The Brisbane buildings made from sandstone touched by dinosaurs

Some of Brisbane's oldest heritage-listed buildings are harbouring clues about the prehistoric past.

Fossilised footprints belonging to 230-million-year-old dinosaurs have been unearthed in Brisbane, indented into the same sandstone that constructed the city's most recognisable buildings, like the General Post Office.

"These buildings certainly capture my eye, and I do glance twice to see what evidence might be hidden within their own architecture," Palaeontologist Dr Anthony Romilio said.

Dr Romilio said two separate pieces of Brisbane-mined sandstone handed over to the University of Queensland's Dinosaur Lab, appear to display the tread-marks of the Sauropodomorph.

"Instead of walking on all four legs, they walked on their back legs. They still retained a very long neck and tail, but they were more ancient than the more typical than the brontosaurus," he said.

One of the footprints was discovered by a teenager over six decades ago at Petrie's Quarry.

The history of Petrie's Quarry

Before the inner-north neighbourhood of Albion became the sought-after suburbia of today, it was Petrie's Quarry.

Educator Sue-Belinda Meehan said the Petrie family opened the quarry in the 1860s, 30 years after the family settled in Brisbane, which was then known as the Moreton Bay Penal Colony.

"If the Petrie's hadn't recognised the quality of that sandstone, we wouldn't have the sandstone that literally built Brisbane," she said.

The General Post Office, All Hallows School, and the Old Customs House were all made up of the creamy, white stone.

"When you think about the number of buildings that were constructed from it, it's quite extraordinary … it's probably easier to mention buildings that weren't made from it, then buildings that were," Ms Meehan said.

St Stephen's Cathedral, St John's Cathedral, and St Paul's Presbyterian Church are among the other builds that feature Petrie sandstone.

"They were very much equal opportunity builders. It didn't matter what brand of religion you were, the Petries would build you a church," she said.

All the while, they were working with stone that had been touched by dinosaurs.

"The thing that really tickles me is that there were stone masons looking at big blocks of sandstones going, 'oh heaven's there's a flaw in it, there's a footprint' … and cutting it out."

Aquatic Albion

As quarrying ceased, the site was often visited by adventurous school children and aspiring geologists, before the suburb of Albion slowly started to build around it.

But Ms Meehan said remnants of the once active quarry remained today.

"If you go out to Albion and drive down Crosby Road, and look up to St Margaret's, you can see the scar in the mountain that was Petrie's Quarry."

Dr Romilio said the white hills of Albion are made up of layers of sand that were deposited when the landscape was traversed by dinosaurs.

"If you were to travel 230 million years ago, you would find a very flat area. There wouldn't be much in the way of trees in that immediate area, because you're looking at a very wide river," he said.

"It would have been shallow enough for a two-legged dinosaur to walk past."

But the Sauropodomorph was not the only pre-historic creature walking the now streets of Albion.

"It would have also been an environment in which aquatic creatures lived as well. So giant salamander like animals are known to have existed in that same time as well," Dr Romilio said.

Before: University of Queensland palaeontologist Anthony Romilio created a 3D map of the fossil. . . After:  This helped determine what kind of dinosaur the footprint belonged to.. .

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Fossil discoveries

Both pieces of sandstone etched with the dinosaur footprints were discovered during the 1950's.

Dr Romilio said he is often approached with information about Brisbane's Petrie Quarry site.

"It may seem unusual in a capital city, that we find evidence of dinosaurs, but really all you need is the right aged material and a keen eye, and some conviction to investigate," Dr Romilio said.

Ms Meehan said not all dinosaur discoveries are reserved for outback Queensland.

"Queensland is just awash with wonderful dinosaur relics from the past, and to know that we have them here in Brisbane, just makes it an even more fabulous city," she said.