Bass Coast Post
  • Home
    • Recent articles
  • News
    • Point of view
    • View from the chamber
  • Writers
    • Anne Davie
    • Anne Heath Mennell
    • Bob Middleton
    • Carolyn Landon
    • Catherine Watson
    • Christine Grayden
    • Dick Wettenhall
    • Ed Thexton
    • Etsuko Yasunaga
    • Frank Coldebella
    • Gayle Marien
    • Geoff Ellis
    • Gill Heal
    • Harry Freeman
    • Ian Burns
    • Joan Woods
    • John Coldebella
    • Julie Paterson
    • Julie Statkus
    • Kit Sleeman
    • Laura Brearley >
      • Coastal Connections
    • Lauren Burns
    • Liane Arno
    • Linda Cuttriss
    • Linda Gordon
    • Lisa Schonberg
    • Liz Low
    • Marian Quigley
    • Mark Robertson
    • Mary Whelan
    • Meryl Brown Tobin
    • Michael Whelan
    • Mikhaela Barlow
    • Miriam Strickland
    • Natasha Williams-Novak
    • Neil Daly
    • Patsy Hunt
    • Pauline Wilkinson
    • Richard Kemp
    • Sally McNiece
    • Terri Allen
    • Tim Shannon
  • Features
    • Features 2024
    • Features 2023
    • Features 2022
    • Features 2021
    • Features 2020
    • Features 2019
    • Features 2018
    • Features 2017
    • Features 2016
    • Features 2015
    • Features 2014
    • Features 2013
    • Features 2012
  • Arts
  • Local history
  • Environment
  • Nature notes
    • Nature notes
  • A cook's journal
  • Community
    • Diary
    • Courses
    • Groups
    • Stories
  • Contact us

On the trail of the dinosaurs

12/8/2021

2 Comments

 
Picture
Bass Coast reimagined: when polar dinosaurs roamed this coast.
By Catherine Watson
 
“HERO” dinosaurs, a Gondwana garden, virtual reality fossil hunts, light shows and sculptures are part of the vision for the proposed Bass Coast Dinosaurs Trail.
 
A draft master plan released for community comment last week proposes that four dinosaurs and a huge polar amphibian will be used to differentiate six crucial sites at San Remo, Kilcunda, Wonthaggi, Eagles Nest, The Caves and Inverloch. Each stop on the trail would have a different theme and character, exemplified by its own dinosaur.

The plan was developed for the council by Melbourne consultants Hassell, in partnership with Parks Victoria, the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, the Bunurong Land Council, the Science and Research Expertise Committee and local tourism bodies and community organisations.
It documents the overall vision, design framework, site planning, design narrative for each location and supporting strategies for the trail.
 
Hassell also produced the draft masterplan for the proposed Yallock-Bulluk Coast Trail, which  was released two months ago. That plan was criticised by local environmental and community groups for its lack of local knowledge, and potential to harm environmentally sensitive areas along the coast.
 
Now the council is seeking community feedback on the dinosaur trail master plan to ensure it’s on the right track.

Bass Coast Mayor Brett Tessari said the trail aimed to amplify the region’s heritage and elevate it as an exciting visitor experience.

“For more than 40 years, researchers, scientists and hundreds of volunteers have uncovered and researched polar dinosaurs along the Bass Coast. Their work makes the region one of the most significant places in Australia and the world for the discovery of dinosaur fossils.”
Dinosaurs Trail drop-in sessions
  • Online: Wednesday, 18 August, from 7-8pm. Email [email protected] to register
  • Inverloch* (Rainbow Park car park): Saturday 21 August – 9-11am
  • Kilcunda* (foreshore car park): Saturday, 21 August – noon-2pm
  • Wonthaggi* (76 McBride Avenue): Sunday, 22 August – 9-11am
  • San Remo* (Lions Park, Back Beach Road): Sunday, 22 August – noon-2pm
* Sessions subject to change, depending on COVID-19 restrictions in place at the scheduled times.
Cr Tessari said community feedback was an essential component for the development of the Bass Coast Dinosaurs Trail.

The council is providing a host of opportunities for feedback, including online and drop in sessions, as well as an online survey.

The Masterplan, as well as a link to the survey, can be found at  basscoast.vic.gov.au/dinotrail. Hard copies of the Masterplan are also available to inspect at the council’s customer service centres in Wonthaggi, Cowes, Grantville and Inverloch. ​
THE DINOSAUR EXPERIENCE
Picture
Inverloch: Science, art and imagination
The Wyeth-McNamara Park site immerses visitors in scientific enquiry and discovery. Highly sensory and participatory, the installations invite visitors to investigate, inquire, experiment, uncover, ponder, wonder and imagine.
Hero dinosaur: the Ankylosaur, a heavy-bodied quadruped about 3m long and weighing up to 1.5 tons. Despite their size they are herbivores.

Picture
Eagles Nest: Fossil fragments
Visitors are invited to walk across an extensive virtual fossil field where they can identify a diversity of tracks, footprints, bone fragments, jaws, teeth, leaves and feathers. A virtual reality experience illustrates how the Eagles Nest site may have looked during the time of the polar dinosaurs, framing key views east and west.
Hero dinosaur: Carnosaur. a large Therapod, a speedy carnivore 6m long and weighing 350kgs, described as the cheetah of Cretaceous Australia.
 
Wonthaggi: Past polar insights
Dramatic, large-scale sculptural and landscape installation that visually demonstrates the link between coal and dinosaurs. It immerses visitors in the past polar environment, including the plants and animals that lived alongside the dinosaurs. Includes sound and light installations, art and a Gondwana garden.

Picture
The Caves: Passion and perseverance
Personal stories about those who discovered the polar dinosaur, from William Ferguson’s discovery of Australia’s first dinosaur fossil in 1903, to the local Dinosaur Dreamers of today. Digital platforms and QR codes bring the discoveries to life.
Hero dinosaur: Qantassaurus interpidus a small herbivorous dinosaur about the size of a kangaroo. Discovered by Nicole Everard and described by Patricia Vickers-Rich and Tom Rich at Inverloch, Victoria in 1994.

Picture
Kilcunda: Forces of Nature and Time
Expansive, elevated views and the exposed nature of the site are the perfect setting to prompt visitors to consider deep time, the evolutionary links between dinosaurs and birds, and our role as custodians of the Earth. Artworks should harness the wind to represent the forces of nature and time that are at play around us.
Hero dinosaur: Serendipaceratops arthurcclarkei a herbivore up to two metres and 350kgs, discovered by Mike Cleeland, near Kilcunda, in 1993.

Picture
San Remo: Distinct and diverse
The playground lends itself to an expansive and playful, installation that visually showcases the diversity of polar wildlife and what they could have looked like, connecting to the community and tourism.
Hero amphibian: Koolasuchus cleelandi a large amphibian carnivore 4.5m long and 500kg, discovered by Leslie Kool and Mike Cleeland near San Remo in 1990. ​

2 Comments
Patricia Vickers Rich
16/8/2021 05:54:47 pm

Please change the name of Serendipaceratops for the big carnivore at Eagles nest. Serendipaceratops as you mentioned in another place - Kilcunda - was small herbivore. Also please note that it was not us (Tom and Pat Rich that discovered the Serendipaceratops). It was Mike Cleeland. Also Qantassaurus was discovered not by us (Tom and Pat Rich) but by Nicole Everard. Tom and Pat described this material, but did not find it.

Reply
Catherine Watson, Editor
17/8/2021 06:34:59 pm

Sorry Patricia. A chapter of errors there. I've rectified them in the story. My mistake with the name but the other mistakes are in the report.

Reply



Leave a Reply.