You’ve probably seen the video. It’s grainy, eerie, and feels like a scene from a low-budget horror flick. A lone urban explorer creeps through a pitch-black, rotting building in regional Victoria, Australia. The flashlight cuts through the gloom, hitting a massive, rectangular tank. Inside, suspended in murky green sludge, is a 16-foot Great White Shark, her mouth agape and eyes staring into nothing.
That video went nuclear in 2018. Suddenly, everyone wanted to know about Rosie the shark now and how a literal apex predator ended up abandoned in a shed. Honestly, the real story is weirder than the viral clips. It involves a tragic accident, a missing person investigation, a "crazy rock guy," and a preservation battle that is actually still happening today in 2026.
The Rescue at Crystal World
By 2019, Rosie was in a bad way. Vandals had broken into the abandoned Wildlife Wonderland park in Bass and smashed the outer layers of her tank. People were throwing trash—literally even a television—into the toxic formaldehyde solution she was floating in. The fumes were becoming a public health hazard.
The local council and the landowner were ready to just destroy her and bury the whole mess in a landfill. That’s when Tom Kapitany stepped in. Tom owns Crystal World Exhibition Centre in Devon Meadows. He’s a geologist who basically loves anything old, dead, or made of crystal.
He took Rosie for free, but there was a catch. He had to pay for the move.
Moving a two-ton shark in a 30-ton tank isn’t exactly a DIY job. It required a massive crane, a specialized transport team, and thousands of dollars. They had to pump out the carcinogenic formaldehyde—which was a nightmare in itself—and crane her out through the roof of the shed.
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Where is Rosie the Shark Now?
If you drive about an hour east of Melbourne to Devon Meadows today, you’ll find her. She’s the star attraction at Crystal World. But don't expect a polished, high-tech museum exhibit.
Rosie is currently kept in a specialized enclosure, often sitting in what looks like a large warehouse or car park area while restoration continues. She’s no longer in that toxic formaldehyde bath. Instead, the team at Crystal World has been slowly replacing the old chemicals with glycerol (glycerin).
It’s a safer, non-toxic preservative, but it’s incredibly expensive.
Current Status in 2026
As of early 2026, the restoration is a "work in progress." Here is the reality of her condition:
- The Tank Level: The tank isn't always filled to the brim. Because the tank plus the liquid weighs so much, the ground underneath actually started to sink a few years back. They’ve had to be careful with the weight distribution.
- The Fins: If you see her today, you might notice her dorsal fin or the tip of her snout poking out of the liquid. This isn't great for long-term preservation, but the staff regularly inject her with glycerol to keep the tissue from drying out.
- The Skin: Years of being poked with sticks by vandals and exposed to the air left her skin bruised and darkened. She’s not the pristine grey she was in 1998, but she's stable.
The Backstory Most People Get Wrong
There's a common myth that Rosie was caught specifically to be a circus act. That’s not true.
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Rosie died in 1997 after getting tangled in tuna fishing nets off the coast of South Australia. The fishermen didn't want her there; she was eating their profit. Once she was dead, she was headed for a freezer until the government stepped in.
The Missing Person Mystery
Before she ever made it to a display tank, Rosie was a forensic suspect. Around the time she was caught, a local woman had gone missing in the same waters. The authorities impounded the shark and performed a full necropsy to see if she’d eaten the woman.
She hadn't.
Once she was cleared of "murder," Wildlife Wonderland bought her for about $500,000. They built the shed around her because the tank was too big to fit through any doors. When the park lost its licenses in 2012 and shut down, they took the live animals but left the "dead stuff" behind. Rosie sat in total darkness for seven years before the internet found her.
What Most People Miss About the Preservation
Preserving a shark of this size "in the round"—meaning her guts are still inside—is almost unheard of. Usually, taxidermists skin the shark and put it over a mold. Rosie is a solid, two-ton block of organic matter.
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Tom Kapitany and his team are essentially performing a decades-long science experiment. They are constantly monitoring the pH levels of the liquid. If the glycerol gets too dirty or the chemical balance shifts, Rosie could literally start to disintegrate from the inside out.
Actionable Insights for Visitors
If you're planning to see Rosie the shark now, don't just show up expecting a theme park. It's a working exhibition and a retail space for fossils.
- Check the Facebook Page: Crystal World is a small operation. They often post updates on whether Rosie is "under wraps" for maintenance or if the tank is being drained for cleaning.
- Donate if You Can: The glycerol alone costs a fortune. They have a GoFundMe and a donation box on-site that actually goes toward her "life support" costs.
- Respect the Rules: You’re allowed to take photos, but don't bang on the glass. The glass is the same one that vandals tried to smash years ago, and while it's been reinforced, it's still decades old.
Seeing Rosie is free, which is pretty wild considering what it costs to keep her "alive" in her current state. She’s a weird, haunting piece of Australian history that somehow survived abandonment, vandalism, and the threat of a landfill.
To see her for yourself, head to the Crystal World Exhibition Centre at 13 Olive Road, Devon Meadows. They are usually open 10 am to 5 pm, seven days a week. Be sure to check their local listings before making the trek from Melbourne to ensure the exhibition area is open to the public on that specific day.