142 Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria. 



Mr. Dennant, F.G.S., then read a paper entitled "Notes 

 on Miocene Strata at Jemmy's Point, with brief remarks 

 upon the Older Tertiary at Bairnsdale," which he illustrated 

 by a map of the district. At its conclusion, 



Mr. Griffiths said that the district which Mr. Dennant 

 had visited and described was very interesting from a 

 geological point of view, and was one of a large number of 

 important districts which had been, practically, wholly ne- 

 glected, owing to the fact that the Government of Victoria 

 had been ill-advised enough to dismiss its Geological Staff 

 some years since, in that way preventing the completion of 

 the Geological Survey of Victoria, which, if it had proceeded 

 on the lines laid down by Mr. Selwyn, would have been very 

 far advanced to-day. It was very important that proper 

 plans and sections should be prepared, as without them it 

 would be impossible to complete the Geological Map of 

 Victoria. While the Staff of the Government Geological 

 Department was so short-handed, it would be impossible 

 for the work to be proceeded with ; and, under such 

 circumstances, it was very fortunate that they had in the 

 comnuuiity a gentleman like Mr. Dennant, who had given 

 special attention to the strata and horizon he had just des- 

 cribed, and who therefore brought to bear upon his work 

 a considerable amount of special knowledge which was 

 of the utmost importance in dealing with such a dis- 

 trict. Mr. Dennant's investigations of the strata of the 

 Muddy Creek, and the coast as far as Mount Gambler, 

 the results of which had from time to time been given 

 to the Society, showed that he was a most competent 

 observer in this particular department of the science ; 

 and he (Mr. Griffiths) was very glad indeed that, short 

 as Mr. Dennant's visit had been, he had been able to gather 

 so much data, of such a valuable and interesting character. 

 When they heard that the fossils which he had been able to 

 obtain from these localities presented a facies which was 

 singularly similar, as far as some of the beds were concerned, 

 to the celebrated Paris basin, and also to the beds of the 

 Alabama district of America, they had an important 

 addition to their geological knowledge ; and the thought 

 was suggested, that this was evidence of a development in 

 life which bore a relationship to the development which was 

 proceeding in Europe and America during the eocene and 

 pliocene periods. It struck him that very important and 

 interestini,' results might be obtained if, in addition to 



