Engawala and the Alcoota Mega Fauna
Engawala lies next door to Alcoota Station which has a long history breeding cattle. Alcoota is also famous for being home to the Alcoota fossil beds. Millions of years ago during the Miocene epoch the land teemed with giant half tonne flightless birds and giant wombat like creatures – the mega fauna.
The secrets of the 8 million year old fossil beds have gradually been uncovered over the years after an Aboriginal stockman, Etarilkaka, grandfather of Engawala artist Bronwyn Payne, stumbled across a very unusual bone. It was the first evidence of the existence of a wide range of mega fauna which lived in the region millions of years ago. Scientists Alan Newsome and Keith Rochow collected more specimens and took them to Adelaide where a visiting Californian palaeontologist, Ruben Stirton was visiting. He set off to Alcoota to examine the site which is where the latest chapter of the mega fauna story begins. So far thousands of bones from 33 species from the time have been dug out of the beds on the site. These include a wide range of creatures including giant emu like birds, plant eating tapir-like marsupials and giant wombat like animals. Even flamingos used to live in the area!
The history of the fossil beds and what has been found there can be experienced at Mega Fauna Central in Alice Springs, part of the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory. Each year a field expedition goes out to the fossil beds where paying volunteers assist with uncovering more valuable material. The mystery of the fossil beds continues including a giant claw, the origin of which is yet to be identified.
At the Engawala Art Centre many of the artists, including Bronwyn, use mega fauna as subjects in their paintings and other artworks. A common image the artists use is that of dromornis stirtoni an ostrich like bird with a massive bill. A representation of it can be seen on the floor of the Art Centre, painted by local artists.
As Art Centre Manager Janine Tilmouth explains “We paint those paintings of the megafauna because it’s right in our backyard. It’s part of our life here. It’s just here and I think that’s amazing because they are extinct. I think it’s our job to tell everyone what we have here”.
For a great description of the area and its story look up a story on the ABC at https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-08-08/light-flightless-bird-skeleton-alcoota-fossil-beds/104177008
