Letter from R. C. Gunn, Esq., F.RS. F.L.S. &c, respecting 

 the Discovery of Keys in the Shore Formation of 

 Corio Bay, and the Paper reletting to them read by 

 Mr. RavMnson, C.E., on the 16th November, 1874. 



" Launceston, 29th May, 1875. 



" Dear Sir, — Ever since the receipt of your letter of 

 16th December last, I have been too ill to attend to business 

 of any kind, or to make the necessary references to enable 

 me satisfactorily to answer your inquiry as to the (alleged) 

 ' discovery of some iron keys under 1 5 feet of diluvium 

 near Corio Bay, by Mr. C. J. La Trobe.' I now annex all 

 the information I can supply on the subject, and which 

 I think will be deemed sufficient. 



" I remember the circumstances of the alleged discovery 

 of the keys in the position named by you perfectly well. 



" I saw the two keys (three were, I believe, found) in the 

 possession of my friend Mr. La Trobe, in Melbourne, in the 

 end of September or beginning of October, 1849 (not in 

 1845 or 1846), immediately after they were picked up. He 

 promised to accompany me to Geelong on 4th October, but 

 early on the morning of that day I received a note from 

 him, in which he says, ' I find it impossible to get away 

 from my office with a good conscience this week, and am 

 sorry that it is so. I have written the enclosed to 

 Mr. Addis to ask him to show you where the keys were 

 found. Let me know when you return.' 



" I proceeded to Geelong on the above day, and next 

 morning, accompanied by Mr. Addis, visited the spot where 

 the keys were discovered. On questioning the lime-burner, 

 I ascertained that he did not pick the keys out of the 

 stratum of shells at the depth alleged, but found them at 

 the bottom of the hole, mixed with some shells, and 

 assumed that they had dropped along with them. I was 

 perfectly satisfied that the keys never had been embedded 

 in the stratum of shells, as supposed by the lime-burner and 

 by Mr. La Trobe, consequently all the theories based on that 

 assumption fall to the ground. The keys were small, about 

 the size ordinarily used for chests of drawers, of very 

 modern make, not encrusted with lime, and very slightly 

 corroded with rust. 



