8o Excursion— To or ak , Richmond Park, Hawthorn. [^^*^sept *' 



EXCURSION — TOORAK TO RICHMOND PARK AND 



HAWTHORN. 



A PARTY of about fifteen members was favoured with beautiful 



weather for the excursion from Toorak to Richmond Park on 



Saturday, nth June. The main object of the outing was a 



study of physiography, and the country between lends itself 



admirably for this purpose. A start was made from the Toorak 



tram terminus eastward along Toorak-road, and from a high 



point at the intersection of Glenferrie-road a very fair view 



was obtained of the surrounding country. Looking towards 



Glenferrie, on the right we had a fine view of the Dandenong 



Ranges. The view on our left was, unfortunately, obscured by 



a thick haze, but in front we saw a beautiful stretch of hills and 



dales away to Glenferrie and Hawthorn. Here we pictured 



Victoria through the varying changes she has undergone, from 



the long-ago ages of her folded mountains, through that period 



of sculpturing when these great elevations were eaten down 



by rivers to pene-plains, thence to a great subsidence, when 



the sea floor near the coast became covered by shore or estuarine 



deposits. After this came an uplift of the earth's crust, and 



this enabled rivers to begin work afresh, and to carve up this 



coastal plain into ridges and valleys. What do we see now ? 



A splendid example of a dissected coastal plain, traversed by 



what we may call " switchback " roads. After a considerable 



descent our next stop was at the Glen Iris railway line crossing, 



near Kooyong station. In the distance we saw the beginning 



of canyon formation, which was briefly dealt with. The main 



point of interest here was, however, the valley of Gardiner's 



Creek — a fine, broad, almost flat-bottomed, sheet of alluvium. 



The very level floor of this valley would lead one to think that 



in the past this portion was a shallow lake or marsh, formed, 



probably, by the blocking up of the mouth of the stream, which 



later on filled up this lake with deposits of silt. The reason 



why Gardiner's Creek has no basalt in its valley was discussed. 



It was suggested that this creek owed its freedom from basalt 



to the fact that its bed was at a higher level at the time when 



the volcanic flows came than other streams containing lava, 



but it has since cut down very much, and at its junction with 



the Yarra near Heyington station is now only about three feet 



above sea-level. Dr. T. S. Hall, in his interesting little book, 



" Hill and Dale," deals fully with Gardiner's Creek. The 



Geological Survey map. No. i, S.E., shows a number of 



meanders between Glenferrie-road and the river, but during 



recent years these have become silted up, and a straighter 



course has been artificially made. 



We next journeyed along the railway line to the cutting at 

 Heyington station, and found some exceedingly interesting 



