One man's passion has become Bathurst's greatest treasure.
| When Warren Somerville was nine years old, he found his first fossil specimen at Borenore near Orange - an event which inspired him to embark on a lifetime of collecting fossils and minerals. Over sixty years later, Warren Somerville's collection of fossils and minerals is one of the most spectacular in the world and has been donated to the people of Australia. The collection includes opalised fossils and Australia's only complete T. Rex skeleton. |
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In 2004, the 1876 public school building became home to the internationally renowned Somerville Collection, the lifetime work of Professor Warren Somerville. Situated in Bathurst, approximately an hour from Katoomba, this unique resource has quite literally been billions of years in the making. The Museum allows visitors to explore the natural history of our planet, traveling through time in our unique fossil and mineral galleries and experiencing the wonder of ancient specimens that have been uncovered from deep within the Earth.
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Th building, designed by George Allen Mansfield, was opened in 1878 as Bathurst Public School. In 1940 the public school was relocated and the building became part of the Bathurst Technical College, which later became a TAFE campus. The Australian Fossil and Mineral Museum was opened in July 2004.
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| Highlights from the mineral collection include crystals from over 100 Australian mine sites, 2000 million year old garnets, as well as diamonds, sapphires, rubies, emeralds and other gems from around the world. Features of the fossil collection include Australia's only complete T.rex skeleton, Australia's largest collection of fossils in amber, fossil dinosaur eggs, some of the oldest fossils of early forms of life, and a large collection of Australia's unique opalised fossils. |
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The Museum - which is open seven days a week, has a temporary exhibition space and a shop that stocks a wide range of fun and educational kits, models, books and games, along with real fossil specimens you can own.
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