Giant penguin

In 2006 a group of enthusiastic junior naturalists were scouring the pristine beaches of Kawhia with the hope of finding prehistoric relics. A couple of children stumbled on “an old rusty propeller”. One look at this rusty iron bar and the accompanying adults knew they had found a treasure. Hamilton Junior Naturalist (JUNATS) mentors Tony Lorimer and Chris Templer, identified it at once as an avian fossil.

 “We were looking for fossil sea urchins and what we found was a penguin – what a bonus!” said Mr Templer.

SEE IT AT WAIKATO MUSEUM

The giant penguin fossil is now on display. See it and learn more about its unique story. Find out more here.