50 
a few fragile gasteropocls and corals, and an odd shark's tooth. It is of a 
pure white colour at the base, and yellow and brown higher up, apparently 
caused by the infiltration of ferruginous water from the overlying volcanic 
clay and decomposing vegetation. The white portion is a pretty rock, very 
friable, and crumbles into small pieces when broken, and even bv ordinary 
weathering. The yellow and brown portions are much harder, being slightly 
ferruginous, and weather into a firm surface. There are several thin, slightly 
undulating bands, which by infiltration and segregation of carbonate of lime 
have become fairly dense and hard. 
The shells are all so much decomposed that it is rare to get one suffi¬ 
ciently well preserved for identification. Nevertheless, there is a marked 
scarcity of gasteropods and lamellibranchs, probably owing to their removal 
by percolating waters subsequent to decomposition. 
The bed is especially rich in certain calcisponges, new to science, which 
have recently been described * by Dr. G. J. Hinde, F.R.S., F.G.S., of 
London, from specimens sent to him by Mr. T. S. Hall, M.A., of the Mel¬ 
bourne University. One genus is new, while specimens probably referable 
to another new genus also occur. The volcanic clays overlying the limestone 
in the cliff are about 20 feet in thickness, and of a dirty dark-grey colour. 
This limestone may have been formed in an eroded hollow of the basalt, 
and the overlying volcanic clays may be the Post Pliocene derivatives from 
other parts of the same flow brought over by a landslip or by ordinary sub¬ 
aerial transportation before the upper portion of the coast line had been cut 
away to its present shape. This is a point to be decided only by a more prolonged 
examination than was practicable during my visit, when only a few hours 
were available for both collecting fossils and noting the stratigraphy of the 
locality. Extended observations might lead to the discovery of similar 
outcrops in the neighbourhood, though as far as noticed the cliffs to the 
west of the exposure are composed entirely of basalt and volcanic clays, 
while those on the east running to Black (West) Head at the western 
entrance to Western Port are of the same nature, but capped with white and 
yellow sands. These sands are probably portions of the same series as the 
upper beds in the Mornington district, and, if so, are probably of Eocene age. 
They are of a loose nature, and where not protected by some surface 
covering soon form blown sand hills, some of which occur on the highest 
portion of the coast behind the limestone deposit. 
On both sides of this deposit the low cliff recedes and slopes back, and 
consists of the volcanic clay faced with blown sand. 
The cliff on the north-western side is about 200 yards distant along the 
beach, and undecomposed basalt may be seen here in the bed of a small 
gully. It does not, apparently, possess much magnetite or titaniferous iron, 
as these minerals were not visible among the sand on the shore. The soil 
here is a stiff, dark, drab clay, apparently not of good quality. 
The deposit of limestone is only a small one, and seems to have escaped 
the observation of Mr. A. R. C. Selwyn, as it is neither mentioned by him in 
his reports! nor marked on the maps accompanying them. 
* Hinde, On Some Remarkable Calcisponges from the Eocene Strata of Victoria (Aus¬ 
tralia), Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc., Vol. LVI., Lond., 1900, pp 50-66. 
t Selwyn, Geological Surveyor’s Report, with plans and sections. Report of the 
Geological Surveyor on the Geological Structure of the Basin of the River Yarra, and part of 
the Northern, North-Eastern, and Eastern Drainage of Western Port Bay, with plans and 
sections. Papers presented to the Legislative Council, Victoria, 1S54 and 1856 respectively. 
