Phosphate mine entrance

This photo was taken on a visit to Wellington Caves in NSW. The phosphate mine dates back to 1914, with 6000 tons of phosphate mined during its four years of operation (1914 to 1918).
Before it was a mine, it was a cave, and home to vast colonies of bats that left behind tonnes of droppings, or guano, rich in phosphates.
In the mine, there are fossils and bones which date back as far as 300,000 years.
This is one of the most significant fossil sites in the world.
The Bone Cave is one of the world's most significant fossil sites containing - the skeletal remains of marsupial lions, diprotodon (The diprotodon was herbivorous and its teeth were well adapted for grazing. It roamed the area during the Pleistocene period. (Some say similar to a very large wombat - there is a replica statue on-site - near the information centre)), giant kangaroos and huge seven-metre-long carnivorous goannas. The walls are embedded with thousands of bone fragments and fossils.


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