Gold has been exchanged for iron at the National Rock Garden, as the Federation Rocks exhibit receives two new theft-proof rocks to replace one stolen two weeks ago.
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Victoria's large, golden rock might still be missing, but the arrival of two rusty red rocks from the Western Australia iron ore belt have bolstered spirits at the National Rock Garden.
And this time, they're not going anywhere.
"We'd like to think there is next to zero chance of these rocks being stolen," chair of the National Rock Garden Professor Brad Pillans said.
"At 11 tonnes each, you'd require a really large crane to move them and I think it's inconceivable someone would mobilise a huge crane to steal two big red rocks from Western Australia which have no significant monetary value."
Mr Pillans said there were no new leads in the search for the missing rock from the Victorian gold fields, which was stolen on February 13.
The one-tonne rock contained a small amount of gold, which was believed to be the reason it was stolen from the Federation Rocks display at the National Rock Garden.
With no new leads, discussions have begun with the mining company who donated the rock and the Victorian government to replace it.
"They're naturally devastated that the rock has been taken and we're now certainly thinking what steps we need to take to replace it," said Mr Pillans.
A spokesperson for ACT Policing said the investigation into the theft of the Victorian rock was still ongoing, and police were following up on a number of avenues of inquiry.
While the Victorian replacement is organised, two new rocks arrived from Western Australia on Thursday morning to complete the Federation Rocks display.
The two rocks are two-and-a-half billion years old, weigh about 11 tonnes each and were donated by Andrew 'Twiggy' Forrest and Fortescue Metals from the iron ore mines in the Pilbara region of WA.
They are described as a banded iron formation, the parent rock for all major iron ore deposits in WA and a very appropriate choice to represent the state, according to Mr Pillans.
"Iron ore mining is of course a huge contributor to the economy of Western Australia and Australia overall... they [also] create all the spectacular formations and red gorges, which are absolutely iconic in north-western Australia," he said.
The display at the National Rock Garden now has at least one rock from every state and territory in Australia and Mr Pillans said it's just a taste of things to come.
"These rocks are spectacular as a group, [but] imagine coming to the National Rock Garden where there are literally hundreds of rocks from all across Australia in different sizes and colour and textures," he said.
"I can't imagine someone not finding something of interest in a park like that."
