Mount Morgan Fireclay Caverns project: New tactic to reopen attraction

The caverns have been closed since 2011 and council has been looking at ways to reopen the site, but it is proving to be a lengthy process.

A tour group climb up the stairs within the Mount Morgan Fireclay Caverns when it was open previously.

It has been a long and lengthy process in the road to reopening the Mount Morgan Fireclay Caverns, with the council deciding this week to change tack and step away from acquiring the native title rights.

Rockhampton Region Mayor Tony Williams and the councillors have assured the community they are still dedicated and committed towards reopening the caverns to tourists.

The site has been closed since 2011 due to safety concerns and in 2019 a new risk assessment was commissioned by the council, with the results revealing new options of possible ways to reopen the caverns.

In September 2020, the council began the process to acquire the native title rights and resume the land.

This however has proved to be an extensive process and possibly not the most effective.

Following “positive discussions” with the Gaangalu Nation People and funding availabilities, the council decided to discontinue its application on compulsory acquisition of the native title.

The council will now look at a “more effective process” of working with all parties collaboratively in moving the project forward at an appropriate time.

“Today’s decisions is a clear sign we remain committed to seeing this incredible tourism and historical experience brought back to life but we want to do it the right way and the compulsory acquisition of native title isn’t that way,” Cr Williams said.

“For council to gain access to the land, the State Government required council to purchase the land and convert it to freehold and this triggered the need to compulsory acquire the native title and the compulsory acquisition was never our preferred option.

“The deadline has been approach on whether we would proceed with the acquisition or not and we’ve had to ask ourselves is this the path forward we want to take?

“The answer is no. If we are going to bring this experience back to life, we need to do it together – us, the community, the traditional owners and other levels of government, all working together.

“I firmly believe that we have an obligation to history to see the Mount Morgan Fireclay Caverns reopened for the world to see and for people to walk in the literal footsteps of dinosaurs.

“The historical significance of that site is something that cannot be underestimated... by no means are we stepping away from it.”

Cr Williams thanked the Mount Morgan community for its support, the Gaangalu Nation People for their time and assistance and Councillor Cherie Rutherford for her tireless lobbying for the project.

A timeline for the project is not able to be estimated at this stage.

“This project won’t happen overnight,” Cr Williams said.

FIRECLAY CAVERNS HISTORY

The Fireclay Caverns is not a cave but a mine.

The caverns were excavated between 1886 and 1927 for clay to supply local brick production.

The unique rooftop markings were discovered during the gold rush in 1952, after miners excavated a hill which was once a Jurassic lake.

A surveying crew were having lunch when they noticed 50 oversized emu-like footprints.

Hundreds of the dinosaur imprints were found spread across the cavern ceiling.

The impressions are mostly of three-toed, bipedal dinosaurs, possibly Theropods.

The prints were authenticated by palaeontologists in 1954.