A unique heritage project involving local students telling the tales of giant extinct marsupial species found at Wellington Caves recently won a state-wide gong.

The 'Digging Deep Time' program delivers a whole-of-community project involving Wellington’s schools in producing content and sharing stories related to Wellington’s local megafauna.

Short films and artworks from the project will be showcased statewide as part of a live-streaming event to be broadcast directly from the Caves Complex to schools around NSW on Thursday, December 7.

Australia’s megafauna (“great animals”), now all extinct, included an amazing variety of bizarre creatures including giant wallabies and kangaroos; great wombat-like beasts such as Diprotodon, Zygomaturus, and Palorchestes; and colossal birds and reptiles.  

Fossilised bones of extinct megafauna, such as the giant kangaroo, marsupial lion, and seven-metre-long carnivorous goanna, have all been discovered in and around the caves.

The company running the initiative, Project Zone, was awarded a Heritage and Cultural Award at the 2023 NSW Tidy Town Award from their partnership program with the Wellington Caves Complex and Dubbo Regional Council (DRC).

Partners also include Flinders University, Wellington Public School, Wellington High School, and the local St Mary’s Catholic School.

“DRC is proud to partner with organisations such as Project Zone to further better our community,” Mayor Councillor Mathew Dickerson said.

“In this case, through the education of our Wellington students on some of the history of their community,” he added.

The project provided young people with the opportunity to learn new transferable employability and vocational skills, opening pathways into vocational outcomes in tourism, palaeontology, museums and galleries, and curatorial/research professions.

“This recognition stands as a significant testament to the excellence of our collective efforts in highlighting the importance of megafauna in the Wellington region,” Project Zone Creative Director Vince Lovecchio said.

“We hope this accolade will pave the way for additional support in advancing its future development,” he added.