Over April’s past long weekend, Dr Jane De Keyser and her seven-year-old daughter went for an adventure to Richmond for a fossicking trip in the outback.
To Dr Jane De Keyser’s delight and disbelief, the pair unearthed two outstanding discoveries dating back to over 100 million years ago and earning them a rightful place in geological history.
“On Easter Sunday, we made a spectacular “Easter Egg” find of one double and one single fossilised pear!” explained Dr Jane De Keyser.
One of the rarest and most fascinating geological occurrences, fossilised pearls form when natural pearls are submerged in sediment and undergo mineralisation over millions of years and have only been discovered in select locations across Australia.
In the past, Richmond, Winton and Lightning Ridge in New South Wales have yielded opalised pearls and fossilised pearl-like structures, however, there has apparently only been one singular fossilised pearl discovery nationwide.
Within the matter of 20 minutes, the pair had made history, attracting museum curators, a paleontologist and a reporter to the self-proclaimed fossil capital of Queensland.
“Richmond is very rich in fossils of dinosaur related species, and I explained to my daughter that what we found was rarer than the actual dinosaur bones,” said Dr Jane De Keyser.
Richmond sits on what was once the Eromanga Sea (around 100 million years ago) and has since become one of Australia’s most renown sites, yielding exceptionally well-preserved fossils including dolphin-like marine reptiles, fish and other oceanic creatures.
In the township’s marine fossil museum, Kronosaurus Korner, visitors can see some of the most amazing discoveries unearthed in Richmond for themselves, and soon, the finds of Dr Jane De Keyser and her daughter will join the remarkable showcase.
Both of the pearls were donated to the museum for verification and public display, and Dr Jane De Keyser and her daughter are rightfully beyond chuffed with their impressive discoveries.
“Needless to say, I want to go back out there!”
Dr Jane De Keyser and her daughter made the discoveries of a lifetime on April's Easter Sunday (Photo Supplied)
The pair unearthed a double and single fossilised pearl in the Richmond outback (Photo Supplied)
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