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MINUTES OF THE TASMANIAN SOCIETY. 
Launceston, June 4, 1844. 
Head a letter from the Rev. J. P. Gell, dated May 21, 1844, conveying 
his resignation of the office of Secretary to the Tasmanian Society. 
Mr. Ronald C. Gunn was requested to accept the office of Secretary to 
the Society, vice Mr. Gell. 
Specimens of greenstone, which had been recently fused, were exhi¬ 
bited by R. H. Davies, Esq. Mr. Davies stated that a Road Party near 
Westbury had formed the greenstone into large heaps with firewood and 
burnt it, with a view to making the stone more frangible for metalling 
the road ; and the rock thus heated had in many instances become fused. 
Lieut. W. H. Breton, R.N., exhibited a fossil Echinus , picked up on the 
beach at Ralph’s Bay, near Hobart Town ; and observed that he had not 
heard of any fossil Echini having been previously found in Tasmania. 
August 30, 1844. 
Read, “ Miscellaneous Notes on the Natural History of Tasmania 
by Lieut. W. H. Breton, R. N. 
Ronald C. Gunn, Esq., exhibited various geological specimens, col¬ 
lected by him at Port Phillip. In a recent ferruginous sandstone in the 
vicinity of Melbourne, and which is the principal stone used there for 
building purposes, occur very perfect casts of various shells, such as 
Haliotis , Patella, Venus? and spines of Cidaris , the latter abundant. 
A still more recent sandstone formation, containing comminuted shells, 
in a very slightly altered state, extends for several miles from Geelong 
along the side of the Barraboul Hills, which are themselves volcanic. 
Specimens of two kinds of limestone from Geelong were shown. One 
which occurs on the south side of the Bay is very fine grained, and con¬ 
tains a few very small (apparently fresh- water) shells. 
