Pamela McGilvary
$30,000 AOC Founder
A long-held interest in palaeontology and archaeology led Pamela McGilvary to Lightning Ridge in 2015 for the Australian Opal Centre’s (AOC) annual Fossil Dig, where she uncovered a fossil that is now part of the AOC’s collection and decided to become a patron of the new Glenn Murcutt and Wendy Lewin designed building.
“Palaeontology has always been of interest to me and that’s why I signed up for the Australian Opal Centre and Australian Geographic Society’s Fossil Dig in 2015. I'm originally from Western Australia and spent some time in Kalgoorlie in and around the gold mines. I think that sparked my interest in the amazing things that millions of years and the right conditions can produce.
"I have a career history in the Australian Army, Federal police, the National Gallery of Australia and the Federal Attorney-General's Department in the justice division. I was medically retired in 2013 and thought I would like to do something with my ongoing interest in archaeology and palaeontology. I'd love to get to Egypt and see the pyramids, and I also looked at digs in Siberia and other places around the world.
“In 2015 I saw the Lightning Ridge Fossil Dig in the Australian Geographic Society's newsletter and decided to sign up. I'd never been to Lightning Ridge before and it was good to get a little bit deeper into the outback. Some of it reminded me of Western Australia in terms of its remoteness, so it felt very familiar to me. It also reminded me of just how important community is in the outback.
"The trip was a unique experience and very well organised. We had the fossil familiarisation brief at the start of the Dig taking us through what we were looking for and how the fossils were formed. At first you can't see anything, then when you really look, and you learn how to look, it's amazing when you get your eye in. I actually found a piece that is now a part of the AOC's collection.
"In 2015 the new Australian Opal Centre building was a long way off, but I saw the place in the landscape where it was going to be built. It seemed like a pipe dream back then and was difficult to imagine a state-of-the-art building that would house such wonderful treasures. At the time, I decided I would donate to the building in some form and I have finally been able to achieve that.
"I've been keeping an eye on the project and the AOC Founders Campaign seemed like a good fit for what I wanted to do. At the beginning I thought of making a number of small donations over a number of years, but then I decided to commit to paying a larger donation in one go, which I was delighted to be able to do.
"This is an important building for Australia and to be able to secure two architects of the calibre of Glenn Murcutt and Wendy Lewin to build this icon is just fantastic. This showcase of opalised fossils will be a drawcard for Lightning Ridge and its community long into the future. Australians, international audiences and researchers will have ready access to this priceless catalogue of our national gemstone. I am proud to have contributed to it."
If you’d like to join Pamela as an AOC Founder, click here for more information. For more information contact Richard Wylie by calling 0416 090 705 or emailing partnerships@australianopalcentre.com. We look forward to hearing from you!