88 
E. DE C. Clarke, C. Teichert and J. R. H. McWhae. 
1 
greoiisloiie ridges: it appears to continue for many miles across the j^lain 
eountiy whicJi borders the greenstone belt and which is probably composed 
of the more easily eroded “ whitestones ” of the Kalgoorlie-Yilgarn 
System. 
3. previous work, 
fYssiliferous deposits in this <listriet were discovered by W, D. Camp- 
bell. He describe<l them Innelly (U)0d, p. 22), as a “unique opalized remnant 
of an old sea beach at about 35 feet above the jiresent level of Lake 
“Cowan containing either late Teifiary or Recent marine shells^ such as 
1 urritclhi, PecteUj Chu’d/a/a or Cavihiu, and Mugellaniuj and numerous frag- 
ments of other shells, Kchimi and PohjzoaP He also found several outcrops 
of unfossiliferous dolomite (loc, c.it. ]). 21) in the area north and north-east 
of Xoi’senian whicli he regarded as l)eing of the same age, presumably 
Tertiary. 
l\Ir. (iibb Maitland, the State Covernment CJeologist at that time, 
stressed (IDOT) {he interest of Campbell's discovery. llinde' (1910) 
reported on some siliceous rocks from a “deep lead'' (the inverted commas 
are Tlinde’s) at Ib'incess Royal Township, eiglit miles nortli of Xorseinan- 
This deep lead had been discovered in 1901 (AVoodward, 1902) and gold 
had been obtained from it at a dejRh of 88 feet. Hinde found that the 
rock penetrated by the Avorkings was a spongolite in which he identified 
many diflerent types of sponge spicule. Its relationshit> to the gold 
bearing rocks was not recorded, lie suggested that the spongolite is 
probably “ncAver than Cretaceous'’ in age. 
lhat spongolite rocks have a wide distribution in the Norseman dis- 
trict was suggested by the discovery (Clarke, 1925, p. 12) of Ioav cliffs of 
sponge spicule rock on the north shore of T.ake Cowan, about 30 miles 
N.N.R. of Ih'incess Royal. 
Although no further field investigation of the fossiliferous rocks had 
been made, Cregory (191()) suggested, mainly from the identification of 
some Hryozoa, that the rocks in which Campbell had found marine shells 
were of Miocene age. 
Chapman and ('’respiu (1934) published determinations of a number 
of pelecypod and gastro])od species and of one l)rachiopod (MageUania 
insoliUi) from Campbell’s “opalized sea beach”, but they did not discuss the 
age of the beds, though it is clear from the context of their paper that 
they regarded them as Miocene. 
4. REESENT INVESTIGATIONS. 
It is obvious that the occurrence of Tertiary rocks so far inland on 
the Pre-Cambrian shield throws light on the later geological history of 
this part of Australia but no further held study of the fossiliferous beds 
had been made since ra7npbell’s time, until in 1943, IMr. 11. AY. E. Talbot 
informed us of the discovery of a new fossil locality at the Peninsula, 
15 miles north of* Norseinan, and gave some specimens of fossiliferous 
limestone to the Department of Oeology. In Alay, 1944, Ave Avere able 
to spend tAvo Aveoks in the Norseman district examining the fossilifeimus 
and other sedimentary deposits along the eastern side of Lake CoAvan 
betAveen Norseman and the east coast of the Peninsula, includinsr the 
