[meteorite-list] New Meteorites Discovered in Australia

From: Ron Baalke <baalke_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Jul 13 12:06:45 2006
Message-ID: <200607131547.IAA24211_at_zagami.jpl.nasa.gov>

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=113944

Qld grazier discovers rare meteorites
ninemsn (Australia)
July 13, 2006

A Queensland grazier who discovered Australia's largest dinosaur remains
has struck it big again.

After searching for two years, David Elliott has discovered two rare
meteorites weighing almost 30kg on his sheep and cattle property near
Winton in central western Queensland.

Mr Elliott, 49, is already famous in the district for discovering the
remains of a mammoth sauropod about 95 million years old on his property
in 1999.

The dinosaur was imaginatively dubbed "Elliot".

The grazier has some more big news after unearthing stony meteorites
that Queensland Museum's Dr Alex Cook said provided "important clues in
understanding the origin of the solar system and even our own planet".

Mr Elliott began his search after Winton residents reported lights in
the sky in March 2004.

He marked where locals said they saw meteorites on a map with "kebab
sticks and wires" in a bid to pinpoint where it landed, however, that
still left him a 20,200 hectare area to search.

In the end, a dream gave him his best indication of the largest
meteorite's location.

"The night it fell I had a really profound dream (of where it landed),
it was so vivid," Mr Elliott said.

"It was only 500 metres away from the area I had dreamt the bloody thing
was."

Mr Elliott eventually found its blackened remains while mustering sheep
on his 18,00 hectare property on May 27.

"It was the most exciting moment of my life I reckon. It was out in the
middle of nowhere so I dug a hole and marked the spot with a rifle
sticking up in the air," he said.

It continued his happy knack of finding the extraordinary on his
property - which has proved a museum curator's dream.

"I've always kept my eyes open. It's not knowing what you are looking
for, it's knowing what you are not looking for - that's the secret," he
said.

The largest meteorite will be displayed at Winton's Waltzing Matilda
Centre until mid-September and will eventually be housed at an
Australian Age of Dinosaurs (AAD) Museum of Natural History planned for
the town.

The second, smaller piece found nearby a week later will be sold through
the Queensland Museum to raise funds for the preparation of dinosaur
bones and the AAD museum.

He hopes to earn more than $100,000 from the meteorite which goes on
sale in two months.

"We've got some of the most exciting dinosaur bones in Australia in a
shed and they desperately need to be prepared - there are dinosaur
remains unknown to science," he said.

Mr Elliott founded the AAD which is helping the Queensland Museum
excavate four dinosaur sites in the Winton district with another 14 digs
planned for his property alone.

Mr Elliott believed the latest dinosaur remains on his property
discovered on Boxing Day may turn out to be bigger than "Elliot".

The Queensland Museum will test the smaller samples before they are sold.
Received on Thu 13 Jul 2006 11:47:30 AM PDT