OUR COAL AND OUR COAL POETS, 109 



Again, and still farther south, and some thirty miles from 

 Jervis Bay, we find the last southern remains of our grand coal 

 measures ; where insignificant seams of coal and of oil shales crop 

 out in the Ulladulla country and at the head of the Clyde Eiver. 

 The oil shale on the Clyde, being the oldest and the last evidence 

 of the " wedging," or " pinching out," "of the great palgeozoic 

 formation, which, being seen here for the last time, seems to point 

 to this position as the last resting place, south, of the true coal 

 measures. 



South of where the coal terminates, and along the remainder 

 of our coast to our boundary at Cape Howe, a distance of 100 

 miles, there is no evidence of the existence of any old carboni- 

 ferous formation ; because below Bateman's Bay and the Clyde 

 Eiver we come to the Moruya granite, which continues to the 

 parallel of Montague Island and the " Dromedary," where 

 j^ssers-by may observe the termination of the granite ; as the 

 southern half of that little island — of some four miles in circum- 

 ference — is composed of granite, whilst its northern half is com- 

 posed of basaltic rocks. 



Between this parallel of Montague Island and Cape Howe we 

 have an almost uninterrupted prevalence of porphyritic and sand- 

 stone cliffs, pierced only in one place along the coast, for about 

 one mile in width, by a very extraordinary upheaval or deposit of 

 a tertiary, if not of a still younger formation. This spot exists 

 16 miles north of Twofold Bay, at a place called " Boonda." 

 Here at 60 feet above the sea level there exists a regular seam of 

 carbonaceous substance, Avhich is fully 7 feet thick_, is based by 

 most excellent fireclay, and capped by kaolin and fine sands, and 

 is visible along the whole of this extraordinarj^ formation and 

 section of the cliff, in a perfectly horizontal position with the 

 sea, having a dip of two degrees, or of 1 foot in 30, inland, corre- 

 sponding in dip to the true coal seams at Wollongong. 



This coaly matter is, however, only a lignite, which, although 

 containing 65 per cent, of inflammable matter, is without com- 

 mercial value, and is replete with sulphur and arsenic ; and as no 

 fossils (except recent-looking plants) of any kind have been found 

 there, even by the assistance of borings (effected and carefully 

 watched by myself) through white sands and white clays for 120 

 feet below this otherwise perfect seam of apparent coal, it thus 

 proves that this singular formation is not belonging to the old and 

 valuable carboniferous measures, but seems to resemble very mucli 

 the lignite deposit found at Lai Lai, near Ballarat, in Victoria. 



Leaving this geological lusus naturcjB ; the porphyritic and red 

 sandstone and slaty cliffs continue all the way past Merimbula, 

 Twofold Bay, and Grreen Cape to Grabo Island, the Genoa lliver, 

 and Cape Howe, where our boundary with our Victorian neigh- 

 bours is constituted by a most remarkable formation wholly 



