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The famous Virgin Rainbow Black Opal is for sale here!
Australian Museum National Opal Collection
Unique and precious partnership attracts profits and tourists
A story that began 110 million years ago with the death of a toothsome, long-headed marine reptile has flourished into a unique partnership between the public and private sectors, returning $330,000 to the Australian Museum’s research coffers in just over three years while raising the tourist profile of its associated organisations.
The National Opal Collection – a joint initiative between the Australian Museum and Cody Opal – was established in 2000. Starring 'Eric', the opalised pliosaur (an extinct marine reptile), the collection is Australia’s largest and most comprehensive public display of opalised fossils
 "Both Andrew Cody, a Director of Cody Opal, and I share a passion for Australian opal fossils that shed light on our unique and ancient past. I am extremely pleased that after just three years this initiative is flourishing and has already provided $330,000 to support continued scientific research at the Australian Museum," said the Director of the Australian Museum, Professor Mike Archer (pictured, left, receiving the cheque from Cody Director, Damien Cody). "It has, for example, enabled the Australian Museum to purchase other rare minerals and fossils unrepresented in its collection.
"This unique partnership between the public and priv ate sectors has developed further to produce a recent exciting new foray into the Japanese tourist market between the Australian Museum, Cody Opal and the Royal Botanic Gardens (RBG).
"Through this tourism initiative, which has included six presentations at the Museum in the last year to Japanese tour operators, Cody, the RBG and the Australian Museum are broadening the Sydney experience for visitors from overseas. We are also looking at expanding the experience by providing a unique educational opportunity for Japanese schools.
"Already up to 30,000 Japanese students have indicated interest in participating in these kinds of tours, the highlights of which are the chance to get up close and personal with the famous Eric as well as the Museum’s Thylacine project and Sydney’s bats in the Gardens.
Eric was discovered at Coober Pedy in South Australia by an opal miner in 1987. The 1.5-metre specimen is an almost complete 110 million-year-old skeleton replaced by opal over eons of time and consists of the skull, fragment of lower jaw, some teeth, most of the backbone, parts of the shoulders and pelvis and most of the flippers. Belonging to the genus Leptocleidus, Eric probably represents a new species. Pliosaurs are believed to have led similar lives to today’s seals — preferring shallow waters and estuar ies and feeding mainly on fish. The bones of a small fish (nicknamed 'Wanda') were found in Eric’s stomach.
In 1993 there were rumours that Eric –a nick-name coined by palaeontologist Paul Willis (who prepared the specimen) after the Monty Python 'Eric the half-bee' sketch – was to be sold overseas. To keep Eric in Australia, the ABC-TV science program Quantum and the Australian Museum led by Dr Alex Ritchie called for public donations.
Thirty-thousand generous people, and a kind addition from Akubra later, and Eric became the property of the Australian Museum and the featured star of the National Opal Collection with the Australian Museum benefiting from the partnership’s financial return.
"Having Eric on display at the National Opal Collection means that those generous people – who donated funds for his purchase have the opportunity to visit the specimen for free ," said Professor Archer.
The National Opal Collection features opalised relics of animals and plants that existed on the Australian continent more than 100 million years ago, with many of the fossils exhibited within life-like dioramas depicting the ancient environment around Lightning Ridge Working with Cody, the Australian Museum has positioned some of its finest opalised fossils in the superb exhibition space it co-designed on the Pitt Street Mall in Sydney. Most of these were not previously on display for the public because of the limited space within the Australian Museum’s College Street building.
The Pitt Street site also features a shop for the commercial sale of opals. In exchange for its participation, the Museum receives a guaranteed annual financial return based on the shop’s commercial return.
The National Opal Collection is open 7 days a week at 176 Pitt Street Mall, Sydney, Australia. Entry is free.
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Famous Opals