1 64 Barnard, In the Western Lake District. \^'%^^''' 



that it had been caused by an explosion, and not a subsidence 

 of the floor, as others had considered. Now Messrs. Grayson 

 and Mahony have come to the same conclusion as regards 

 Gnotuk and BuUen-Merri ; but, whatever the cause, the result 

 is most interesting, and well worth making an effort to see, 

 and I trust these notes will induce others to try Western Vic- 

 toria for a holiday. 



But I have not told you all the curious features of these two 

 lakes. Time was getting on, so, under the guidance of my 

 friend, I descended the hillside to the place where there is an 

 outcrop of fossiliferous material, consisting of marine shells. 

 This has been fully dealt with in the report mentioned. In 

 doing so I missed the exposure of volcanic tuffs in the road- 

 cutting near b\'. This formation underlies a great extent of 

 country hereabouts, comprised in the county of Hampden, and 

 has, in consequence, been named the Hampden tuffs. Con- 

 tinuing on to the edge of the lake, I tasted the water, and 

 found it fairly fresh, with no sign of algae on the stones near 

 the water-line. These have a whitened appearance, but from 

 what cause I am unable to say. The surface of the lake is 

 lower than formerly, and, like Terang, is said to be gradually 

 drying up ; but it will take many years to make any appreci- 

 able difference, as it is upwards of 250 feet deep. I then crossed 

 the neck of land separating the two lakes, which, from my 

 previous observation spot, seemed only a couple of hundred 

 yards or so across. I found it nearer half a mile, with a fall 

 of about 200 feet in that distance to Gnotuk. Professor 

 Gregory speaks of Bullen-Merri ha\ang an outlet : but it is not 

 an outlet in the ordinary sense of the word, as the lowest 

 portion of the isthmus is nearly fifty feet above the level of the 

 water in the lake. There is, however, a certain amount of 

 soakage through to Gnotuk. Gnotuk is weird in the extreme, 

 surrounded by steep banks and fringed with dead or dying 

 trees. It is much smaller than Bullen-Merri, its area being 

 only 600 acres, while it is nearly circular, having a diameter 

 of about a mile, with a depth of about no feet. The greater 

 part of the shore-Une of both lakes is, unfortunately, private 

 property. The water of Gnotuk was not nearly so clear as 

 that of Bullen-Merri, and. though quite salt, supported a con- 

 siderable growth of algfe, which washed up on to the stones 

 along the shore, and then, dr\ing, gave them a very dirty, 

 unsightly appearance. A small flat exists on portion of the 

 shore which is cultivated, and there are a number of wind- 

 miUs distributed round, w^hich, strange as it may appear, raise 

 fresh or comparatively fresh water, suitable for watering stock, 

 irrigating, &c. The difference in the water-level of the two 



