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Catalogue Number: 25/411
This painting tells the story of Alcoota Fossil Site as a place where ancient life and today's Country meet. It shows a landscape near my community that holds the remains of megafauna, the giant animals that lived here around 8 million years ago. One of these animals was Baru, a huge crocodile‑like creature that once moved through this land. In the painting, its powerful shape reminds us of a time long before people walked here.
The fossils at Alcoota stayed hidden for a very long time. In the 1950s, a local Aboriginal man found a large bone and wanted to know which animal it belonged to. That moment helped scientists realise how important this area was. Since then, many more bones have been discovered, but most of them are still buried under the ground, protected by the earth.
The painting shows how the land itself is a keeper of stories. Every layer of soil holds memories of ancient animals, changing climates, and the long history of this Country. For the people living here today, Alcoota is not just a fossil site—it is a place where old and new knowledge come together, reminding us that the land remembers everything.