president's address. 31 



sidered that a general eastward shifting of the Divide here 

 lagged behind. In other words, it is nearer to the condition 

 prevailing at the close of the last geological cycle than any 

 other coastal river of New South Wales. 



Professor David has shown* that prior to the outpourings 

 of basalt, a former river had a gentler gradient than its pre- 

 sent representative a tributary of the Dumaresq River. The 

 fact would be in agreement with the supposition that at the 

 date of the basalt extrusion the New England Plateau had 

 not attained its present altitude. 



Dr. W. G. Woolnough has generously given me the follow- 

 ing unpublished observations on the relics he has detected 

 of another great marginal valley. "The Lower Macleay is 

 very nearly north and south and lies hclilnd the high rock 

 mass of Trial Bay and Smoky Cape. Thence southwards the 

 broad valley-like structure is breached on the eastern side and 

 remnants only of the eastern lip remain in the form of head- 

 lands like Point Plomer and Crescent Head, and the high 

 lands behind the latter. The dead water of the Belmore is 

 continuous with that of Maria River and boats have been 

 taken by this route from the Macleay watershed to that of 

 the Hastings. The southward trend of the valley ( ?) is con- 

 tinued throiigh Lake Innes, again cut off by high rock 

 masses from the sea. Though Lake Innes is not continuous 

 with Queen's Lake, there is only a low divide between 

 them, probably formed of recent sediments (information re- 

 ceived). Thus we come to the chain of lakes and creeks 

 forming the Camden Haven system. There is a marshy belt 

 joining the southern end of Watson Taylor Lake waters with 

 Cattai Creek, a branch of the Manning. Hence the trend of 

 the valley is behind the rocky masses of Mitchell and Oxley 

 Islands and through the marshes to Wallis Lake. The 

 divide between this and Smith's Lake is low and narrow, 

 and thus we enter the Smith's Lake-Myall-Port Stephens 



* David, " Geology of Vegetable Creek," 1887, p.60. 



