242 proceedings op section c. 



2. — New South Wales and Northern Territory. 



{By Prof. IF. G. Woolnough.) 



I beg to report that since the last meeting of the Association in 

 Sydney, in 1911, 1 have had the opportunity of visiting two districts of 

 considerable interest and importance in connexion with the Glacial 

 Geology of Australia, 



1. Cambrian. — In my recent expedition through the Northern 

 Territory and Queensland I traversed a vast extent of country under- 

 lain by rocks of Cambrian age ; .perhaps the most extensive Cambrian 

 area in the world, and obtained a fairly satisfactory idea of the strati- 

 graphy of this important system. It consists of the following well- 

 marked subdivisions in descending Order : — 



Mount McMinn (red) Beds. 



White Quartzites. 



Purple Quartzites of the Koper River. 



Katherine and Banhemia Limestones. 



Edith River Volcanic Series. 



There is, then, no trace of the Cambrian glaciation which is so impor- 

 tant a feature of the system in South Australia. I am inclined to think 

 that the whole series in the Territory represents only the uppermost 

 division — Purple Slates and Archeeocyathinal Limestones — of the 

 southern area. Whether this is so or not I think the negative evidence 

 of the glacial beds is worthy of note. 



2. Penno-Carhoniferous. — I have had the good fortime to discover 

 a new and extensive area of glacial beds of this age in New South Wales, 

 They are very strongly developed on the Macleay River, and are repre- 

 sented also in the valley of the Manning River. It is in the former area 

 that I have studied them most. The work done so far can be regarded 

 as preliminary only, but it suffices to prove the strong development of 

 the Lower Marine (Permo-Carboniferous) glacial beds and to indicate 

 important stratigraphical relationships connected with them. The 

 rocks of the Macleay River basin are, for the most part, slates, consider- 

 ably folded and strongly jointed, quite difierent in facies from those 

 of the type area of the Hunter River to the south. They have an 

 appearance of considerable age and were originally mapped as Silurian. 

 The discovery of extensive beds of limestone above Kempsey, containing 

 Trachypora, Fenestella, Aviculopecten, and Eurydesma, indicated their 

 Permo-Carboniferous age. The limestones can be traced, with occasional 

 breaks due to faulting, for at least 25 miles (probable more) along the 

 valley of the river, and form a valuable datum. 



The glacial beds were first noticed near Stony Creek on the Mo- 

 parrabah road. Here we have a strong outcrop of typical boulder 

 clay. The boulders are fairly numerous and run up to at least 14 inches 



