Plans are starting to get underway on site at the Age of Fishes Museum with a visit from Cameron Slayter the Australian Museum’s Branch Manager Life and Geosciences to talk about the plans for the building.
“We are here today looking at the size be- ing a potential of 40 metres long to be able to house the whole collection being over 200 fossil slabs,“ said Sharon D’Elboux, Chairperson of the Age of Fishes Museum Board.
The building is planned to be this big to allow the whole collection to be catalogued correctly, be a contributing tourist attraction as well as opening it up to the scientific community.
The process is also currently underway to transfer the ownership of the Canowindra fish fossils over to the Australian Museum.
“We are still working on it. The Museum is committed to keeping the fossils here in Canowindra and we are working with the Museum and Cabonne to promote the facility the best way we can,” said Cameron Slayter, Australian Museum Branch Manager.
Transferring the ownership will allow more funding to be available, a complete catalogue of the fossils, provide more insurance as well as more promotion of the collection.
“We are looking at promoting fossil tourism as a whole and building the importance of the Central West as a major tourism attraction,” said Cameron Slayter.
With the planned building expected to drive fossil tourism there is talk around town of an exciting theory to eventually re- open the fish fossil site.
More funding is needed for further ex-cavation and there are plans of creating a clear slab to allow people to visit the site and look through the ground to see the fossils as they lie. This is all just a theory at the moment with the main focus being on displaying and preserving the already large collection.