11.—REPORT ON LIGNITE AT WONWRON. 
{By A. E. Kitson , F. G.S.) 
Tlie deposit of lignite at Wonwron, about 9 miles north from Yarram, 
and 16 miles from Port Albert, occurs in Middle Creek, a stream joining 
Mac’s Creek, on the borders of the Trenton Valley morass, through which 
the combined streams flow along an artificial channel into the Tarra River, 
near the bridge on the Yarram road. Since the various drains in existence 
have been excavated, the place cannot correctly be called a morass, so far at 
least as the portion noticed, the western, is concerned. 
The lignite outcrops for a distance of only, about 30 feet in the bed of 
the creek in allotment 77, parish of Wonwron. Attention was first drawn 
to the occurrence in 1875, by Mr. R. A. F. Murray, F.G.S., who states*— 
u A siliceous conglomerate exposed in Middle Creek appears to pass under 
the lignite lower down the creek/’ 
A short preliminary report was also made later on by Mr. Jas. Stirling, 
who saysf—“ The brown coal is exposed by several shafts in the bed of 
Wonwron Creek, and by small excavations along the eastern bank. I was 
unable to determine the thickness of the deposits, as none of the shafts 
appears to have passed through the beds, although sunk to a depth of 
30 feet in the coal.” 
At the present time there is even less of the deposit visible, as over an extent 
of only a few square yards can it now be seen ; though formerly, according 
to Mr. W. Morris, owner of the allotment, it could be observed here and 
there in the stream for some distance higher up. The only shaft now 
noticeable on the creek flat was nearly full of water at the time of my visit. 
Lignite could, however, be seen in it about 4 feet from the surface. This 
material as observed is really more of a brown coal than a lignite, as the 
woody texture is not generally noticeable. 
The locality is an interesting one, inasmuch as in an area of about a 
square mile are found Jurassic sandstones ; lignite, leaf-beds, volcanic clays 
and basalt of probably Eocene age ; ferruginous clays and grits, sands and 
gravels of perhaps Miocene age; and, lastly, Post Pliocene fluviatile deposits 
of pebbly gravels, sands and alluvium. 
The lignite appears to dip about S. 70° E. at about 10°. Ascending the creek 
from its outcrop nothing was visible except the fluviatile deposits till reaching 
about the western boundary of allotment 77, where a small outcrop of light- 
coloured plastic clay was noticeable. From here to a point about 3 chains 
above the junction of a small creek coming from the north-east nothing but 
recent drift was observed. At this place is a small series containing leaf- 
bearing clays, as shown in the accompanying section. The deposits show 
current bedding to a large extent. At creek level a bed of unknown 
thickness of white plastic clay occurs, overlying which are yellowish-white 
finely sandy and micaceous leaf-bearing clays, 1 foot ; whitish gravelly 
and sandy current-bedded grits, 3 to 6 feet. Post Pliocene fluviatile 
deposits, principally made up of large pebbles of basalt scattered through 
sandy and gravelly alluvium, overlie these beds, which dip S. 30° E. at 
about 25°. The general direction of the dip is probably as shown by the 
* Murray, Report on tlie Geology and Mineral Resources of South-Western Gippsland. 
Prog. Rept. Geol. Surv. Viet., No. III., 1876, p. 148. 
t Stirling, Preliminary Report on Brown Coal Deposit at Wonwron. Report on the Vic¬ 
torian Coal-fields, No. 1, p. 14. Special Report, Dept, of Mines, Vic., 1892. 
