The Triassic insects of Denmark Hill, Ipswich, Southeast Queensland: the creation, use and dispersal of a collection

Abstract

Type and additional fossil insects from the Late Triassic Denmark Hill locality in Southeast Queensland, Australia, are held in the collections of the Queensland Museum (Brisbane), the Australian Museum (Sydney) and the Natural History Museum of the United Kingdom (London). The history of these collections shows that they were the product of a concerted effort in the first two decades of the twentieth century to extract the fossils by Benjamin Dunstan, Queensland’s Chief Government Geologist, and to describe the fossils by Dunstan and Robin Tillyard, the foremost Australian entomologist of the time. They collaborated closely to document the late Triassic insects of Australia, at the same time as Dunstan carefully curated and organised both the official government collection of these insects for the Geological Survey of Queensland, and his own private collection. The death of the two men in the 1930s led to the sale by his widow of Dunstan’s private fossil collection (including type and type counterpart specimens) to the British Museum, and the donation of Tillyard’s by his widow to the same institution, in addition to some material that went to the Australian Museum. This paper documents the locations of all of the published specimens. The history of the Denmark Hill fossils (a site no longer accessible for collection) highlights the problems for researchers of the dispersal of holdings such as these, and in particular the separation of the part and counterpart of the same insect fossils. It also raises ethical questions arising from the ownership and disposal of private holdings of important fossil material collected in an official capacity.

The Dunstan Deals: How Some Geological Treasures Left Australia

“…As described in Spencer's analysis, each stone at the British Museum is numbered T1, T2, etc., in white paint. This is consistent with Dunstan's pedantic curatorial practice, as seen in his collection of fossil insect specimens kept in small boxes numbered in white paint in the same style (Rix, 2021). Dunstan apparently regarded these Tenham stones as his to curate and care for, although the presence of four un-numbered stones sent later to London by Ada Dunstan is anomalous, if they are indeed part of the Tenham shower.…”

“…The fossil collection included additional counterparts (including type counterparts) of the Triassic fish fossils collected by Dunstan at St Peter's, others of which he had donated to the Museum when they bought the amphibian in 1927. Over 1000 Upper Triassic insect fossils from Queensland (including types and type-counterparts) were likewise part of the deal (Rix, 2021).…”

Coal, Bees and Fossils: The History and Significance of the Redbank Plains Formation Fossil Sites, South East Queensland

“…The enduring scientific value of this fossil site will depend on its status as a conservation reserve being maintained and managed into the future. The strong heritage focus of the Ipswich City Council potentially provides a basis for recognition of geoheritage, as the Council already manages several conservation parks, including Denmark Hill, internationally renowned as a Triassic fossil site for over a century (Rix, 2021). In the meantime, the Redbank Plains fossil site continues to be investigated and its significance promoted.…”