Lasting relic for Kawhia finders of giant penguin fossil

Thursday, 18 January 2018

Longtime Hamilton Junior Naturalist Club mentors accepted the replica of the fossil on Thursday. From left are Mike Safey, Tony Lorimer, Chris Templer and Dave Matthews.

It was finders keepers for some fossil-hunting kids at Kawhia back in 2006.

And what a find - the remains of a giant penguin worth a cool couple of million.

The replica is a lasting reminder for current junior naturalists of the hidden treasures to be found outdoors. Manon Cano,13, checks out the replica of the penguin fossil.

But they did the right thing - the Hamilton Junior Naturalist Club (they call themselves the Junats) gave it to the Waikato Museum.

And in return, on Thursday, the Friends of the Waikato Museum gave the club a life-size 3D-printed model made by Massey University palaeontologist Daniel Thomas.

The real giant penguin fossil is now owned by the Waikato Museum.

* Penguin fossil calls Waikato Museum home**

When the club spotted something poking out of the ground at Kawhia Harbour all those years ago, they thought it was an old boat anchor, maybe a rusty propeller.

But it was an almost-complete ancient remains of a giant penguin.

The fossilised remains were hailed as one of the most significant fossil findings for the country.

Junats mentor Dave Matthews said while he doesn't believe fossils can be owned, the club's most prized treasure was always better studied and protected in the museum.

The penguin - much larger than modern-day Emperor penguins - probably lived during the Oligocene epoch between 27 and 34 million years ago. It stood around 1.5m tall and weighed about 100kg.

When the fossil was found, Chris Templer, another mentor to the club, was the first to realise it was a penguin.

It was left for three weeks while the Junats figured out whether extracting it was legal.

'It was just on the perimeter of a scenic reserve,' Templer said.

But it was buried in rock between high and low tide so, technically, it was 'finders keepers'.

He was impressed with the replica.

'I think they have done an absolutely fantastic job.'

Studying the fossil will teach researchers a lot about the era, Matthews said.

'There was no way we could store it here because of its worth.

'It would get stolen and end up overseas.'

The Junats were once offered over $2 million by an overseas collector.

But there was no way such a treasure could leave New Zealand soil, Matthews said.

'[Waikato Museum] wanted ownership of it … We said only if you give us a model that's representative of it. So that's what has happened.'

'In our mind, this fossil belongs in this Kawhia area.

'The replica brings it back closer to its home.'