David Hole spends his weekends in Maryborough, a small town in Victoria, Australia, metal detecting. This area was famous in the 19th century for its gold rush, where many men sought riches from the ground. On one such outing in May 2015, Hole found a rock that changed everything. It weighed about as much as a shoebox and was unusually dense. Puzzled, he thought he had struck gold.
However, no amount of effort could break that rock apart. Hole tried cutting tools, drills, and even acid, but nothing worked. It sat at his home for years, tempting him with its mystery. In 2018, his curiosity led him to the Melbourne Museum, where he handed the rock to the geology department.
Dermot Henry, head of sciences at Museums Victoria, noted that most rocks people bring in thinking they are meteorites turn out to be regular stones. But this one stood out. Its dimpled appearance, known as regmaglypts, suggested it had traveled through the atmosphere at high speeds—a sign it may be a meteorite. The rock weighed 17 kilograms and was around 38.5 centimeters long.
When researchers used a diamond saw to cut into it, they uncovered chondrules—small, spherical minerals formed in the early solar system. This rock wasn’t a typical find; it was classified as a chondrite, linked to the material that crafted our solar system.
The Maryborough meteorite, as it is now called, dates back 4.6 billion years, originating from the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. A series of impacts had sent it hurtling toward Earth, where it landed likely between 100 and 1,000 years ago. Eye-catching finds like this are rare—the Maryborough meteorite is only the 17th documented in Victoria, while thousands of gold nuggets have been unearthed here.
Henry remarked, “Meteorites provide the cheapest form of space exploration.” They hold valuable insights into the history of our solar system. Today, the meteorite is preserved in Museums Victoria’s State Collection, where visitors can admire it during exhibitions like National Science Week.
This story highlights the surprising twists that await those searching for treasure, blending adventure with the wonders of the universe. The Maryborough meteorite’s journey from a metal detecting quest to a key piece of cosmic history serves as a reminder that sometimes, the search leads to the most unexpected rewards.
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