McKay. — On the Age of the Napier Limestones. 367 



277. Waldheimia oralis, Hutton, " Trans. N.Z. Inst.," vol. xviii. 

 Shakespeare Cliff ; Napier. Found also in the Pareora 



system at Castle Point. 



278. Terebratella omenta, Dillwyn ; Eeeve, " Conch. Icon.," f. 20. 

 Shakespeare Cliff. 



279. Terebratella rubicunda, Solander ; Eeeve, " Conch. Icon.," 



f. 27. 

 Shakespeare Cliff ; Petane ; Kaimatera. Found also in the 

 Pareora system. 



280. Pihynchonella nigricans, Sowh., " Thes. Conch.," vol. i., 



p. 342. 

 Wanganui ; Shakespeare Cliff ; Petane ; Kaimatera. Found 

 also in the Pareora system. 



Art. LVIII. — On the Age of the Napier Limestones. 



By A. McKay. 



\Read before the Wellington Philosophical Society, 21st October, 1885.] 



The late Dr. von Hochstetter, basing his expressed opinion upon 

 material supplied him by Mr. Triphook and others, referred all 

 the beds in Scinde Island to the upper part of his Hawke's Bay 

 series. 



This Hawke's Bay series of Hochstetter is by him referred to 

 the upper division of tertiary deposits in New Zealand, as de- 

 termined by him, and called " younger tertiary formations." 

 These embrace a triple series : the Awatere series ; the Hawke's 

 Bay series ; and the Wanganui series. How these are related 

 to each other we are not distinctly told ; but it is evident that 

 the terms are not geographical distinctions for equivalent for- 

 mations in different districts, and that the Hawke's Bay series 

 was considered intermediate in age between the Awatere and 

 Wanganui series. 



In the Geological Beports for the year 1868-69, Captain 

 Hutton recognises the existence of the " Hawke's Bay series," 

 and refers to it the beds forming the Mahia Peninsula, and a 

 large district N.E. and S.W. of Poverty Bay. Dr. von Hoch- 

 stetter had previously referred the beds forming Mahia Peninsula 

 to the Hawke's Bay series, so that there is no doubt that Captain 

 Hutton meant the Hawke's Bay series of Hochstetter. His 

 estimate on the age of these beds is expressed elsewhere, in a 

 paper on " The Artesian Wells near Napier," in which he de- 

 scribes the rocks forming Scinde Island as belonging to a for- 

 mation " of late tertiary date." 



