244 

 IV. — GEOLOGY. 



Art. XLIII. — On the Relative Ages of the Waitemata Series and the Brown 



Coal Series of Drury and Waikato. By Captain F. W. Hutton, F.G.S. 



(Witli Illustrations.) 



[Read before the AucUand Institute, Augunt 8, 1870.] 



The only geologist who has hitherto published any classification of the tertiary 



rocks of the central part of this province is, I believe, Professor Hochstetter. 



In his lecture delivered in Auckland, in June, 1859, he divides the strata into 



two formations : — 



1st. A younger, probably Miocene, comprising the series of clays and 

 sandstones upon which Auckland stands, and which he called the 

 " Waitemata series," and 

 2nd. An older one, probably Eocene, which is found principally on the 

 west coast, and in the interior, on both sides of the primary ranges. 

 This older formation he again subdivides into — 



1. Sandstones of the Upper Waipa and Mokau. 



2. Limestones of the Upper Waipa and Mokau, of Raglan, Kawhia, 



Papakura, and south of Port Waikato. 



3. Clays and green sandstones on the eastern branches of the Raglan, 



Aotea, and Kawhia harbours. 



4. Brown coal series of Drury and Lower Waikato. 



Subsequently, in 1865, in the Geology of the Voyage of the '■^ Novara" he 

 appears to have altered his views as to the relative ages of the beds as 

 follows : — 



1. Limestones of the Upper Waipa and Mokau. 



2. Shales and limestones of Raglan, Aotea, and Kawhia. 



3. Sandstone of Port Waikato. 



4. Limestone of Papakura. 



5. Waitemata series. 



6. Brown coal series of Drury and Lower Waikato, 



And in the map accompanying that volume, the I'ocks are divided into two 

 formations — the younger containing Nos. 1, 2, 3, and 4 of this table, and the 

 older Nos. 5 and 6. 



During the month of November, 1866, I was employed by the Provincial 

 Government to ascertain the probable limits of the Brown coal series in the 

 Lower Waikato, and while thus engaged I was led to form a different opinion 

 of the relative ages of the tertiary rocks to either of those proposed by 

 Professor Hochstetter ; consequently, in the report I then sent in, I altered 

 his arrangement to suit my views, but as I had no idea at the time it was 

 written that it would be published, I gave no reasons for my alterations. 



