Does anyone know any good places near Port Stephens in Australia

[Notidanodon]

Hi guys.

I was just wondering if anyone knows any good places near Port Stephens to hunt for fossils thanks.  

[digit]

Can't help you there but I can provide a sliver of useful information. A couple of years ago my wife and I made a trip to Australia for our anniversary. We had learned of a spot near Melbourne (Beaumaris) where you can find (and we did find) small echinoids (Lovenia woodsii). Australia has the Protection of Moveable Cultural Heritage Act 1986 which requires various objects (including) fossils to be verified by a local authority to be adequately represented in public collections before they will approve export of any items. Our little echinoids are very common and are well represented in any collection in Australia that wants them (and could be easily obtained by any that do not yet possess them). It was not too difficult to contact an appropriate authority in Melbourne and secure the proper permission to take these out of the country.

 

As I say, I don't know if there are any fossil hunting locations in the Port Stephens area (up the coast from Sydney). If your research turns up any (or TFF members in the area chime in) you would still need to determine what type of fossil material might be found there. If common fossils are found to be abundant somewhere in the area you are looking at, you could contact a paleontologist at the Australian Museum in Sydney to obtain a letter of permission to legally carry your finds out of the country. That way you'd avoid any unpleasantness going through Customs on your return to England.

 

Cheers.

 

-Ken

[Dan 1000]

G'day!

 

Never been to Port Stephens but have been to the nearby city of Newcastle. The cliffs around Newcastle are known to have shell and plant fossils (Triassic or Permian I believe?). This is the best spot I know of near Port Stephens.

 

Hope this helps,

Dan