Nilpena Ediacara National Park in the Flinders Ranges officially opened on 27 April, with its centrepiece blacksmith shop housing a state-of-the-art 3D animation experience telling the story of one of the world’s most significant fossil sites some 550 million years in the making.

The Nilpena Ediacara National Park visitor centre was designed by Hosking Willis Architects. Image: Jenai Photography

A unique steel installation reflecting the form of the ancient seabed and ripple rocks where the Ediacara fossils were first discovered rises alongside the stone visitor centre 500 kilometres north of Adelaide in the Flinders Ranges.

Visitors can now join pre-booked, guided tours of the world’s most comprehensive record of Ediacara fossils and the first multi-cellular creatures that ate, hunted, moved and sexually reproduced.

It takes in the Ediacara Hills and 60,000-hectares of the former Nilpena Pastoral lease.

An ancient seafloor containing early life­forms, up to half a billion years old, is preserved in fine sandstone grain in the state’s outback.

Alongside it are culturally significant ceremonial sites, middens along creek beds and meeting places of significance to the Adnyamathanha people, as well as a snapshot of the state’s pastoral history, creating another jewel in the Flinders Ranges crown.

Stone buildings, including a shearing shed, shearers’ quarters, and blacksmith’s shop, all now meticulously restored, bring together history and modern-day with an audio-visual experience that recreates the ancient ocean floor.

Hosking Willis Architects worked on restoring the old buildings and creating a visitor centre with its rusted steel pergola echoing the natural colours, textures, and forms of the ancient landscape.

“As you approach through the undulating landscape the structure rises out of the earth and draws visitors to the site, linking the 100-year-old blacksmith’s shop to the 550-million-year-old fossil beds,” Sam Hosking said.

A fossil bed referred to as Alice’s Restaurant Bed, named after the 1960s Arlo Guthrie song that notes it has ‘everything you could ever want’, provides the basis

Working on the fossil beds. Image: Robert Lang

Renowned South Australian geologist Reg Sprigg first discovered the Ediacara Hills 75 years ago, the first time an entire community of soft-bodied creatures had been found in such numbers anywhere in the world.

Almost 40 years later, in the 1980s, south of Sprigg’s original find, pastoralist Ross Fargher made a discovery of Ediacaran fossils on Nilpena Station when a family friend noticed the floor of the Nilpena wool shed featured ripple rocks alike the ancient seabed.

As a custodian and passionate ambassador, Ross has been instrumental in the development of the national park alongside the family pastoral property.

“The opening of the park is a culmination of many years of deliberation and negotiations for the best outcome for the protection of this incredible site of global significance on our Nilpena Cattle Station, demonstrating best preservation of evidence of the earliest forms of animal life on the planet,” he said.

“Nilpena Fossil Field is the key site among a series of sites throughout the Flinders that represent the story of the dawn of animal life.

A fossil from Nilpena. Image: Robert Lang

“While there are other places in the world that have parts of the story, and places also with extraordinary fossils, the Flinders record is reputed as unparalleled and an accessible location for visitation and ongoing research.”

Minister for Climate, Water and Environment Susan Close was at the official opening and said the Nilpena Ediacara National Park is a vital component of the current bid for World Heritage status for areas of the Flinders Ranges.

“To think this area was once a shallow seabed and to think it gave rise to the first evidence of animal life is truly amazing and incredibly special,” she said.

“This is a journey 550 million years in the making, a region that has attracted significant international attention. This is not only a place of amazement but a place of learning.”

Unsurprisingly, Nilpena has gained international attention from researchers, palaeontologists, and conservationists, among them, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Sir David Attenborough.

With the opening of the park, it is expected strong interest will come from school groups and international tourists seeking the opportunity to learn from the unique landscape, which will help boost tourism throughout the region.

The development of Nilpena Ediacara National Park has been made possible through a partnership between the South Australian Government, the Australian Government, and the Flinders Ranges Ediacara Foundation.

National Parks and Wildlife Service executive director Mike Williams said Nilpena added something new and unique to the state’s national parks offerings.

“From day one of this project, NPWS has taken a lead role in ensuring the preservation of the region for all future generations,” he said.

“It will lead to new levels of understanding of the world in which we live, highlighting the importance of our efforts in conservation and environmental care.”

Words: Gabrielle Hall