COAL 



867 



' The Burrum coal-seams, worked for some time on a branch of the Mary river, lie 

 below the Maryborough Cyprina-Sandstones. . . . Bars of coal are a marked 

 feature in these Mesozoic lacustrine beds. . . . The appearance of these lacus- 

 trine coal-measures differs in a very marked manner from their supposed marine 

 representatives to the westward. Coarse grits and thick-bedded sandstones form the 

 majority of the strata, though shales, sandstones, and limestones are interstratified 

 throughout the system. 



'Whilst the affinities of the southern coal-field of Queensland are Mesozoic, a 

 northern field of even larger extent has a distinct fauna more resembling the Palaeozoic 

 carboniferous of Europe. . . . The Dawson, Comet, McKenzie, and Bo wen rivers 

 drain this Carboniferous area, and numerous outcrops of coal have been observed on 

 these streams. No commercial use, however, has yet been made of any of them, as 

 the coal-measures, generally, are too far inland to be made available until the railway- 

 system of the country is extended in that direction.' 



NEW ZEALAND. The hydrous coal-measures (lignite) lie on the eastern slopes of 

 the axial rocks in both of the islands of New Zealand. This coal is of a brown 

 colour, but hard and glossy, and frequently contains a quantity of fossil resin, which 

 greatly facilitates its combustion. It is in the locality a valuable fuel, and is largely 

 used both for domestic purposes and for raising steam. It is also applied to the 

 manufacture of bricks and pottery, and for other economic purposes. The best known 

 deposits of this coal in the North Island are those mined at Drury, twenty miles to 

 the south of the city of Auckland. Seams of this coal, varying from 6 to 15 feet in 

 thickness, occur at intervals over a large area of country. In the South Island the 

 total quantity of this coal has been estimated at 100,000,000 tons. Two mines have 

 been opened on this field. The Clutha mine is on the sea ' coast, about three miles 

 from the mouth of Clutha river. The other mine is in the vicinity of Tokomairo. 

 The seam is 9 feet thick, and worked by a level in the side of a hill. 



In 1864 the quantity of coal produced from the mines in this district was about 

 4,000 tons. 



Anhydrous coal. The most important development of the coal-seams of this class 

 is on the west coast of the South Island. At Preservation Inlet, in the province of 

 Otago, and at various points on the coast, the same formation occurs, but without 

 any valuable seams of coal, as far as we yet know, until the Grey river is reached. 



At Grey river the coal extends over an area which Dr. Haast has estimated at 15 

 miles in length by 6 in width. 'At present (1866) the output of the coal is from 250 

 to 300 tons per week, and is taken down the river in canoes and in 16-ton barges, 

 and delivered alongside the vessels at 40s. per ton. It has been used to a large ex- 

 tent on board the steam-vessels that frequent the coast, and gives great satisfaction. 

 A small quantity of this coal is also reported to have been tried in the Dunedin gas- 

 works, and to have yielded a large quantity of illuminating gas.' 



In the immediate neighbourhood of the Buller river the existence of workable 

 coal-seams is considered certain over an area of at least 15 square miles. Beckoning 

 none of the seams having a less thickness than five feet, there is a total of 38 feet of 

 pure coal, and the quantity available in this one locality has been estimated at 

 200,000,000 tons. The following summary of the anhydrous coal is given in the report 

 by Mr. Stafford to Lord Carnarvon : 



JAPAN. The following are the only available notes on the coal-fields of Japan : 



Iwanai. Tomazi. A bed of coal from four to six feet in thickness, consisting of 



rery good bituminous coal, in places very pure, in others intermixed with slate, which 



is easily separated from it. The coal-mines lie two miles inland from a village 



called Kaianoma, some seven miles across the bay. Four seams of coal have been 



discovered : 2 are from 4 feet to 6 feet thick, 1 is about 1 foot thick, 1 not yet examined. 



Seventy-nine pounds of coal burnt in the galley fire of Her Majesty's ship ' Salamis,' 



3K2 



