Signs of early life in the Flinders Ranges

Posted 29 February, 2024 John Pedler

While a trip to the Middle East offers a fascinating insight into ancient civilisations, a visit to Nilpena Ediacara National Park reveals life on Earth half a billion years ago.

Located in the Ediacara Hills on the edge of the Flinders Ranges, this is South Australia’s newest national park, opening to the public in April 2023.

Back before dinosaurs, the Pangea supercontinent, and even re-runs of Friends, the Flinders Ranges were covered by a shallow sea. Conditions were just right for an explosion of life, and the marine creatures that inhabited the region left their imprint in the rocks that later formed the ranges.

Geologist Reg Sprigg, the founder of Arkaroola Wilderness Sanctuary, discovered fossils in the Ediacara Hills in 1946. In recognition of his work, South Australia’s fossil emblem, Spriggina, was named in his honour.

In 1986, an abundance of fossils were discovered nearby on Nilpena Pastoral Station. A section of Nilpena was acquired by the State Government and combined with the exist­ing Edi­acara Con­ser­va­tion Park to form Nilpena Ediacara National Park.

This fossil find was so significant, it eventually led to a new period being added to the geological time scale in 2004. The Ediacaran Period represents the emergence of complex, mobile animals. Of course, it was a few more years before Earth’s residents were choosing bathroom tile colours, but it was still a big step.

The site was included on the Australian Nation­al Her­itage List in 2007, and featured strongly in the State Government’s 2021 bid for the Flinders Ranges to be UNESCO World Heritage listed. The ranges are currently on UNESCO’s Tentative List.

The US space agency NASA supports scientists conducting research at the site, while naturalist Sir David Attenborough visited the national park for his series, First Life.

Getting there

Nilpena Ediacara National Park is 509km north of Adelaide, via Horrocks Highway, R.M. Williams Way, and Route B83 north of Hawker.

The park can only be visited on an organised tour. Tours depart from the park entrance gate, which is 1km from Route B83 on an unsealed road, 25km north of Parachilna.

What’s there?

The heritage blacksmith shop, wool­shed and shear­ers’ quarters, which were part of Nilpena Pastoral Station, have become the visitor centre.

The discovery of the Ediacaran fossil bonanza began when a friend of Nilpena landowner, Ross Fargher, noticed sea-bed like ripples in the rock sheets used for the woolshed’s flooring.

The blacksmith shop houses Alice’s Restau­rant Bed, a highlight of a park visit. Taking its name from an Arlo Guthrie song, the fossil bed contains a diverse variety of specimens unearthed by palaeon­tolo­gist Dr Mary Droser.

This window into a distant past is enhanced by an impressive audio-visual display projected onto the fossil bed, showing a depiction of ocean life an eon ago.

Tours can be booked through the National Park website.

Tours conducted by the Prairie Hotel take travellers beyond the visitor centre to the fossil fields among the rocky hills.

Nuts and bolts

• The visitor centre has toilets but no other facilities.
• Nilpena Ediacara National Park is closed from 1 Decem­ber to 15 March each year.
• There’s no accommodation or camping in the national park.
• RAA members save on Flinders Ranges accommodation.