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Ancient rocks forge new ties

14 June 2006

Two exhibitions curated by the Monash University Science Centre are travelling overseas as part of a unique celebration of 30 years of diplomatic ties between Australia and Japan.

Science Centre exhibitions manager Dr Corrie Williams (right) and technician Mrs Lesley Kool pack one of some 350 fossils headed to Japan for exhibitions as part of the 2006 Australia-Japan Year of Exchange.

Before the Dinosaurs -- the First Animals on Earth and Land of Koalas will be exhibited in Japan next month for the 2006 Australia-Japan Year of Exchange -- a cultural sharing program to mark the anniversary of the 1976 signing of the Basic Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation between the two countries.

Over the past weeks, more than 350 specimens have been arriving at the Science Centre from Monash's School of Geosciences and from collections in Russia, Namibia, Canada and Greenland -- many of which were excavated as part of an international UN project based at the School of Geosciences.

At the Science Centre, exhibitions manager Dr Corrie Williams and technician Mrs Lesley Kool have meticulously sorted, photographed, catalogued and packed each item in large crates destined for Japan.

Some of the materials being packed for The First Animals show are from the Precambrian eon and between 3.4 billion and 550 million years old. The exhibition took Professor Patricia Vickers-Rich, from the School of Geosciences, more than three years to coordinate. As well as containing the oldest rocks on earth, it also features art work and a quilt depicting these first animals -- the Ediacaeans, for which Australia is famous.

Specimens for Land of Koalas, which documents Australia's past and present flora and fauna, were prepared in conjunction with Launceston's Queen Victoria Museum and Art Gallery. The gallery also provided the contemporary marsupial exhibits.

Qantas is flying the 13 crates of exhibits to Japan free of charge.

Dr Williams said specimens originated from around Australia and the world. "We have to make sure that absolutely everything is packed and identified," she said. "Then we have to make sure they come back in good condition, and then we can return them to their home institutions."

The 2006 Australia-Japan Year of Exchange is being administered by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Australia and the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.