Meteor sightings in the Casey Cardinia area

This region is world famous for the Cranbourne Meteorites which were unearthed between 1853 and 2008. I have written about them here. I have found some newspaper reports of local observations of meteors, which are reproduced below. They are called meteors when they are in space and if they make it to earth they are called meteorites. I will confess I only found this out a few years ago when I did a talk at a school in Cranbourne to Grade 2s about the history of the area and one of the boys in the class mentioned this fact.

What is the chance of observing a meteor? The American Meteor Society says that several thousand meteors of fireball magnitude occur in the Earth’s atmosphere each day. The vast majority of these, however, occur over the oceans and uninhabited regions, and a good many are masked by daylight. Those that occur at night also stand little chance of being detected due to the relatively low numbers of persons out to notice them...A fireball is another term for a very bright meteor, generally brighter than magnitude -4, which is about the same magnitude of the planet Venus in the morning or evening sky. (amsmeteors.org/fireballs/faqf/)

So sightings of meteors are relatively unusual and it is even rarer for a meteor to fall to earth. The American Meteor Society says that our best estimates of the total incoming meteoroid flux indicate that about 10 to 50 meteorite dropping events occur over the earth each day. It should be remembered, however, that 2/3 of these events will occur over ocean, while another 1/4 or so will occur over very uninhabited land areas, leaving only about 2 to 12 events each day with the potential for discovery by people. Half of these again occur on the night side of the earth, with even less chance of being noticed. Due to the combination of all of these factors, only a handful of witnessed meteorite falls occur each year. As an order of magnitude estimation, each square kilometer of the earth’s surface should collect 1 meteorite fall about once every 50,000 years, on the average. If this area is increased to 1 square mile, this time period becomes about 20,000 years between falls. (amsmeteors.org/fireballs/faqf/)

We will have to wait a long time before another meteorite lands in this area, but if you want to see one now, the Cranbourne Meteorite No. 13, identified in 2008, is on display at the Casey RACE Leisure Centre, next to the Cranbourne Library.

Cranbourne No. 13 meteorite, identified in 2008 at Clyde. It weighs 83 kg. 

Photographer: Angela Muscat. Museums Victoria https://collections.museumsvictoria.com.au/specimens/1445024

Here are some reports of meteor sightings in the Casey Cardinia area and a little further afield.
1867 - Cranbourne

On Tuesday evening last a very brilliant meteor was seen at Cranbourne, at about twenty minutes past eight. It shot through the heavens with great rapidity, for an instant casting a glow on the ground (Mount Alexander Mail March 2, 1867, see here)

1881 January - south west of Warragul

One of the most brilliant meteors it has ever been our lot to witness made its appearance in the south western sky at about 10 o'clock on Monday night. The meteor, which first appeared like a large, very bright shooting star, started from high up in the heavens, and fell in the ordinary manner of such bodies for a considerable distance, apparently coming straight towards the earth. After falling some distance, it suddenly burst, when it closely resembled (but was far brighter and more beautiful than) a blue

light from a rocket. The light emitted was of a light blue color and so intense that the whole southern sky was lighted up, and the meteor continued on its way earthward till lost to view behind the trees. It did not seem to be very far off, apparently not more than a few miles. (Warragul Guardian January 13, 1881, see here)

1881 August - east of Dandenong

A very brilliant meteor was observed in the eastern direction at Dandenong on Saturday night last. It resembled a hugh ball of pale blue fire being rolled through the heavens, and as it continued its career it threw a light similar to a heavy flash of lightning, lighting up the whole township. The strange occurrence left a pale blueish line behind, and it was several seconds before the effects of this meteor had disappeared altogether. (South Bourke & Mornington Journal, August 24, 1881, see here.)

1910 - Woolamai

For a few seconds on Thursday the midnight sky was lit up by a most brilliant meteor, which, after travelling swiftly in a north-easterly direction, suddenly ended in a shower of flashing fragments. (The Age, September 12, 1910, see here. Woolamai, a stop on the old railway line which ran from Nyora to Wonthaggi, is inland from Bass)

1913 - south of Dandenong

A magnificent meteor was seen in the South the other evening. It lighted up the sky during its rapid flight. The ball appeared of bluish tint, while the edge had a yellow tinge. (South Bourke & Mornington Journal, June 12, 1913, see here)

1919 - Beaconsfield
A Startling Spectacle - Meteor explodes in Daylight. 
Beaconsfield -  About 11 a.m. on Thursday a dazzling ribbon of fire was observed to suddenly appear in the western sky, and as it vanished in a flash its position was plainly marked with a column of white smoke or vapor. One spectator, in vividly describing the incident, said that happening to be looking over the Berwick hills towards Melbourne it seemed as if the sky had suddenly split in half. The only explanation offered was that an unusually large meteorite had fallen in some part of Victoria. (The Age December 27, 1919, see here The same article reports sightings of this meteor throughout the State, including in the suburbs of Melbourne as well as Hamilton and Portland.)

1948 - Dandenong

Dandenong Man Reports Falling Meteor.

Among those fortunate enough to see the falling meteor which flashed a flaming trail across the sky early last Wednesday evening, was Mr. V. Matthews, of Dandenong. Residents, as far apart as Warragul and Gardenvale also reported the meteor. Mr. V. Matthews told a “Journal” representative that he was coming along Frankston Rd. about 6 o’clock in the early evening when he saw a huge object-like a house on fire sweep across the sky. It had a tremendous tail - to him it appeared to be half-a mile long - and was dropping balls of fire in its wake. So much did it appear under control that at first he feared it was a ’plane ablaze. It disappeared in the general direction of the city - an awe-inspiring sight (Dandenong Journal, June 23, 1948, see here)

Tweet

Cranbourne Meteorites

The first meteorite discovered in the Cranbourne region was in 1853. The first time they came to the public notice was in 1854 at the Melbourne Exhibition when a horseshoe was exhibited made from a specimen of iron from Western Port (1).  This iron turned out to have come from the Cranbourne No. 1 meteorite. Another crop of iron (Cranbourne No.2) had also been discovered 6km from the first however it wasn’t until 1860 that the two outcrops of ‘iron’ were identified as meteorites. This publicity bought to life another meteorite which had been unearthed in 1857. This meteorite is known as Cranbourne No. 3. These meteorite discoveries created interest overseas partly due to their size, and were reported in scientific papers.

We will look at the meteorites in detail. Cranbourne No. 1, weighs 3,550kg is now housed at the National History Museum in London. It has been in England since 1865 when it was acquired by the British Museum. Alexander Cameron (1815-1881), the father of modern Cranbourne (2), was one of the first people to bring to a wider public the discovery of the Cranbourne meteorites. The first meteorite was discovered by William MacKay, around Craigs Road in Devon Meadows, and he assumed that it was part of an iron deposit. He had made it into a horse shoe and it was displayed  at the Melbourne Exhibition of 1854.  In 1860 Cameron took the horse shoe to Melbourne to a conference to convince the powers that be that Cranbourne should have  a railway line due to the commercial possibilities of this iron deposit.  At the conference the Town Clerk of Melbourne, E.G Fitzgibbon,  thought that this was not iron but a meteorite and he then presented his findings to the Royal Society and this put the Cranbourne Meteorites on the world stage with interest from the British Museum and the Emperor of Austria (3).

Cranbourne meteorite with the chain which was employed to pull it from its position for transport to the Melbourne Museum, 21 February 1862.

Photographer: Richard Daintree.

State Library of Victoria Image H36595

Cranbourne meteorite with the screw-jack with which it was moved from its position for the first time since its arrival on this planet, 21 February 1862.

Photographer: Richard Daintree, Richard

State Library of Victoria Image H36594

Cranbourne No. 2 weighs 1,525 kg and is at the Melbourne Museum, though it was initially purchased by the British Museum for £300 in 1862. Colonial scientists strongly protested at the loss to England of both these meteorites and so Cranbourne No.2 was returned to Melbourne. It had been discovered in Clyde at the property owned by James and Charlotte Lineham. In an article (reproduced below) in the Pakenham Gazette on October 3rd 2001, there was an interview with two great grandchildren of James and Charlotte, Glenda Tait and Jean Hermon, who remembered stories their grandmother Susanah Beazley (nee Lineham) told of the meteorite Grandma said the meteor was worshipped by the Aborigines who came to the property and that it was special to them and they cried when they saw it being taken away.

Pakenham Gazette October 3, 2001. Click on image to enlarge it.

Cranbourne No.3 was discovered in 1857 and was 6.8kg. It was found on the same farm as Cranbourne No.1 and had been broken in two, one part being used as a kitchen hob. Unfortunately both pieces are now lost. Cranbourne No.4 is 1270 kgs and Cranbourne No.5 weighs 356 kg. They are both at the Melbourne Museum and were both unearthed in separate locations in 1923 in the Devon Meadows area between Browns Road and North Road.

Cranbourne No.6 was discovered in Pakenham, west of the Toomuc Creek, during works connected to the widening of the Princes Highway, in 1928 and weighs 40.5 kg. Numbers 7 & 8 were both discovered in 1923, in the same paddock as No.5 and weigh 153 kg and 23.6 kgs respectively. Numbers 4, 5, 6 and 8 are at the Melbourne Museum and no.7 is at the University of Melbourne.

No.9 was discovered in 1876 in a railway cutting about three kilometres east of the Beaconsfield Railway station and weighs 75 kg. It was broken up into samples which are now at various Institutions around the world. Cranbourne No.10 was found at Langwarrin in 1886, by a farmer ploughing his field. No.11 was discovered two kilometres north of Pearcedale in 1903. No.10 is 914 kg in weight and is at the Melbourne Museum and No. 11 is at the National Museum in Washington, and weighs 762 kg.

Number 12 was also found in Pearcedale, in 1927 though it was not identified as a meteorite until 1982. This 23 kg piece was on display at the now demolished City of Casey Civic Centre at Narre Warren, I believe it is currently in storage.  The last and thirteenth meteorite was found on a market garden at Clyde, and weighs 83 kg. The farmer had being working around this rock for years, but it was only dug up and identified as a meteorite in 2008. Though he could have sold it for a large sum of money, he generously donated it to the Melbourne Museum and it is now on display at the Casey RACE Leisure Centre at Cranbourne.

This map, showing the locations of the Meteorite finds, is reproduced from a tourist brochure produced by the Shire of Cranbourne to promote their Meteorite display on the South Gippsland Highway in Cranbourne. Click on image to enlarge it.

Most of these meteorites were discovered by chance, mostly by farmers ploughing their paddocks. The Meteorites were all located in a straight line, except for the slight deviations of No.6 and No.11, and are 21 kilometres apart (see map above). There are no large craters, such as the one at Wolfe Creek in Western Australia, as the Cranbourne Meteorites impacted at a low angle on swampy or sandy ground. Our meteorites are iron of the Octahedrite type, the most common type of iron meteorite and are some of the heaviest in the world.  I also googled “Cranbourne meteorites” and came across an interesting report (4) where the Cranbourne No.1 meteorite was used to test the theory that there was water on the moon. The actual experiment involved comparing the akaganeite which formed on the meteorite to akaganeite taken from rocks collected by Apollo 16 from the moon. The Cranbourne Meteorites are of international importance and I wonder how many other meteorites may still lie undiscovered in our area?

Footnotes

(1) Gunson, Neil The Good Country: Cranbourne Shire (F.W. Cheshire, 1968), p.63.

(2) Gunson, op. cit., p. 52

(3) Gunson, op. cit., p. 64
(4) The article referred to is Experiments on the stability of FeOOH on the surface of the moon by Lawrence A. Taylor and Jacqueline C. Burton. Published in Meteoritics, v.11, no.3, September 30 1976.

Tweet