BY CAPTAIN F. W. BUTTON, F.G.S., &C. 335 



and mountaineer as Dr. von Lendenfeld, whose words must carry 

 weight, it is necessary that both the observations on which it is 

 founded and the inferences drawn from them shoukl be carefully 

 examined ; for, if it really occurred, it must have been one of the 

 most incomprehensible episodes in thehj^tory of the earth. It will, 

 however, take very strong evidence to establish it. 



Evidence for the Southern Glacial Epoch. 



1. During a recent exploration of the central part of the 

 Australian Alps, Dr. von Lendenfeld discovered traces of ancient 

 glaciers, and, on the strength of this, he asserts " that Australia 

 also has passed through a glacial period." (1) This discovery is 

 highly interesting, and I do not wish to deny the former existence 

 of these glaciers ; on the contrary I think them highly probable, 

 but we must bear in mind that the only evidence for them at 

 present is the occurrence of roches montonnees and smoothed 

 surfaces of decomjwsing granite, at a level of 5800 feet and 

 upwards : it is expressly stated that no moraines have as yet been 

 found. But although I do not wish to deny the former existence 

 of these glaciers, it is necessary to point out that it by no means 

 follows that they were caused by a glacial epoeh ; because they 

 might equally well have been due to greater elevation combined 

 with greater atmospheric moisture, and no evidence is given to 

 show that elevation has not occurred. 



2. The only other Australian evidence for a glacial epoch 

 admitted by Dr. von Lendenfeld is the occurrence of granite 

 erratics on the beach, near Adelaide, which were discovered, I 

 believe, by Prof. R. Tate, and which Dr. von Lendenfeld says 

 were probably " deposited on the beach by icebergs stranded there, 

 which may have drifted to the south coast of Australia from the 

 South Pole at the time it was cooler in the Southern Hemisphere 

 then at present." 



This is real evidence for a glacial epoch for, if true, it 

 necessitates a colder climate, which the mountain glaciers do not. 



(1) Proc. Lin. Soc. of New South Wales, Vol, X., p. 44. 



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