THE CRANBOURNE METEORITES 
25 
The Cranbourne No. 3 iron was found half a mile from the 
Cranbourne No. 1 iron, on Carnmallam Pre-emptive Right, some 
time between 1854 and 1860. It weighed 15 lb. All trace of this 
iron has been lost, and there is no description of its composition 
or structure. 
The Beaconsfield iron, weighing 165 lb., was found in 1876 in 
a railway cutting 2 miles east of Beaconsfield railway station, 
parish of Pakenham (Fig. 1). The main mass of this meteorite 
was bought for the Krantz collection, Bonn, Germany. 
The Langwarrin iron was found in 1886, in allotment 94, parish 
of Langwarrin, 5 miles south-east of Langwarrin railway station, 
by Mr. A. H. Padley, who donated it to the National Museum, 
Melbourne. It weighed 18 cwt. when found, but has lost weight 
by rusting and scaling. Its present dimensions are 36 in. x 22 
in. x 20 in. 
Of the later-found meteorites, only the Pakenham iron 
(reported as Cranbourne No. 6 by Hodge Smith, 1939) has been 
described (Edwards and Baker, 1941). Its weight when found 
was 89 lb., and its size 12 in. x 7 5 in. x 6 5 in. This iron was 
found in 1928 on the south side of the Princes Highway, three- 
quarters of a mile west of Toomuc Creek, opposite allotment 14, 
parish of Pakenham (Fig. 1). Prior to its detailed description, 
Hodge Smith (1939) incorrectly reported the weight of this 
meteorite as 20 lb., and stated that it was in the National Museum 
collection, Melbourne, but the main mass is in the Victorian 
Geological Survey Museum (Reg. No. 8150) . It now weighs 48 lb., 
the loss in weight being due to rapid scaling and to the removal 
of portions for chemical and mineralogical examination. It has 
been painted with colourless duco varnish to prevent further 
scaling. 
Of the four Cranbourne meteorites found in 1923, No. 4 and 
No. 5 have been reported by Hodge Smith (1939), and so-named 
by him. The other two are here named Cranbourne No. 7 and 
Cranbourne No. 8. 
The Cranbourne No. 4 iron was found on the property of Mr. 
G. Bacon, in allotment 34, parish of Sherwood. When found it 
measured 39 in. x 26 in. x 20 in., and weighed approximately 
1 25 tons (not 10 cwt. as reported by Hodge Smith, 1939). It 
was bought by the Victorian Mines Department, and is stored in 
the basement of the National Museum, Melbourne. 
The Cranbourne No. 5, the Cranbourne No. 7 and the Cran- 
bourne No. 8 meteorites were found close together by Mr. A. R. 
Croker when ploughing in his paddock in allotment 33, parish of 
Sherwood (Fig. 1). 
