president's address. 851 



I may say that I have just obtained some fresh material, the 

 results of the examination of which I hope shortly to have the 

 the honour of laying before the Society. I take this opportunity 

 of again appealing for help in the way of such information as to 

 good localities for collecting, or as to where ' drives ' are about 

 to be held, as some of our country members may be willing to 

 afford." 



The paper (see Vol. 6, p. 155, of our Proceedings), " On the 

 occurrence of Artesian Wells in the Albert District," by Mr. C. 

 J. Wilkinson, Government Geologist, although concise, relates 

 to an event in our history of too important a character to permit 

 me to pass it over in a superficial manner. I desire, therefore, 

 to offer more fully my observations on this — the first notice of 

 the successful supply of fresh water obtained by the artesian 

 system — a grand established fact, and of vital importance to 

 pastoral districts throughout the colony. I do so now, with the 

 greater confidence of attracting your attention, as I am indebted 

 to Mr. Wilkinson for much additional information on results 

 arrived at by very recent borings at widely apart localities, all 

 confirmatory of the stability of the preceding operations on the 

 flat country between the Darling and Paroo Eivers, as detailed 

 in the paper above mentioned. 



It is necessary before proceeding further, and in order that I 

 should be clearly understood, to mention that the distinction 

 between an ordinary and artesian well is, that in the former the 

 water-level lies below the surface of the ground, at the place 

 where the well-bore is situated, and in the latter the water 

 overflows continuously. 



From near Carcoar, and running about N.W. at rather an 

 acute angle with the Great Dividing Range, a line of primary 

 rocks, at times of considerable elevation, extends far beyond 

 Wilcannia on the Darling River. Near to, but above this locality, 

 the vast expanse of water which in days long past constituted an 



