Art. I. — Notes on the Eocene Strata of the Bellarine 

 Peninsida with brief references to other deposits. 



(With Plate I.) 



By T. S. Hall, M.A., aud G. B. Pritchard. 



[Eead 9tli March, 1893]. 



Our chief inducement for visiting the Bellarine Peninsula was 

 the object of settling on pala^ontological evidence whether the 

 small outcrop marked on the maps {\ sheet 23 S.W.) belongs to 

 eocene or to miocene age, the two sets of beds having been else- 

 where confused. Certain peculiarities of the deposits however 

 induced us to extend our observations to other portions of the 

 district where similar beds are exposed. 



The Peninsula consists of a central mass of the Jurassic fresh- 

 water series, an outlying portion of the Barrabool and Otway 

 beds. Overlying these beds in their northern area occurs the 

 Older Basalt, aflbrding by its decomposition the rich soil for 

 which that part of the district is so well known. Surrounding 

 this central mass is a ring of marine eocene beds. Exposures of 

 the latter occur on the northern and southern boundaries where- 

 ever the natural conditions afford an opportunity of seeing them. 

 On the eastern and western sides no exposures are to be seen as 

 the thick mantle of upper tertiary beds covers the slopes and 

 flats and hides the underlying series from view. There is little 

 doubt however that the ring is complete, as to the westward the 

 (jreelong eocenes, as represented by the Corio Bay, Moorabool 

 Valley and Belmont beds are well developed, while to the 

 eastwai'd the Mornington beds occur just across the bay, and as 

 Mr. Daintree reports* similiar beds were passed through in the 

 QueensclifF boi-e. 



The Jurassic rocks, although occuping such a large extent of the 

 peninsula, show only one small outcrop just to the westward of 

 Portarlington.f A syncline occurs between the Bellarine beds 



* Pad. Rep., 1861-62, A 43. t i Slieet 23 N.E. Note. 



B 



