In 1968, when Dr Alex Ritchie, a palaeontologist specialising in the study of ancient fossil fishes, left Britain to take up the post of Curator of Palaeontology in the Australian Museum in Sydney he knew that the Australian Museum already held a spectacular undescribed local fossil find – a large sandstone slab covered with more than 100 well-preserved fish fossil specimens on its surface.

This unique fossil slab was discovered in 1955 to the west of Canowindra by an observant road worker who pushed it clear of the road and saved it.

It was later reported to the Australian Museum whose staff visited the site in early 1956, recovered the slab and moved it to Sydney for study.

“When I arrived at the Museum this stunning fossil fish slab was on display, but behind plate glass. I couldn’t access it for a long time but I recognised that it came from a spectacular new fossil site.”

“I first visited Canowindra in 1973 with my predecessor, Harold Fletcher, who recovered the original fish slab and showed me where he had found it. Intrigued, I spent the next 20 years, visiting Canowindra occasionally with colleagues, trying to identify the exact rock layer it had come from.

“Most Canowindra locals know the rest of the story, but for those who don’t, it is worth relating how, with community support we located and excavated what Sir David Attenborough has described as “one of the most unique fossil sites of its kind in the world”.

“In the early 1990’s a local Councillor got me the support of a 20 tonne excavator and driver from Cabonne Shire Council in Molong for a three day exploratory dig in mid January 1993. We struck it rich almost immediately, located the fossil fish layer within three hours and traced it for 20 metres, from the edge of the road to the fence.

“After the fossil fish layer had been positively identified Cabonne Council generously agreed to provide the services of the same machine and its skilful driver, Fred Fewing, for a major 10 day dig in July 1993, giving us ample time to organise massive community support from local businesses and school groups.

 “In 10 days of hectic digging we uncovered the fossil layer and removed some 200 rock slabs weighing about 80 tonnes. All of their under-surfaces were covered with beautifully preserved impressions of about 4000 individual fishes, large and small.  

“These slabs were cleaned up, on site, by teams of local high school and catholic school students and the most important specimens are on public display in the Age of Fishes Museum,” he said.

This is where Dr Ritchie gets frustrated. 

“For the past 20 plus years most of these fossil fish slabs have been stacked up on old wooden pallets, six high and inaccessible at Canowindra Showground, where the lights have failed and our aged forklift used to move the slabs for inspection died many years ago,” he says. 

“I’m horrified that these world class fossils are stored in dreadful conditions and we haven’t even been able to check on their condition for about 15 years!

“Our first priority was to build the first stage of the current Age of Fishes Museum to display the most spectacular and scientifically important fossil discoveries from our Canowindra site, and this has proved an undoubted educational and tourist success.

“However our longer-term plan, when funding is available, has always been to extend the Age of Fishes Museum on its northern side with two more display sections to present the well-documented fossil history of the evolution of fishes through geological time as follows:

“Stage B) Devonian Fishes of Australia –  to be illustrated with original fossil fish specimens from other NSW sites (eg. Cowra, Forbes, Grenfell, Cobar, Wilcannia etc,), from sites in Victoria (Mt Howitt) and from the Kimberleys, Western Australia and other Australian Devonian sites.

“Stage C) Evolution of Fishes through Geological Time –  to be illustrated with original fossil fish specimens from sites around the world ranging in age from 500 million years ago to the present. 

“Many of the fossil fish specimens required to illustrate both of these displays are already available in the Australian Museum’s collection. 

“I know this because I collected many of them from sites around Australia (New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Northern Territory and West Australia), and similar specimens may be available from other museums in Australia. 

“My colleagues and I were naturally delighted when Cabonne Shire Council obtained sufficient public funding to remove our ‘surplus’ Devonian fossil fish slabs from their current inadequate storage conditions at Canowindra Showground to rehouse them in a new storage facility on site adjacent to the Age of Fishes Museum.

“We only became concerned when Canowindra News (Wednesday, May 23) reported that construction had already started on this storage facility at the Age of Fishes Museum  - and included a picture showing all of the ground north of the present museum cleared for this work.

“Our original fossil storage area had been planned to go into the North West corner of the museum block, but well clear of the Age of Fishes Museum itself. 

“It was planned as a boomerang shaped building, elevated above flood level, with enough storage for the existing slabs as well as for any additional ones dug up from the original fossil site in the future.

“Ideally, such a fossil storage facility should also include a forklift and sufficient space to remove massive fossil fish slabs from steel shelving on to low work-tables for researchers and students to work on them. 

“It should also have a fume exhaust area for researchers working with latex or resins and a sink, a toilet and shower facilities, all standard laboratory facilities.

“Perhaps all this is already planned. However, since none of us who have been looking after the Canowindra fossils for the past 20-30 years, including the Australian Museum, have ever been consulted on, or even shown, Cabonne Council’s plans, or its detailed proposals for this storage facility, we are naturally somewhat concerned.

“Our primary concern now is that if Cabonne’s Council’s proposed fossil storage facility is built immediately north of the existing Age of Fishes Museum building this will unfortunately make it impossible to build stages B and C illustrating the fascinating world-wide story of ‘The Age of Fishes’- which would be a tragedy!

“The real secret of ‘The Canowindra Story’ does not lie in a country town museum 10-12 km away from where these remarkable fossils were dug up. Most of Canowindra’s real treasures still lie buried and inaccessible at the original site on Fossil Fish Drive. 

“Don’t take my word for this – it was also the opinion of Sir David Attenborough when I took him there in 2014.

“Canowindra’s unique, world-class fossil site will only make sense after it is reopened, enclosed and roofed and to allow visitors to experience the unique thrill of gazing down on thousands of long-dead fishes lying just where they died 370 million years ago!

“Canowindra’s actual fossil site and the Age of Fishes Museum will together provide the Central West of NSW with a unique double tourist attraction – please don’t blow this opportunity.”