The Maryborough Meteorite: A 4.6-Billion-Year-Old Treasure from Space

In 2015, David Hole, a hobby collector, found a heavy reddish rock in Maryborough, Victoria. Thinking it might contain gold, he spent years trying to break it open with tools like a sledgehammer and acid, but nothing worked.

Finally, Hole took the rock to the Melbourne Museum for analysis. Experts there identified it as the Maryborough meteorite, a rare 4.6-billion-year-old H5 ordinary chondrite. Weighing 17 kilograms, this meteorite is rich in iron and tiny crystallized minerals called chondrules.

The meteorite, named after the park where it was discovered, is believed to have fallen to Earth 100 to 1,000 years ago. It likely came from the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Only 17 meteorites have been found in Victoria, making this a rare and exciting discovery.

Scientists say the Maryborough meteorite is more valuable than gold because of its importance to science. It provides clues about the early Solar System and the origins of life. The meteorite is now at the Melbourne Museum and is thought to be worth hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars.

Meteorites are pieces of space rocks that survive their journey through Earth’s atmosphere. They are categorized into three types: stony, iron, and stony-iron, and they often contain rare minerals and elements.

The Maryborough meteorite is a symbol of human curiosity and the mysteries of space. Scientists continue to study it, hoping to learn more about how planets formed and the universe evolved. David Hole’s determination shows us that real treasures are often more than just gold—they’re the keys to understanding our cosmos.