ATISTBALA9IA. 149 



the Carboniferous Series thus: — 1. U. Coal Measures; 2. TJ. Marine 

 Beds ; 3. L. Coal Measures ; 4. L. Marine Beds, frequently resting on 

 a conglomerate. Carboniferous beds are found in Queensland, Tas- 

 mania, and to some extent in W. Australia. — ■/. Mesozoic. The supra- 

 Carboniferous beds comprising the Wianamatta and Hawkesbury Series 

 (" Sydney Sandstone ") contain patches of coal but no workable coal- 

 seams; there is some doubt as to their exact age. Palseontological 

 evidence has indicated the presence in W. Australia of the L. Oolites 

 and U. and M. Lias, and in Queensland that of the L. Oolites and Cre- 

 taceous. No Oolitic marine fossils have been obtained in N. S. Wales ; 

 nor is there evidence of Mesozoic rocks in S. Australia; and the 

 existence of the latter in Tasmania is an open question. In New 

 Caledonia the Secondary formations are represented by Triassic, Liassic, 

 and Neocomian rocks or fossils. — g. Tertiary. No Tertiary marine 

 deposits are met with throughout the whole of N. S. Wales and Queens- 

 land, although in the former there are plant- deposits of that age. The 

 deep auriferous " leads " of N. S. Wales yield, like those of Victoria, 

 seeds and seed-vessels allied to those of the present forest- trees of E. Aus- 

 tralia ; they are probably later Pliocene. The Oligocene beds of Victoria 

 have yielded nearly 40 sp., and the Miocene nearly 50 sp. of marine 

 fossils. One of the auriferous drifts yielded remains of Marsupials, 

 Mollusca, and the Dingo. Some drifts in N. S. Wales are considered 

 identical with those termed Pliocene in Victoria. Tertiary marine 

 fossils occur along the W. coast as far N. as North-west Cape. — 

 h. Quateimary and Recent. Wide-spread accumulations of drift-pebbles 

 occur in the interior, besides black trappean soil, with the bones of 

 gigantic marsupials, reptiles, tfec. The ossiferous accumulations in the 

 Wellington and other bone-caves are of similar age. The sections show 

 the position of Ghssopteris in the Palaeozoic marine deposits. R. E., Jun. 



Crawford, J. C. Did the Great Cook Strait Eiver flow to the north- 

 west or to the south-east ? Trans. N. Zealand Inst. vol. vii. pp. 

 448-451 ; Proceedings, p. 492. 



The formation of Cook Strait, between the N. and S. Islands of New 

 Zealand, is considered to be the result of fluviatile, followed by njarine, 

 denudation. A rise of 1100 feet would convert the Strait into dry 

 land, whilst the sounds and inlets on the S. side would be similarly 

 converted by a rise of 200 feet. The course of the river was eastward ; 

 and, from the extent of its tributaries, it must have been large : the 

 trend of the fall of the bottom of Cook Strait is from westward to east- 

 ward. The author infers that the Cook Strait Iliver existed during a 

 period of elevation after the deposition of the Tertiaries. 11. E., Jun. 



. Some further Proofs as to the ancient Cook Strait River and 



the Harbour of Wellington as a Freshwater Lake ; also a Consi- 

 deration of the Date at which the Islands were united. Trans, 

 N. Zealand Inst. vol. vii. pp. 451-453. 

 Both the flora and fauna indicate that the two chief Islands of New 

 Zealand were once united, which could only have taken place by a 

 higher level of the land in Cook Strait. The required rise would con- 



