Mttlgan. — The Waitemata Series. 433 



pearing at Eed Bluff, adds considerably to the likelihood of 

 a single band being accountable for the whole of the exposures 

 along the northern shores of the harbour, perhaps — though 

 this is not so certain — as far as Whangaparaoa Peninsula. 

 If this be the case, and there seems to be much evidence in 

 support of the contention — that is, if a band of grit maintain- 

 ing an average thickuess of 10 ft. or 12 ft. persists for upwards 

 of six miles in a northerly direction — the inference does not 

 seem an extravagant one that the same band, which, it is to 

 be borne in mind, shows no signs anywhere of thinning out. 

 should extend two or three miles towards the south. This 

 distance would bring it across the water as far as Judge's 

 Bay, and so connect the exposures on the opposite sides of 

 the harbour. This, however, is only a conjecture, though by 

 no means an unreasonable one. 



In a previous portion of the paper I referred to Mr. Park's 

 statement that the strike of the grit at Judge's Bay would 

 carry it to Cheltenham Beach, a statement which in itself is 

 perfectly correct, but which does not meet the difficulty of 

 correlating the two exposures. Though there is much in 

 favour of the contention, and though it is possible to imagine 

 conditions under which the existing outcrops could be con- 

 nected, yet the presence of large masses of lava in one set 

 of beds and their entire absence in the other is not easily 

 accounted for. The whole matter, in short, is one whose 

 solution is beset with considerable difficulty. It was this I 

 wished to bring out in referring to Mr. Park's statement. 



From the evidence adduced it would appear, so far as the 

 northern side of the isthmus is concerned, that we may 

 conclude the exposures on the southern side of the harbour 

 to be connected ; that a very strong probability exists of the 

 Cheltenham Beach, Takapuna, and Red Bluff outcrops being 

 connected ; and that there is much to be said in favour of 

 the theory that the Cheltenham Beach and Parnell exposures 

 belong to the same band. 



Along the shores of the Manukau Harbour the beds may 

 not correspond to those met with on the opposite side. There 

 are no exposures on the land between the two seas, and the 

 distance as the crow flies from the Parnell ash-beds to those 

 nearest to Onehunga is about six miles, hence the impossibility 

 of connecting the two stratigraphically. But, whether con- 

 nected or not, these beds are identical with those found on the 

 opposite side, and, like them, have every appearance of belong- 

 ing to the same band. The outcrop at Shag Point, near 

 Puponga, showing the separate beds, is certainly an exception ; 

 but it must be remembered the exposure was not large, and 

 no very definite conclusions need be based on it. It may be 

 that the lower layer of grit is a western extension of that 

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