A group of animatronic dinosaurs from Lantzville is heading to the small northwest Alberta community of Wembley, home of the Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum.
The town has purchased six dinosaur-related items formerly owned by Stan Pottie, whose collection was sold online through Able Auctions on Thursday.
Noreen Zhang, chief administrative officer of Wembley, which had a population of 1,432 in 2021, said it was “amazing” to be able to buy the dinosaurs.
Town council is hoping the collection will put Wembley on the tourism map, she said, noting that in addition to the dinosaur museum, it has a rich dinosaur bone bed. “Council is supportive of actually being able to bring dinosaurs into the community.”
The goal is to rebrand the community with a dinosaur theme, said Zhang, who declined to say how much the town spent for the collection.
The town will be developing a dinosaur master plan that will include finding a place to display the new acquisitions, she said.
In the meantime, they’re expected to go into local parks and playgrounds.
Alberta residents have watched as the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller, northeast of Calgary, has become an international draw.
But the Wembley area is also a destination for dinosaur research and hunting for dinosaur bones.
The town bought an animatronic triceratops, a bench in the likeness of a triceratops, an animatronic parasaurolophus, a baby dinosaur hand puppet, a ride-on dinosaur, and a garbage can in the shape of a dinosaur.
Pottie’s dinosaurs went to auction after he lost a 2021 court battle with the District of Lantzville, which had maintained that his dinosaur park was illegal because the property is zoned for residential use only.
Brett Johnston, Able Auctions’ Vancouver Island manager, did not reveal how much individual items sold for or the total amount.
cjwilson@timescolonist.com
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