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in the strata in which these rest, and the remains of the same or other forests 

 ac a much lower level, namely, in the bed of the Waitotara river itself. 



Clearly then, here is evidence either of a very remarkable rise in the 

 land, or of the considerable and rapid action of the waves upon it. 



On first looking at the sand-hills, in question, it seems as if the whole 

 mass had been lifted bodily upwards from the bed of the ocean. So fresh is 

 the appearance of the sand, that it is difficult to believe that it has not been 

 lately covered by the tide. However, this supposition is a highly improbable 

 one, when the generally horizontal and unbroken nature of the stratification of 

 the underlying rocks is considered, dipping, as they do, at a very small angle 

 towards the sea, and presenting no appearance of having been disturbed since 

 the accumulation of sand upon them. 



The probability is, then, that the present cliffs have been formed since the 

 great Tertiary system, which underlies all the more recent formations in this 

 province, and in that of Hawke's Bay (being apparently identical, as to fossil 

 contents, on both sides of the island), attained its present elevation. 



Evidently, then, at one time, the surface of the rocks, in question, sloped 

 gradually to the beach, and became covered with sand-hills (similar, in all 

 respects to those between Paikakariki and Bangitikei), and presented no 

 abrupt termination towards the sea. 



Rocks at some depth below the surface of the water are protected from 

 the action of the waves, but no sooner do they approach the surface, than they 

 are exposed to the incessant cutting and grinding action of moving water. 

 Hence it is easy to imagine that the ordinary action of the tide, apart from 

 that of ocean currents, (though I believe these have a considerable effect on 

 our coasts), was sufficient to wash away so much of the newly-formed land, as 

 to give rise to the rather singular phenomenon of sand-hills terminating in high 

 cliffs. The present coast line is, in short, a section of that which formerly 

 existed, and apparently at no remote period. 



That this period was not very remote is, I think, proved by the fact, that, 

 at any rate, some of the trees, of which the stumps, and in some places the 

 trunks, are visible, have not lost the appearance of wood, and though others 

 have become changed into lignite, I have seen none which could be classed as 

 Brown coal. I may mention, incidentally, that the lignite in question is so 

 plentiful that I was informed, when lately in the Waitotara district, that it 

 had been used as fuel at Mr. O'Hanlon's hotel, near the Kai Iwi. It is 

 evident that the trees, I refer to, must have been growing before the sand 

 covered the soil, and the probability is that the sand was drifted by the 

 wind over and amongst the more recent ones. Indeed the remains of an old 

 pa were visible till lately upon a place called Popoia, near the Okehu 

 stream. This, though half a mile from the sea, is now nothing but a 

 vast sand-hill. Hence, it follows, that the sea must have made such inroads 

 upon the part of the coast in question, as not only to have washed away a 

 considerable belt of sand-hills, but to have cut into the fertile land where a 

 forest formerly grew, and it is not improbable, that this formed part of that 

 forest, which middle-aged Maoris say they have heard their fathers speak of, 

 as having covered the present fern and grass lands within their own recollection. 

 For the comfort of land owners, I may mention that the further drifting of the 

 sand has been prevented by the growth of vegetation, and by the formation of 

 a high fern-covered ridge, which forms, as it were, a rampart between the 

 sand-hills and the arable land ; though while the sea will still gradually eat 

 into the land, it will do so at a continually decreasing rate, the lower rocks 

 being much harder than the upper, and consisting of an indurated blue clay. 



The part of the coast which I have attempted to describe is well worthy 

 the attention of a skilled geologist, and a careful examination of it, noting the 



