For around 20 years, a rare and precious dinosaur fossil sat unobtrusively in the foyer of Biloela State High School, its true significance unknown — until now.

The boulder was donated by former Callide Mine worker Wes Nichols and was displayed proudly at the school even while all of its amazing secrets were hidden.

Thanks to the keen eyes of a local community member, the fossil was recently examined by Dr Anthony Romilio, a palaeontologist from The University of Queensland’s Dinosaur Lab. What he discovered on the rock left him stunned.

Using special lighting techniques to see the rock in more detail, he uncovered 66 fossilised dinosaur footprints — one of the highest concentrations of dinosaur footprints per square metre ever documented in Australia. The footprints date back 200 million years to the Early Jurassic period, making this an extraordinary scientific find.

Dr. Romilio was amazed by the discovery.

"The footprints are from 47 individual dinosaurs which passed across a patch of wet, white clay, possibly walking along or crossing a waterway," he said.

"It’s an unprecedented snapshot of dinosaur abundance, movement and behaviour from a time when no fossilised dinosaur bones have been found in Australia."

The footprints each have three toes, indicating they likely belonged to the ichnospecies Anomoepus scambus. These dinosaurs were small plant-eaters, with legs ranging from 15 to 50 cm in length. When they left these tracks, they were travelling at less than 6 km/hr, possibly making their way across a muddy riverbank in what is now the Callide Basin.

The discovery only came to light after Dr Romilio’s previous research on dinosaur footprints at Mount Morgan was made public, prompting  a local resident to reach out and ask him to examine the boulder at the high school.

"Significant paleontological evidence can go unnoticed in everyday settings for years, so local communities play a very important role in identifying and preserving fossil records," Dr Romilio said.

The Biloela State High School Deputy Principal, David Hall, was just as surprised.

"We couldn’t believe it. It has been sitting in our school foyer, and none of us had any idea it was such a rare and important find," he said.

"Once the school was made aware of the significance of this rock, we made the decision to get the Council involved, as this is part of our history that needs to be preserved and made available for the public to see."

This fossilised boulder isn’t the only hidden treasure from the region. During his research, Dr Romilio also identified another fossilised rock being used as a car park barrier at the mine. This much larger rock contained two distinct dinosaur footprints, left by similar small plant-eating dinosaurs with legs about 80 cm long.

A third fossilised footprint, which had been encased in resin and used as a bookend, has also contributed to new insights into the prehistoric world of Central Queensland.

Now that the Banana Shire community is aware of the fossil’s significance, the next step is ensuring it is properly preserved and shared with the public.

Banana Shire Council is supporting the investigation and plans to showcase the fossil for locals and visitors to see.

Nev Ferrier, Mayor of Banana Shire, was thrilled by the find.

"This is huge — not just for Biloela but for the whole country. Who would have thought that a simple rock sitting in the school foyer for years would turn out to be one of Australia’s most important fossil finds? It just goes to show that our region is full of surprises!"

For Banana Shire, this discovery is more than just a piece of history, it’s a reminder of how rich and unique our local landscape is.

This remarkable discovery puts Biloela on the paleontological map, attracting interest from scientists, researchers, and dinosaur enthusiasts worldwide.

Dr Romilio’s research has been published in the journal Historical Biology, further cementing this as a major scientific breakthrough.