Red Banks is a 1,035 ha park located 170 km north of Adelaide
near Burra.
The Conservation Park features a scenic landscape of rugged earth
gorges and native vegetation. The park also provides an important
habitat for birds, reptiles, Short-beaked Echidnas, Southern
Hairy-nosed Wombats, Western Grey and Red Kangaroos and
Euros.
Palaeontologists have called this area one of the richest
mega-fauna sites in Australia. Up until approximately 65,000 years
ago Red Banks was home to Diprotodons, huge marsupials that weighed
between 1 – 2 tonnes, often likened to a giant wombat.
From the day visitor area, take the Landscapes of Change
interpretive walk, which passes deep gorges and permanent
waterholes, and learn what the landscape was like 60,000 years ago
when these large marsupials were alive.
The stunning banks above Stone Chimney and Baldina Creeks give this
area its name, and it is along the banks of these creeks that
marsupial fossils were first discovered in 1889. The SA Museum
visited the area and collected a partial skeleton of Diprotodon
Australis which, at the time, was the most complete specimen known
in South Australia. They also collected the fossilised remains of
the giant 'emu' Genyornis, the marsupial 'lion' Thylacoleo, and the
Tasmanian Devil Sarcophilus. The fossils occur in fine grained
siltstones and mudstones. Bones excavated from below the weathered
surface sediments are well preserved.
The site takes on added significance in that the specimens so
far unearthed have been articulated or very closely associated.
This implies limited transport and rapid burial following death,
and thus there is the potential to place these fossils in both time
and environment. Dating of fossil bearing sediments by the
University of Adelaide suggested ages in the range 40-50 thousand
years.
The sites fall within the span of human occupation of Australia and
are thus of considerable interest to researchers investigating
megafaunal extinctions. Today there are seven known fossil yielding
localities in the region to the east of Burra.
Professor Rod Wells of Flinders University and Rainer Grun of the
Australian National University revisited the Burra sites in 2001.
During their visit they met an amateur naturalist, Mr. Robert
Heading of Mongalata. Mr Heading alerted them to further fossil
localities in the Redbanks area along Baldina Creek. Subsequent
prospecting further downstream revealed many small outcrops of
weathered bone and fragments of the distinctive Diprotodon tooth
enamel leading ultimately to the discovery of articulated skeletal
remains of Diprotodon and a Tasmanian tiger, Thylacinus.
Specimens are difficult to locate and extract. Excavations require
skilled palaeontologists with years of training and extensive
experience. It is illegal to remove fossilised remains from their
resting place. Severe penalties applyto persons who attempt to do
so.
Diprotodon fossils are currently on display at the South Australian
Museum, and at the Burra offices of the Regional Council of Goyder.
As you journey around the Landscapes of Change walking trail,
you will find an information board about three marsupials that once
lived in and around this spectacular area.
To complete this Earthcache, you must answer two simple
questions about each one. E-mail your answers to us through our
Profile page
here
1. The Diprotodon had a large appetite. Up to how many kilograms of
leaves and shrubbery did it eat per day? And, having eaten so much,
how much manure did it produce per year?
2. The Procoptodon was the largest Kangaroo that ever lived. Up to
how much did it weigh, and how far could it reach?
3. The Thylacine has to be the most well known of these three
animals. They died out on mainland Australia due to the
introduction of which animal? How many years ago was this?
Of course, it wouldn't be an Earthcache without asking you to
take a photo of yourself and your GPSr. Rather than seeing lots of
photos of GZ, we would like you to include a photo from your
favourite part of Red Banks Conservation Park. This is a place of
amazing surprises and discoveries. Perhaps you were blown away by
the natural beauty of the waterholes, or stunned by the isolation
up at the lookout. Did you marvel at the colours of the cliffs in
the sunlight, or were you fascinated by the multitude of eroded
channels and gorges?
When walking the trail, please stick to the paths and stay well
away from the cliff edges.
Keep an eye out for the local wildlife; we spotted plenty of birds
and a few Big Reds along the way.
As always in the Australian bush, beware of snakes in the warmer
months.
It is also important to note that while the trail is not a full day
hike, it is not best described as short either. The Department of
Environment and Heritage advises that it may take up to two hours.
Of course, this depends on individual walking speeds, as we
completed the circuit in just over an hour. Whatever your pace, be
sure to take plenty of water, have appropriate footwear, and
remember to protect yourself from the elements.