BY FRITZ NOETLING, M.A., Ph.D., ETC. 255 



Mitchell river flowed in western direction, was also the 

 period of the gigantic marsupials. These became extinct 

 before the arrival of man and the total separation of Tas- 

 mania, most probably either before or during the great 

 volcanic eruptions that eventually led to the formation of 

 Bass vStrait. It is very probable that these giants were 

 indicative of a cooler climate, but some further evidence 

 is required before this question can be finally answered. 



9. THE FORMATION OF BASS STRAIT. 

 (PL. II., FIG. 3.) 



At the time when those tremendous disturbances set 

 in that eventually resulted in the formation of Bass 

 Strait, the following conditions must have prevailed. 



The ice floes that covered a large part of Tasmania 

 had disappeared, the land had risen — slowly perhaps, but 

 probably rather rapidly — to such an extent that not only 

 the present level had been reached, but that the sea level 

 was 300 f€et lower than it is at present. The energy of 

 the erosion during this period of rise must have been 

 very strong; the rivers had cut deep gorges into the 

 country, and large quantities of debris were washed 

 away by them, to be redeposited again in the shape of 

 terraces along the rising coast. The present island of 

 Tasmania formed the south-eastern corner of Australia, 

 and the land that existed between it and present Victoria 

 was traversed by a large river whose sources were in 

 Victoria. The rivers coming from Northern Tasmania 

 discharged their waters into this river, thus establisliing 

 a faunistic communication between Victoria and 

 Northern Tasmania. 



The climate may have been similar to the present 

 one. It is more than probable that during this time the 

 first animals migrated into Tasmania — a mixture of the 

 present fauna and the gigantic marsupials of Australia. 

 It is certain, as I will prove later on, that no human 

 beings existed in this south-eastern corner of Australia 

 during: this period, which we must correlate to the post- 

 Wurmian stage of Europe. 



Before we follow up the different stages of the 

 changes that now set in, we will endeavour to calculate 

 the time that would be required to change the above 



