Iune,"j Hall, Some Notes on the Gippsland Lakes. ■^^ 



As a correction in nomenclature, it may be mentioned that 

 there are two small lakes between Sale and Lake Wellington 

 called Kakydra and Melanydra. These are Greek words 

 meaning "bad water" and "black water," and the names 

 were probably given by some humorous Greek scholar. By 

 dropping the tail of the " d " in both cases they have been 

 transformed into " Kakyora " and " Melanyora," and in this 

 guise masquerade on many of the maps. 



The coast-line mentioned above is quite distinct from the 

 much older coast-line which bounds the marine Tertiaries on 

 the north, and forms what Professor Gregory marks on a map 

 in his " Geography of Victoria " as the former shore of the 

 Gippsland estuary. The marine Tertiaries consist of Barwonian 

 overlain by Kalimnan. Along the course of the Lower Mitchell 

 and on the eastern side of Lake King they have been described 

 by Messrs. Dennant and Clark. They are far antecedent to 

 the age of formation of the lakes, and have nothing to do with 

 it. 



While we are considering the question of geological boundaries, 

 it may be pointed out that the marine Tertiaries extend 

 further inland than is shown on the geological map of the 

 State. The boundary appears to have been copied from Mr. 

 Dennant's map showing the area of the " Miocene " {i.e., 

 Kahmnan). He never attempted to mark the Barwonian area, 

 and it is a very difficult thing to do, as exposures are absent 

 over a large part of the district. 



A striking feature of the Tertiary plateau to the north of 

 the lakes is the presence of a great sheet of gravel and sand, 

 which covers the district, as seen on the railway line, from 

 Flynn's Creek to Bairnsdale. West of Sale sands pre- 

 dominate, but from Sale to Stratford coarse gravels are 

 common, and the same may be said of the country from there 

 to Bairnsdale. The same gravel plateau, deeply trenched by 

 streams, extends along the Buchan road, with but a shght 

 intermission, as far as Stony Creek. The rocks composing the 

 deposit vary considerably ; in places rounded quartz pre- 

 dominates, but in others quartzites and ferruginous hardened 

 sandstones are very common. They evidently represent a 

 waste-sheet from the mountains to the north. 



Spread over such a wide extent of country, the exact limits 

 of which I am unable to define even approximately, the amount 

 of material is enormous. The thickness in places is great. 

 Thus, at Fernbank, between Stratford and Bairnsdale, gravels 

 were bored into to a depth of 400 feet. At Paynesville water 

 was struck at 520 feet in terrestrial gravels, and at Sale they 

 have been pierced for 300 feet.* Clear evidence of the age of 



* "Rep. Inter-State Conference on Artesian Water," Sydney, Govern- 

 ment Printer, 191 3, at p. 7. 



