Fabulous fossils on display at Tweed Regional Museum

14 February 2020

Geological George shares his ancient collection

Tweed Regional Museum’s newest temporary exhibition, Fabulous Fossils, brings a special collection of dinosaur parts, ancient shark teeth and marine fossils, as part of the museum’s Collector’s Cabinet series.

Local geologist George Casper and his family travel the world in search of some the most unusual fossils ever dug from the earth.

In 2006 George found a vertebra from the giant dinosaur Spinosaurus in Southern Victoria. The discovery changed our understanding of the order in which continents separated and the vertebra was sent to be studied to the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in the United States.

George had been working in the mining industry in Kalgoorlie in Western Australia but with the impending arrival of their baby, Tristan, the family decided to swap red dirt for beautiful Murwillumbah.

What started as a hobby selling crystals and fossils at markets turned into a prosperous local business, Geological George.

“I have always had an interest in natural history and I discovered my passion for geology through palaeontology,” George said.

“I used to collect the teeth of fossil sharks and sell them at markets 20-odd years ago.”

This is the first time George and his family have had their collection exhibited publicly.

Curator Erika Taylor said there were very few fossils to be found in the Tweed and none were included in this Collector’s Cabinet display.

“We are lucky to have such fabulous collectors in the local community. This is a very special opportunity to see a brilliant collection of fossils from around the world, without having to travel to a capital city,” she said.

The display of fossils complements the Museum’s new permanent exhibition Land | Life | Culture, which explores the Tweeds geological, ecological and cultural history.

Fabulous Fossils is on exhibition at Tweed Regional Museum Murwillumbah until 5 May 2020. For more information visit museum.tweed.nsw.gov.au

Tweed Regional Museum is located at 2 Queensland Road, Murwillumbah and is open Tuesday to Saturday 10am-4pm (NSW).

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Caption: Local geologist George Casper and son Tristan check out Fabulous Fossils at Tweed Regional Museum Murwillumbah

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Caption: Fabulous Fossils is on exhibition at Tweed Regional Museum Murwillumbah until 5 May 2020