Mem. Nat. Mus. Vict., 13, 1943. 
THE KORALEIGH STONY METEORITE 
By A. B. Edwards, D.Sc., and G. Baker, M.Sc 
INTRODUCTION 
The stony meteorite (aerolite) herein described was found by 
Mr. F. A. Cudmore in March, 1943. It had been ploughed up from 
red soil near Koraleigh, in New South Wales, about twenty miles 
north-west of Swan Hill. The meteorite was submitted to us 
for mineralogical investigation by the Director of the National 
Museum, Mr. D. J. Mahony, and is now lodged in the National 
Museum, Melbourne. 
GENERAL DESCRIPTION 
The Koraleigh meteorite is only part of the original mass, since 
one of its six faces is a more or less flat fracture surface. 
The weathered nature of the meteorite indicates that it has lain 
in the soil for a considerable period of time. Its rust-coloured 
exterior is due partly to reddish-brown limonite, and partly to 
small attached particles of red soil. During its period of burial, 
small particles of soil and occasional well-rounded grains of quartz 
became cemented on to surfaces of the aerolite by the iron oxides 
formed from the weathering of its metallic constituents. 
The meteorite is irregular in shape, with six surfaces of varying 
size. Several of the surfaces show the ‘‘thumb-marks”’ so charac- 
teristic of meteorites. On one of the surfaces, a circular depression, 
measuring 7 mm. across, marks the position from which a hemi- 
spherical chondrule has broken out since the meteorite was 
collected. The flat base of this chondrule was on the outside of 
the aerolite, and may therefore have resulted from weathering. 
It was most likely spherical in its original condition. 
The size of the meteorite is 9:3 em. x 5°7 em. x 5-0 em. across its 
major dimensions. The mass weighed approximately 450 grams 
before slicing for mineralogical examination. Its specific gravity 
was determined as 3°41. This value is similar to that of the Caroline 
stony meteorite recently described in these Memoirs (Stillwell, 
1941). Freshly fractured surfaces of the meteorite are dark brown 
to dark grey. Small soft patches of light-brown limonite are 
irregularly distributed through more weathered areas. The fresher 
surfaces show that minute patches of metallic minerals are dis- 
seminated throughout the meteorite. 
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