Cranbourne meteorite

The Cranbourne meteorite is an

Of the 13 fragments that have so far been found, the largest mass, the Bruce Meteorite (Cranbourne 1), was found on the land of a cattle grazier by the name of McKay.

Both Cranbourne 1 and 2 were first recognized as meteoric in 1860 when the Melbourne Town Clerk, Edmund Gerald FitzGibbon, an amateur geologist, visited the sites of both the Bruce and Abel fragments. Then in 1861, renowned German meteorologist Georg von Neumayer and some other scientists visited the sites and performed scientific experiments on them, thus confirming their meteoric origin.^[2]

Cranbourne 1, the Bruce Meteorite, was purchased by a neighbour of McKay, on whose land it had fallen, named James Bruce. Bruce wished to donate it to the

Cranbourne 2, the Abel Meteorite, was found on land belonging to a Mr Lineham. It was purchased by a Ballarat mineralogist named August Theodore Abel, who had accompanied Von Neuymayer to the sites in 1861. The same year, Abel sold the fragment to the British Museum in London for 300 pounds, before it was returned to the National History Museum in Melbourne in 1865. It is now currently on display in the Melbourne Museum.^[2]

Cranbourne 3 was found in 1860. It had been found by a farmhand around 1857 and used as an andiron. It was later lost in shipping.^[2]

Cranbourne 13 was discovered in 2008 in Clyde, not far from the location of the Abel Iron. It was found by a market gardener who dug up the rock and was about to dispose of it before an acquaintance encouraged him to have it tested.^[3]

Replicas

Replicas of some of the fragments could for many years be seen in "Meteorite park" in Cranbourne. However, the display has since been removed.

The following table lists all the fragments of the Cranbourne meteorite:

References

See also

• Glossary of meteoritics