Henbury Meteorite, from Australia (REF:HEN002)

The Henbury meteorite is named after Henbury Station, a cattle station nearby named after its founders home in Henbury, Dorset, UK. The manager of the station actually discovered the craters in 1899 but they were not investigated any further until the early 1930’s.

There are 13+ craters ranging in size from 23 to 591 feet (7-180 metres) across and up to 49ft (15m) in depth.

Several tonnes of iron-nickel fragments have been recovered from the site which is now forms the Henbury Meteorites Conservation Reserve. The site is 78 miles (125km) south west of Alice Springs and is one of five meteorite impact sites  with remaining fragments. It is regarded as one of the worlds best preserved examples of a small crater field.

This area lies at the junction of several Aboriginal language groups, it is considered sacred to the Arrernte people. Researcher JM Mitchel said the the elders would not camp within a couple of miles of the site for would they drink rainwater collected in the craters as they feared "The Fire Devil” would fill them with a piece of iron.

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