Stockland Wetherill Park roars to life with arrival of life-sized Tyrannosaurus rex

Stockland Wetherill Park will today step back in time and transform into a prehistoric paradise as the centre welcomes the arrival of a life-sized Tyrannosaurus rex.

Stockland has partnered with the Australian Museum to bring the ultra-realistic 11 metre long, 3 metre tall T. rex model to the people of western Sydney, offering an intimate dinosaur experience, never before seen in Australia.

T. rex on Tour launches at Stockland Wetherill Park in western Sydney today and will be available for customers to view for free every day until Sunday 19 March. T. rex will then travel to three additional Stockland Shopping Centres at Shellharbour in the Illawarra, Foster on the mid-North Coast, and Glendale in Hunter Region.

Visitors to Stockland Wetherill Park and each Stockland tour location around New South Wales will have the opportunity to enter a competition to name the life-size female model of the T. rex. The single best competition entry from all entries received will win a ‘Dino Dig’ holiday to Alberta, Canada, valued at $10,000, courtesy of Flight Centre.

John Schroder, Stockland Group Executive and CEO of Commercial Property, said: “We’re excited to work with the Australian Museum to bring this phenomenal model to Australia, which offers customers a chance to get truly up close and personal with a life-size T. rex, without the need for a time machine.”

The T. rex model, which travelled to Australia from the UK, is the world’s first anatomically complete creation of a Tyrannosaurus rex, providing an incredible visualisation of the most infamous predator to ever live.

The innovative model built in collaboration with a team of palaeontologists and scientists brings to life the size and scale of the Tyrannosaurus rex whilst also showcasing what made it tick with an up close look at its vital organs, including a giant heart.

John Schroder continues, “At Stockland we always look for ways to bring unique, fun and educational entertainment offerings to the 422,000 customers who visit our 40 Stockland shopping centres across Australia every day. There is a public fascination with dinosaurs, and we’re touring this extraordinary model across NSW to bring that fascination to life.”

Kim McKay AO, Director and CEO, Australian Museum, said: “Dinosaurs are a perennial favourite of museum audiences, so we’re excited to work with Stockland to give people in Sydney and throughout NSW the chance to see this prehistoric beast dating from 85 to 65 million years ago, as never before.”

Mayor of Fairfield City, Frank Carbone, said: “This model gives everyone in the Fairfield City community, dinosaur fans or not, a great educational opportunity where they can learn what made the T-Rex such a ferocious and awe-inspiring creature.”

The model, which is valued at more than $600,000, was built by National Geographic for the documentary T. rex Autopsy and has been generously donated to the Australian Museum. National Geographic has also contributed footage from the original documentary, which will be shown alongside the T. rex display at each Stockland location.

T. rex model vital stats:

• 3 metres tall
• 11 metres long
• 2 metre wide
• Weighing 2 tonnes

 'T.Rex Autopsy' from National Geographic: http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/t-rex-autopsy/articles/anatomy-of-a-killer/

Fairfield City Mayor Frank Carbone, Stockland CEO Commercial Property John Schroder, Australian Museum Director and CEO Kim McKay AO, and Dr Hugh McDermott MP State Member for Prospect welcome T rex on tour to Stockland Wetherill Park