QUEENSLAND 
PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY 
(Prom the Queensland Guardian, June 21, 1864.) 
The above society held its ordinary monthly 
meeting in the temporary room of the Muni- 
cipal Council, George-street. The President of 
the society, Chief Justice Cockle, not being 
present when the meeting commenced, Mr. 
Diggles, as senior member of the council, occu- 
pied the chair-. The minutes of former meetings 
were read and confirmed. Alderman Pettigrew 
kindly offered the use of a room to the society, 
in which to hold its meetings till such time as 
other arrangements of a more permanent 
nature could be made. The offer was thank- 
fully accepted. In the absence of Mr. Coxen, 
Vice-President of the Society, the Secretary — 
Rev. Mr. Bliss — requested Mr. Rawnsley to 
read the following practical and valuable paper, 
by Mr. Coxen, on 
The Geology oe Westebn Queensland. 
“It has been remarked by most of our 
Queensland travellers that wherever basaltio 
rocks predominate the country is rich and 
valuable. This is particularly the case at 
Pitzroy Downs, and throughout our western 
territory. But beyond this point of similarity 
with Darling Downs, and other localities not 
far removed from the east coast, I know of no 
well-known place which could be alluded to as 
giving an idea of the country in the interior, as, 
from its geological formation, it has a character 
of its own. For the pioneer settler — I mean 
the man who has to occupy the country for a 
few years, and make the most of it as he finds 
it — there]! may be said to be only two classes of 
country, viz., very good, and very bad. Fitzroy 
Downs, and a great extent of country to the 
west and north-west of them, consist of shales, 
chiefly blue marl. In the vicinity of basaltic 
mountains, the soil which covers the [ shale is 
to a great extent decomposed trap, mingled 
with a highly calcareous sand. This forms the 
basis of a very rich soil, of a lighter 
character than that which generally prevails on 
Darling Downs, and well adapted for either 
pastoral or agricultural purposes. The most 
easterly point at which I have observed the 
shales is at Dulacca ; or from the appearance of 
the country, they possibly extend as far east as 
Wallan head station. Thence they trend west- 
ward along the base of the Main Range, and 
attain a considerable width from north to south 
at Wollombilla. The formation then underlies 
the whole extent of Pitzroy Downs, crosses the 
Maranoa River, and occupies a considerable 
portion of its valley, as far north as Possession 
Creek. West of Mount Lonsdale, there is a 
high sandstone range, which divides the waters 
of the Maranoa and Ballonne from those of the 
Warego. West of this range the shales again 
appear on the Warego, River Ward, and other 
tributaries of the former river. West of the 
Grafton Range, on the upper waters of Bungil 
Creek and the Am by, there is a vast field 
of calcareous sandstone, which stretches 
north, occupying much of the eastern 
portion of the valley of the Maranoa, 
