Fossil Fish ill Rods of tJie Mansfidd District. 'i 



Upper Silurian strata of Maindample and Doon. Reacliing 

 an elevation in the track near tiie Paps (a considerable hill 

 to our right, terminating in two peaks), other striking 

 features of this district come into view ; its beautiful park- 

 like character, well grassed and thinly timbered, with fair 

 sized red gums ; while beyond, the distant hills, with their 

 slightly inclined strata and almost horizontal tops, can be 

 plainly seen. Mount Timber Top is seen straight before us 

 some distance away. Slightly to the left, and apparently 

 near by Mansfield, but proving on closer acquaintance to be 

 a mile or two distant from the township, is the conspicuous 

 Battery Hill, called by way of compliment Mount Battery ; 

 while farther back, and more to the left and north, range in 

 apparently close proximity the Wombat, Table Top, and 

 Hat Hill, all more or less conspicuous from their almost 

 horizontal tops, and occasional long lines of shelf-like pro- 

 jecting rocks. These attract more and more attention till 

 we reach Mansfield. From the township, a walk of a few 

 minutes only brings us to Ford's Creek, on the Benalla 

 Road, where we are face to face with broad surfaces of flat 

 sandstone rock, many yards in width, visible for a consider- 

 able distance in its bed. To the north-east, at a short 

 distance, is the Mount Battery, whence the fossil plants 

 came which attracted the attention of Mr. Selwyn. In a 

 northerly direction, to the summit of the Wombat, Timber 

 Top, and Hat Hill, attaining an altitude of from 2000 to 

 3000 feet, every creek, cutting, or protruding rock exhibits 

 hard gritty flagstones of reddish brown to purplish red, with 

 chocolate and claret coloured fine grained sandstones (some 

 having a micaceous character), interstratified with very thick 

 beds of rubbly shale and mudstone, resembling rocks I have 

 seen at the Iguana Creek, and the Avon River in Gippsland. 

 Examining the formation along the Broken River, from 

 the old bridge at Dueran to the spot searched by Mr. Cress- 

 well, and on to Mr. P. O'Halloran's selection, and into the 

 enclosure known as the Tannery Paddock, being part of 

 what is now Mr. Mitchell's Dueran Estate, I found them 

 composed of chocolate coloured rubbly shales changing to a 

 purplish tint, interstratified with beds of nmch harder 

 material, showing in places ripple and other markings. 

 Having reached the spot shown to me by Mr. James Tolmie, 

 where he found the fragment of Iddhyodorulite, resembling 

 Gyracanthus, I ascertained them all to have been found as 

 freestones, and not in situ. 



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