Heritage
A Catalogue of Important Australian Fossil Sites
By: The Australian Heritage CouncilA detailed examination of Australia's fossil heritage revealing the richness and diversity of Australia's prehistory.
The National Heritage List was created in January 2004 to recognise, celebrate and protect places of outstanding heritage value to the nation. National heritage encompasses those places that reveal the richness of Australia's extraordinarily diverse natural, historic and Indigenous heritage. One aspect of natural heritage that has been little explored is Australia’s wealth of exceptional fossil sites. While a small number of fossil sites have risen to public prominence, there are many lesser-known sites that have important heritage values. + Full description
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 against a range of categories, with a view to further our understanding about Australia’s important fossil heritage. Sites that were listed for National or World Heritage values were not included in the places for consideration, with the focus being on lesser-known but still important sites. This book is an account of the palaeontologists’ findings. Some of the sites that were included in the initial lists have since been recognised through listing on the National Heritage List or the World Heritage List.
Australia's Fossil Heritage provides a useful reference to the outstanding fossil sites it catalogues, and gives a clearer understanding of the heritage values of such sites. More generally, it contributes to a greater appreciation of Australia’s geological and fossil diversity and enables readers to learn more about Australia's prehistory.
- Short descriptionNews
No longer available in a print edition.
Reviews
"The information and illustrations in this new book will engage the specialist palaeontologist as well as the general interest reader. I recommend it to anyone who has an interest in Australian palaeontology and/or natural heritage."
Mark Warne, Victorian Naturalist, Vol 130 (2), pp. 87, April 2013
"... it’s a key reference, and an accessible story of our past for anyone interested."
Ian Fraser, The Canberra Times, September 2012
Details
ePDF | July 2012ISBN: 9780643101784
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Available from eRetailers
ePUB | July 2012
ISBN: 9780643102309
Publisher: CSIRO Publishing
Available from eRetailers
Features
- Detailed examination of Australia’s fossil heritage revealing the richness and diversity of Australia's prehistory in exciting cameos
- Provides a continent wide comparison of the scientific and heritage values of fossil sites
- First geoheritage catalogue which deals specifically with important fossil sites in Australia
- Covers more than 70 of Australia’s fossil sites
- Includes technical detail but written to appeal to a general audience.
Contents
ForewordAcknowledgements
Introduction
1. New South Wales
2. Northern Territory
3. Queensland
4. South Australia
5. Tasmania
6. Victoria
7. Western Australia
Appendix A: List of sites by type
Appendix B: Geological timeline
Glossary
References and further reading
Index
View the full table of contents.