A field excursion to the Wellington Caves in outback NSW was part of a step-back-in-time experience for Investigator College Year 11 student William Soper.
As recipient of the latest Flinders University James Moore Memorial Palaeontology Prize, the Victor Harbour high school student enjoyed getting a taste for fossil hunting at the bottom of a 5m pit in the majestic Cathedral Cave, where the fossil record goes back beyond 70,000 years.
“The atmosphere underground in the cave was amazing. The first bone that I identified was a Thylacoleo ankle,” says William, 17, who has a keen interest in fossils
“We were taught how to identify bones and predict what animal they were from.
“This kind of ‘hands-on’ experience was so different from school … and I was able to see how resistant fossils are, refusing to disappear even in some extreme environments.
“They remain hidden, waiting for us to find them. It really solidified my interest in palaeontology which I hope to study in the future.”
Flinders University Professor of Palaeontology Gavin Prideaux says the Wellington Caves site provides one of the most detailed records in Australia of faunal and floral change in one area from before humans arrived, through to the first 20,000 years of human presence in the region.
“This provides us with an opportunity to explore the impacts of climatic changes and human activities on regional plant and animal communities, and is an ideal training ground for budding fossil hunters enrolled in our science and palaeontology courses at Flinders.”
Flinders researcher Dr Diana Fusco, who led the field trip with William and Flinders students and volunteers earlier in the year, has just returned from another long-distance field excursion to central Australia.
She says: “This prize is a don’t-miss opportunity for high school students passionate about palaeontology.
“It offers high school students an incredible hands-on palaeontology experience, working along side some of Australia’s leading experts in this field.”
High school students can apply now to take part in the 2025 field trip. The prize is awarded to a metropolitan and rural high school student each year, with $400 in prize money and their field trip expense covered.
The annual field trip location differs every year, depending on the Flinders Palaeontology Lab’s research schedules. As well as South Australia’s world-famous Naracoorte Caves complex, previous prize winners have helped with field work at the Alcoota fossil beds in central Australia and another megafauna site on the Murray River in NSW.
The James Moore Memorial Palaeontology Prize was established in 2016 in memory of Flinders University palaeontology graduate James Moore from Whyalla who died suddenly in a car accident in 2014 at the age of 24.
Details on how to apply for the 2024 prize – which is open to all high school students until 5pm on Tuesday 17 September – can be found on the Flinders University website here.