Australian Age of Dinosaurs was first visited by Her Excellency Ms Quentin Bryce AC in October 2006 when, as Governor of Queensland, she visited our fossil preparation laboratory on Belmont Station. We were honored to receive such a distinguished guest and a most enjoyable afternoon was spent showing her the Australian Age of Dinosaurs fossil collection and preparation facilities.
In April 2008, we were invited to hold a forum at Queensland's Government House as an awareness-raising event organised by the Regional Area Planning and Development Board. Held on the 18th of April, this event focused on the history and development of Australian Age of Dinosaurs and our plans for a working Australian dinosaur museum in western Queensland. The forum was hosted by Jenni Metcalfe of Econnect Communications and included David Elliott, President of Australian Age of Dinosaurs; Bill Wavish, Executive Chairman of Myer’s; and Scott Hocknull, Curator of Vertebrate Palaeontology at the Queensland Museum. The forum allowed the audience to get a very good understanding of our role and vision for the future and was a great opportunity for us to showcase the beginning of what has become an internationally significant project.
On July 30 2008, following our Foundation Day ceremony and the official unveiling of the Australian Age of Dinosaurs Foundation Stone, our then Patron the Honourable Tim Fischer AC stepped down from his Australian patronages following his appointment to an overseas ambassadorial position. Mr Fischer was a great ambassador for us and we were temporarily at a loss as to who could replace him.
Our immediate choice was Her Excellency and one of our proudest moments was to receive notification from Her Excellency Ms Quentin Bryce AC, Governor General of the Commonwealth of Australia accepting our invitation to become Patron of Australian Age of Dinosaurs.
