There’s only one town in Australia furthest from the sea – in EVERY direction!

Surprisingly, to me at least, it’s NOT in Central Australia! Australia’s weird continental shape means the geographic centre is relatively close to the Great Australian Bight to the south, and the Gulf of Carpentaria to the north.

No, the title of furthest from the sea currently belongs Eromanga, a small Western Queensland Outback boulder opal mining town.  Ironically Eromanga was once the site of a vast inland sea – a feature that’s replicated every now and again when the Cooper Basin is in flood …

But the title isn’t all there is to Eromanga!!

Eromanga is also the site of the largest dinosaur fossil remains yet found in OZ, and produces the most oil of any Australian region. Combine this with ‘Opalopolis Park’, a beautifully maintained picnic area right next door to the excellent local museum (get the key from the pub down the road!) showing a well produced video highlighting town and regional attractions and history, and you just might be tempted to stop over in the caravan park for the night.

I’m not sure who actually triangulated the map coordinates to bestow this title on Eromanga, but I’m not about to argue.  Others have – but so far no alternative site has been identified.

Nor is it likely to be without a lot more work and research.  So until the title is bestowed elsewhere, I’m not going to rock the boat.

Not when I get such a thrill out of telling people I’ve been to Australia’s furthest service station from the sea!!

Want MORE?

• Eromanga Map
• Eromanga
• Eromanga Fossil Finds
• Eromanga Boulder opal

Later edit (21/02/2012)

Here’s some additional information and clarification in response to some of the comments below!

1.  Julie queried my claim that Eromanga was the largest oil producing region in Australia.  Certainly, Barrow Island production appears to be greater, but I was convinced I’d seen a claim for Eromanga, so I returned to my source documents where I found the following:
‘Eromanga is the largest oil producing area in mainland Australia …’ (from the ‘Quilpie Shire “simply unique” pamphlet available from the Visitor Information Centre).

So Julie – we’re kind of both right!  But my bad – I left out that vital word ‘mainland’!!

2.  Grey Roamer gave the generally accepted position for Australia’s geographic Centre as Lambert Centre.  While this isn’t in dispute in this post as the town or place furthest from the ocean is not necessarily the geographic centre, the details may be of interest to those who, like me, want to know these things!

The Australian Government Geoscience Australia official website gives a number of interpretations for how to determine the geographic centre.  Interestingly, it also gives an interpretation of how to find the furthest point from the coastline … and it’s NOT Eromanga!!!  But it’s not a definitive science as you’ll see from the website …

Thanx to both for your information, and apologies for any confusion caused by my post!!

The post Signs #19 – Where’s the Ocean? Eromanga, Queensland appeared first on Australia by Red Nomad OZ.

The ancient landscape of OZ, eroded by time, long disappeared sea beds and a harsh climate has given rise to weirdly unique and bizarre creatures. Well … their remains, anyway!

I knew this. But I DIDN’T know the present day Outback fossil fields near northwest Queensland’s Richmond, would engender a creature more fantastic than any of them.

And I was there when the Bermuda Trianglesque alignment of mystical forces during our July 2011 visit to the Richmond fossil fossicking fields coalesced to spawn an almost-alien almost-super heroic life form.

Where else could the trappings of an ordinary life of relative civilization be thrown aside so fecklessly – to transmogrify into the fabled and fearless, frenetic and frightening …

FOSSILHUNTER!!

I blame the ‘Honour Roll’ exhibit.

As we left Richmond’s Kronosaurus Korner, inspired by an array of wondrous fossil finds worthy of removal by study at Harvard University, an exhibit near the exit catalogued some exciting discoveries. We stopped for a closer look. An honour roll of significant fossil finds – unearthed by tourists, many of them children on family holidays, at the nearby fossicking fields!

Yes, the fossil force-field started to stir …

Then again, maybe the blame lies with the ‘dig’.

Armed with our photocopied ‘Fossil-Hunting Guide’, map from the Visitor Information Centre and shovel, we arrived at the fields ready to kick some serious fossil-finder butt. Only to be trumped by a pair of Canadians who’d discovered a rare, almost complete fish skeleton (cick HERE for the story) that even made the news – although incomprehensibly claimed by Queensland’s premier as a great personal triumph. We watched the plaster cast being lifted from the ground for the bumpy trip back to the lab.

The odds of finding fossils are astronomically high on this Toolebuc formation – an ancient limestone sea floor, where almost every rock yields animal remains. We couldn’t miss, right? SURELY we could outdo the Canadians – after all, this was virtually our home turf! And Pilchard’s gemstone fossicking skills, well developed from countless hours on the sapphire and opal fields, were transferrable to the fossil medium, weren’t they??

But the final blame for FOSSILHUNTER lies with junior FOSSILHUNTER.

Part of the ‘dig’, a young lad casually wandered up to one of the staff with something in his hand. ‘What’ve you got there?’ she asked, bending over for a closer look.

‘Fish jaws,’ he replied nonchalantly as she got out her fossil-hunter kit – magnifying glass and preservation liquid.

‘Fish jaws, huh?’ Pilchard snorted, and I could sense his competitive urge rising, along with the hot, green bile of envy.

And right then, right there, FOSSILHUNTER emerged, fully formed and frantic for a frenetic fossil finding frenzy!

The uninformed may well believe FOSSILHUNTER’s foiled attempt to join the fossil-finding elite*** was due to lack of expertise.  I blame lack of equipment – ie only two (map, shovel) of the guide’s 14 suggested field equipment items!  My discovery of a Scenic Public Toilet only partly made up for the disappointment of remaining amongst the millions of Australians who haven’t yet found a major fossil …

But where FOSSILHUNTER failed, many others have succeeded – a list of Queensland fossil hotspots reads like an Outback who’s who! And Richmond, along with Winton and Hughenden, forms the Dinosaur trail – although impressive fossil credentials in other towns (eg Muttaburra, Eromanga, Mt Isa, Isisford and Boulia)  put them on the map for fossil enthusiasts*.

Where else in the world can you see such fine (and in some cases – only) examples of Plesiosaur, Isisfordia duncanii, Richmond pliosaur, Muttaburrasaurus langdoni, Minmi** and more?

Of course transmogrifying into FOSSILHUNTER isn’t a requirement for appreciating Australia’s fossil finds – but Richmond, aka ‘Fossil capital of Australia’, is one of the few places that FOSSILHUNTER and his ilk can actually join the hunt.

Thanx to FOSSILHUNTER’s superior skills (yes, he’s probably reading this …) I’m betting that although we’ve already seen more fossils in Queensland than the average person, we’ll be following the fossil trail to other states!  Bet you can’t wait either …

For now, following the fossil finding failure in the fossicking fields, FOSSILHUNTER is dormant. But who can say when fossil force field fever will once again activate FOSSILHUNTER and trigger the next awakening??

*Click on each town for more information

** Click on each dinosaur for more information

*** No, other than the rock fossil in FOSSILHUNTER’s hand, not one of the exhibits above had ANYTHING to do with either of us … unbelieveable, huh?!

The post Aussie ABC – F is for Fossils! appeared first on Australia by Red Nomad OZ.