Dampier Coast - Broome Sandstone Dinosaur Footprints

Statement of Significance

The following statements are drawn from the Australian National Heritage entry for the place prepared in 2011 with additional information published by Salisbury et al (2017).

The Dampier Coast dinosaur tracks have outstanding heritage value to the nation;
• as the best and most extensive evidence of dinosaurs from the western half of the continent, some of which are unknown from body fossils;
• The highest diversity of dinosaur tracks anywhere in the world (21 different types);
• The only definitive evidence of stegosaurs in Australia;
• The first described sauropod tracks in Australia;
• Some of the largest dinosaur tracks in the world;
• Only evidence of dinosaurs from this time period in Australia (approximately 130 million years ago);
• The tracks are linked to the Dreamtime stories of the indigenous people along the Dampier Peninsula coastline, from Bunginygun (Swan Point, Cape Leveque) to Wabana (Cape Bossut, near Bidyadanga/La Grange) which have been retold over many generations.

Physical Description

The Broome Sandstone is exposed discontinuously for over at least 100 km of coastline from Gulbunwilla on Roebuck Bay east of Broome north to Minarriny (Coloumb Point), and possibly as far north as Cape Leveque. At most places where this rock formation has been uncovered, whether by gradual erosion or the pounding of cyclonic seas, dinosaur footprints have been found. At least 21 different types of footprints are recognised, making this the most diverse collections of dinosaurian trace fossils in the world. Over 70 discrete tracksites have been identified, many of which preserve short sections of trackways (sequences of prints recording the movement of one or more animals).

History

Geologists explain the formation of the Kimberley in terms of physical forces which have shaped present landforms over thousands of millions of years: the movement of continental plates; shifts in climate and sea level; and the action of wind, water and ice on rock. Geologists situate change in geological periods, which are defined with reference to global geological and evolutionary developments.
The dinosaur footprints on the Dampier Peninsula are dated to the ‘Mesozoic era’, the age of the dinosaurs approximately 252 million years ago to 66 million years ago. The Mesozoic era is divided into three periods; the Triassic, Jurassic and Creatceous.
From around 200 million years ago, in the early Jurassic period, the Kimberley Plateau once again formed part of a large island landmass, separated from the Northern Australian and Pilbara cratons by an inland sea. During the Cretaceous period, many species of dinosaurs occupied the area. As dinosaurs walked over swampy ground about 130 million years ago, they left tracks, some of which are preserved as fossils in the Broome Sandstone and exposed along the west coast of Dampier Peninsula. Fossilised remains of plants and pollens are found along with the tracks, which allow geologists to estimate their age. Plant remains and depositional features of the sandstone show the range of environments that these dinosaurs inhabited, which included rich lagoonal forests, estuaries, swamps and riverine areas.
Knowledge of the dinosaur tracks by the local indigenous groups saw them included into their stories of the land and its creation, particularly those involving the Emu Man, Marala, who was the Law Giver. One of the first records of non-indigenous knowledge of the tracks was made by journalist and researcher, Daisy Bates is known to have sighted and recorded tracks near Broome while she was working at the Beagle Bay Mission around 1900. Other recordings in the 1930's and 1940's demonstrate that these remote tracks were known by the local residents, one of whom Walter ‘Snowy’ Jones, informed Ludiwg Glauert, Curator of the WA Museum.

From the late 1940's, knowledge and understanding of the dinosaur tracks developed with the first accurate dating of the age of the tracks by Ludwig Glauert using the evidence of plant fossils collected by the Broome family, the Bardwells in the early 20th century.

The tracks have provided inspiration for many artists, including Mary Durack and Russel Drysdale. In the 1950's, the tracks were an opportunity for education and research by naturalists Vincent Serventy and Harry Butler who took indigenous school children to the site.

Research on the various sites continued through the second half of the 20th century by local and international scientists and in 2011, the tracks were included in the National Heritage List for the West Kimberley. The tracks continue to be a rich source of research and analysis for scientists, a link to creation stories for the indigenous people of the Dampier Peninsula and a place of interest for the local community.

Historic Themes

Creation Date

Publish place record online (inHerit):

Last Update

Disclaimer

This information is provided voluntarily as a public service. The information provided is made available in good faith and is derived from sources believed to be reliable and accurate. However, the information is provided solely on the basis that readers will be responsible for making their own assessment of the matters discussed herein and are advised to verify all relevant representations, statements and information.