The Age of Fishes Museum is one of only two fish fossil museums in the world and is a National Heritage site due to its international scientific significance. Located in Canowindra, New South Wales,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, it was established in 1998. The Museum was designed by Australian architect,

John Andrews John Andrews may refer to: Sports * John Andrews (baseball) (born 1949), American baseball pitcher * John Andrews (cyclist) (1934–2000), British cyclist * John Andrews (footballer, born 1950), English footballer * John Andrews (footballer, bo ...

. The museum houses a huge collection of

Devonian The Devonian ( ) is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic era, spanning 60.3 million years from the end of the Silurian, million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Carboniferous, Mya. It is named after Devon, England, whe ...

fish fossils found at the

Mandagery Sandstone The Mandagery Sandstone is a Late Devonian geological formation in New South Wales, Australia. It is one of several famed Australian lagerstätten, with thousands of exceptional fish fossils found at a site near the town of Canowindra. A sand ...

in the Canowindra area. In 1955, roadworks near Canowindra uncovered a large rock slab covered with unusual impressions, which was then placed to the side of the road whilst roadworks continued. A local

apiarist A beekeeper is a person who keeps honey bees. Beekeepers are also called honey farmers, apiarists, or less commonly, apiculturists (both from the Latin '' apis'', bee; cf. apiary). The term beekeeper refers to a person who keeps honey bees i ...

later found this slab and, believing it to contain fossils, contacted the Australian Museum about it. In 1993 paleontologist Dr Alex Ritchie led a dig at the site of the initial fossil discovery. That dig led to the removal of 70 tonnes of rock slab and revealed over 3,000 fish fossils from the Devonian period. The dig site has led to several new discoveries and tells the story of events that occurred over 360 million years ago. In 2018 the museum was awarded a gold medal in the Specialised Tourism Services category at the Country and Outback Regional Tourism Awards

References

External links

Age of Fishes Museum
Official website
Multimedia Introduction
- Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Fossils in Canowindra, NSW
- Australian Museum

- Royal Society of NSW article on Dr Alex Ritchie {{authority control Museums in New South Wales Natural history museums in Australia Museums established in 1998 Fossil museums Paleontology in New South Wales 1998 establishments in Australia

See also

References

External links