Meteorite Regulations?

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i think there are some big meteorites in kangaroo valley at the old museum near the old bridge they are big i saw them as a kid they would have made a big hole :eek:
 
Jed said:
Meteorites found in Western Australia are held under a statutory obligation laid down in Section 45 of the Museum Act (1969 as amended in 1973), whereby meteorites from Western Australia belong to the State, and ownership is vested in the Trustees of the Western Australian Museum.
cheers Jed

is it true that if you can prove that the meteorite you have was found before 1972 then that law does not apply as the 1972 law can not be used in retrospect to the amendments?
if so you just need some old photo's of it that can be dated.
regards tm
 
The loop hole is that a meteorite is not one until proven by a accredited expert , therefore its just a rock .

Before the silly laws made meteorite hunting illegal in most states except NSW large numbers of new finds happened every year , now there is about one find each year ! so science misses out .

And the other problem these laws have created is the re-birthing of meteorites from one area to another 8.(
 
In Tasmania all meteorites are the property of the Tasmanian museum, they even have a specific bit of legislation for this, under the Minister of Arts!
Mind you I have only seen one new find here in 30 yrs that looked real, and forgot to tell the guy. Someone made a good point that its just a rock until proven otherwise.
You can still buy a lot of Australian meteorites on the internet! Maybe you could argue they were found before the legislation was enacted but you may need a good lawyer. I think the idea is firstly a meteorite is a rare part of our natural heritage, and its also important for science to understand these. But with something like Henbury or Mundrabilla where there are lots of pieces its not important to keep them all. I would recommend you cut a little bit of for a museum to test, generally they will be very grateful. The Winton meteorite was a famous recent fall/find, now in the Winton museum (run by the finder David Elliott), with some sent for study by Uni researchers. Everyone seems happy. But if you find a new one and try to sell it overseas before any study you may annoy the authorities. We need more common sense in such matters, and less legislation!
 
I can see why the states would want you to hand them over. Having said that, I know that if I ever found one then I'd be sorely tempted to keep it to myself.

Is there any way of proving which state a meteorite has come from?
 
Hurg said:
Is there any way of proving which state a meteorite has come from?

If it's not from a known fall the answer is no , I find it strange that in most States they are protected under Heritage Laws , so if one happens to fall tomorrow that's the law it comes under :eek:
 
Not usually, only if its a part of a known meteorite, but we would rather you kept the real location with the meteorite, else it loses scientific value. You are not likely to get raided by the Govt looking for meteorites.
 
rsbottrill said:
Not usually, only if its a part of a known meteorite, but we would rather you kept the real location with the meteorite, else it loses scientific value. You are not likely to get raided by the Govt looking for meteorites.

I think you should elaborate more as I'm not clear with your rhetoric so far ?
 
Pieces of meteorite from one fall can usually be analysed and matched to each other, so that may give you a location, but if its a new find you cannot tell where its from. Of course, until its analysed its just a rock (unless you see it fall).
 
From the Melbourne Museum http://museumvictoria.com.au/discoverycentre/infosheets/meteorites/

Are meteorites protected?
Federal laws protect meteorites found in Australia and it is an offence to export one without a permit. In Western Australia and South Australia legislation means that meteorites are the property of the Government and must be lodged with an appropriate Museum. In other States, the finder is able to keep a meteorite.


Visitor Information
Museum Victoria has a collection of meteorites from around the world, including Australia and Victoria. Museum staff also conduct research on meteorites and provide an identification service.
 
As stated earlier: in Tasmania they belong to the Govt also, and in Qld you are not allowed to fossick for them but its unclear if illegal to possess one.
 
Even after penetrating earths atmosphere and just before hitting they are called meteoroids ' so if you were lucky enough to catch one no laws apply but if you dropped the catch and then picked it up it now called a meteorite & the laws come into force .

:p
 
As with any rock, ownership is highly dependant on where you find it. The earth may be just a big rock but various people think they own most of it!
 
Looking like a lot depends on the angle of penetration and what sort of a catch you can come up with .
Just can't see myself getting in under a really big one and getting smashed up.
A bloke could end up wanting a whole new hobby after that.
(on the wine again)
 
Pure curiosity , does it devalue a meteorite to cut bits off and test , I mean you wouldn't hack bits of your monster nugget to give to a museum ?
thanks Brett
 
The testing authenticates the rock as meteorite, this gives value to what was just a suspected meteorite and still had the chance of being a meteorwrong and worthless rock.
It is a lot easier to authenticate a gold nugget without having to cut a slice using hardness and SG.
 
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