Tom Kapitany

Tom Kapitany
Tom Kapitany standing next to a large fluorite octahedron specimen on matrix from inner Mongolia.
Born
Tamas Kapitany

(1960-12-15) 15 December 1960
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
EducationUniversity of Melbourne
(BSc)
OccupationsGeologist, teacher, botanist, entrepreneur, consultant, curator
Websitetomkapitany.com crystalworldaustralia.com

Tom Kapitany (born 15 December 1960) is an Australian botanist, geologist, international consultant and lecturer in geosciences, and entrepreneur. Kapitany is the director of Crystal World Exhibition Centre in Victoria, Australia,[1][2] National Dinosaur Museum in Canberra, Australia,[3] Collectors Corner[4] Garden World in Braeside, Victoria, Australia, Australian Mineral Mines Pty. Ltd. and National History Museum Pty Ltd. He is an international consultant in geosciences, as well as a professional paleontologist.

Kapitany is known for raising awareness on the importance of collecting and fossicking minerals and fossils; to educate people and children on fossils and rocks of biological origin.[5][6] However, as Australia's largest commercial dealer of minerals and fossils, he is a controversial figure owing to revelations of his involvement with international fossil smuggling.[7][8]

Career

Crystal World

Tom Kapitany started Crystal World Exhibition Centre in 1999 following his involvement with the family business' retail nursery Collectors Corner. Kapitany would frequently travel the world to source natural history specimens.[9] Through Crystal World, Kapitany has hosted fundraising activities to help the Australian Animal Rescue charity.[10]

In February 2019, Kapitany and Australian Animal Rescue rescued Rosie the Shark, a preserved great white shark facing vandalism at the abandoned wildlife park Wildlife Wonderland[11] and was rehoused at Crystal World in Devon Meadows. The shark was originally preserved in formaldehyde which caused major disruptions to its relocation due to the toxic nature of the chemical.[12]

In 2013 Kapitany purchased a small piece of the Chelyabinsk meteorite roughly the size of an Australian 20 cent coin.[13]

Tom Kapitany was noted for his significance in bringing heteromorph fossil specimens of Blackdown formation in Queensland to international recognition in the geological catalog Heteromorph by Wolfgang Grulke.[14]


National Dinosaur Museum

Tom Kapitany is one of five directors of the National Dinosaur Museum in Canberra, Australia.[15]

Television

In 2002, ABC Catalyst interviewed Kapitany on the topic of fossil protection within Australia; saying that "we shouldn't condemn the whole fossil community based on a few rogue collectors. Nor should we condemn the scientific community on a few rogue scientists."[6] He appeared as himself in Opal Hunters: Red Dirt Road Trip Season 2, Episode 6 ("Queen of Gems"), which features JC and Rod joining him on-site in Broken Hill to mine giant almandine garnets.[16]He also appeared in Outback Crystal Hunters Season 2, Episode 3 ("Heart of Darwin Glass"), where he is featured leading an expedition as a crystal expert.[17]


Publications


Around 2005, the Australian Federal Police raided Kapitany's collection located near Melbourne seizing over 600 kilograms (1,300 lb) of Chinese and Argentinian fossils, which were later repatriated to their home countries.[8] In 2006, Kapitany was fined $US20,000 and sentenced to a year on probation after pleading guilty to illegally smuggling fossil dinosaur eggs from China to the US. Kapitany had been reportedly smuggling dinosaur eggs out of China since 1999 by mislabelling them as minerals, according to prosecutors.[7]

References

  1. ^ "Crystal World Exhibition Centre Australia: Wholesale Crystals for Sale". www.crystalworld.com.au. Retrieved 16 November 2025.
  2. ^ "Crystals, fossils,meteorites, gems, for sale, wholesale retail". Crystal World - Exhibition of fine crystals, fossils, minerals and Himalayan salt lamps on sale!. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
  3. ^ "Directors of the National Dinosaur Museum". National Dinosaur Museum. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
  4. ^ "Cacti Succulents Bonsai Orchids Bromeliads Airplants Hoyas Terrariums". Cacti Succulents Bonsai Orchids Bromeliads Airplants Hoyas Terrariums. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
  5. ^ "A Brief Tour of Deep Time Geology with Tom Kapitany" (PDF). 2015 November / December Newsletter for the Mineralogical Society of Western Australia Incorporated. Retrieved 10 August 2018.
  6. ^ a b "Catalyst: Fossil Trade". ABC Story Archive - The Fossil Trade. 2002. Retrieved 23 September 2018.
  7. ^ a b "Melbourne man admits smuggling dinosaur eggs". The Age. 16 March 2006. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  8. ^ a b Wainwright, Robert (11 August 2007). "Fossil collectors, and police, walk on eggshells". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
  9. ^ "Crystal World Story". Crystal World - Exhibition of fine crystals, fossils, minerals and Himalayan salt lamps on sale!. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
  10. ^ "Saint Nick gives reindeer the flick". www.heraldsun.com.au. 17 December 2015. Retrieved 13 March 2019.
  11. ^ "Great White Shark abandoned at wildlife park: New plans for preserved shark". www.news.com.au. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
  12. ^ "Battle to save preserved Great White Shark at abandoned wildlife park". www.9news.com.au. 18 February 2019. Retrieved 14 March 2019.
  13. ^ "Meteorite lands in Devon Meadows | Cranbourne Star News". Cranbourne Star News. 18 April 2013. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
  14. ^ Grulke, Wolfgang (2014). Heteromorph. International: At One Communications. p. 141. ISBN 978-0-9929740-1-5.
  15. ^ "Directors of the National Dinosaur Museum". National Dinosaur Museum. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
  16. ^ "Opal Hunters: Red Dirt Road Trip – Season 2 Episode 6 "Queen of Gems"". 9Now. Retrieved 4 March 2026.
  17. ^ "Outback Crystal Hunters – Season 2 Episode 3 "Heart of Darwin Glass"". TV Guide. Retrieved 4 March 2026.
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