In 2015, David Hole, a man with a passion for collecting valuable objects, found a strange, heavy reddish rock in Maryborough Regional Park, Victoria. Convinced it contained gold, he spent years trying to crack it open. He tried everything—sledgehammers, drills, and even acid—but nothing worked.
Eventually, Hole took the rock to the Melbourne Museum for expert help. What they discovered was astonishing: the rock wasn’t ordinary. It was the Maryborough meteorite, a rare 4.6-billion-year-old space rock weighing 17 kilograms.
This meteorite, rich in iron and crystal-like minerals called chondrules, is one of only 17 ever found in Victoria. Scientists believe it landed on Earth 100 to 1,000 years ago, possibly from the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
Far more valuable than gold, the meteorite is now worth hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars. It also holds key information about the early Solar System and the origins of life.
The Maryborough meteorite is now displayed at the Melbourne Museum, where it inspires curiosity and highlights the wonders of science.
