Northern Queensland. 53 



hood of Cleveland Bay, at the back of which gold has been found. 

 The general character of the coast of the York Peninsula to the 

 13th parallel is, therefore, in agreement with the country six 

 degrees more south, and to the east of the Burdekin. I have 

 not been able to have any of the rocks in the region just named 

 subjected to assay ; but with respect to those of the Louisiade 

 Archipelago, certain of them, especially the quartz, were assayed 

 for me at the Mint some years ago, but without finding any gold 

 in them. They consisted of slate, porphyry, &c. 



Mr. Daintree goes on to say : — " I have not Leichhardt's work 

 to refer to as to the geology of Kirchner's Range, but since it 

 lies in the strike of the Gilbert mica-schists, it is probably a 

 schistose barrier." 



On making reference I find Leichhardt does not distinctly state 

 what is its formation ; but he mentions Talc schist to the south- 

 east of it with Syenite passing into Hornblende rock and with 

 scattered quartz crystals. To the north-westward, Granite and 

 Pegmatite occurred. The trend of the ranges on the east bank 

 of the river appears to be north-easterly and easterly. 



I suspect that there are two divisions of the old Palaeozoic rocks 

 in the region under review, and that some of the supposed 

 " metamorphic" rocks are transmuted Lower Silurian or perhaps 

 Huronian. If so, gold will, probably, be hereafter found. 



Supposing that the preceding observations have been founded on 

 sufficient data, then, regarding the general trend of the divisio 

 aquarium from the granitic Bellenden Kerr Hills above Bocking- 

 ham Bay, south-westerly through the heads of the Lynd and 

 Gilbert to the ranges of Burke and Wills at the head of the 

 Cloncurry, where quartz reefs are known to exist, I would venture 

 to anticipate, hereafter, a development of Auriferous country also 

 in the neighbourhood of M'Kinlay's Bange, and to the westward 

 especially as Wills points out a quartz reef, and as on Lands- 

 borough's country along the Grregory and O'Shanassy Bivers, 

 which also head along the previously indicated water-parting, 

 there is abundance of Basalt, which not only occupies a similar 

 prominent position at the head of the Lynd, but also occurs in 

 the Bramston Bange, on the Flinders, and near to the head of 

 the Barkly Biver, in an extensive table land.* 



III. I have now briefly to notice the occurrence of Copper in 

 Northern Queensland. 



Independently of the well-known Peak Down or Mount Drum- 

 mond mines, Copper occurs at the Dee Mountain and in various 

 other localities. Mr. Daintree, however, has added a fresh locality 

 on the Lynd Biver of M'Kinnon. Of its occurrence there, he 

 remarks as follows : — 



(* See p. 46) 



