THE GEOLOGY OF LIMEKILNS, BATHURST DISTRICT. 289 



THE GEOLOGY OF LIMEKILNS, BATHURST DISTRICT. 



By W. J. Clunies Ross, b.Sc 



(Communicated by J. H. Maiden, f.l.s., &c.) 



[With Plate XLIL] 



[Read before the Royal Society of N. S. Wales, August 1, 1894<.~] 



The locality known as Limekilns is situated about sixteen miles 

 north-east of Bathurst. The existence of beds of limestone there 

 has long been known, and, as the name of the place indicates, the 

 stone was formerly used for lime burning, although at present 

 little, if any, is quarried for that purpose. One of the limestone 

 beds contains some small caves, which are occasionally visited, 

 and a short list of fossils from the place is given by Rev. J. M» 

 Curran, in his paper on the Geology of Bathurst.* A few months 

 ago attention was drawn in the daily papers to the occurrence of 

 a variegated marble at a place called "Fernbrook," which is close 

 to Limekilns. The discovery of this ornamental stone, or at any 

 rate the recognition of its suitability for decorative work, is due 

 to my friend Mr. W. Roberts, Government Clerk of Works for 

 the Western District, who carefully examined all the limestones 

 in the Bathurst district, with a view to the utilisation of some of 

 them in Government buildings. The favourable opinion which 

 he formed of the Fernbrook stone has been fully endorsed by all 

 who have seen polished specimens, and it is generally admitted to 

 be equal in beauty to any imported stone. As it is obtainable in 

 good sized blocks and easily polished, there is considerable proba- 

 bility that it will be extensively used in the near future. Geo- 

 logically speaking, it is not a true marble, if we confine that term 

 to limestones which have undergone complete metamorphism, 

 accompanied by the obliteration of all fossils. True saccharine 



* 'A Contribution to the Geology and Petrography of Bathurst, New 

 South Wales/— Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W., Ser. 2, Vol. vi., p. 173 - 234. 

 S— Sept. 5, 1894. 



