Tasmania Pliocene Amber?

[NZ_Fossil_Collecta]

I've heard there is Pliocene amber in Tasmania, Australia but I do not know specifically where it is collected or what te rules are surrounding collection And taking it out of the country as I'm visiting my grandfather there in 2 weeks and we might probably go get some amber if its near enough.

[tooth_claw]

Maybe best to contact the Tasmanian Museum to ask about legalities of collection and be prepared to declare your finds at customs on the way home.

Try this link as well, it has some helpful info and contacts.http://lapidaryworld.com/pdf/locations_tasmania.pdf

Have Fun!

[NZ_Fossil_Collecta]

i have just asked the museum of tasmania and are waiting for them to get back to me

[painshill]

A little piece of advice about some confusing terminology. In the world of amber, the term “resinite” is often used to refer to semi-fossilised plant resins… that is young ambers. In the world of opals, the same term is used to describe quartz (silex) in a highly hydrated form with mud/clay impurities… that is, a semi-opal. It’s common in Australia and there are sizeable deposits on Flinders Island to the NE of Tasmania as well as on the island itself. In addition to the shared name, the semi-opal is a dull translucent brown and looks quite like amber.

I’ve seen mentions of white amber believed to be around 2 million years old (which would strictly speaking make it Pleistocene rather than Pliocene and closer to resinite than amber) but no specific locations given.

The main area for amber referenced for Tasmania is in the vicinity southwest of Strahan where the thinly-bedded mudstone contains lots of plant material, including amber and detrital resinite. It’s early Eocene but overlain by conglomerate sandstone of Plio-Pleistocene age which may also be resinite-bearing. The estuary at Strahan and also Regatta Point have been referenced as promising areas.

Further north, Rebecca Creek has also been mentioned as a source of Eocene material.

Small pieces of amber can also be found on most of Tasmania’s beaches but it’s of indeterminate origin and age. Some is from the island itself and some has undoubdtedly been carried from further afield, including – it has been suggested – from Stradbroke Island near Brisbane.