19.—REPORT ON THE GREAT NORTHERN PARKER’S LINE 
OF REEF (NEAR GORDONS). 
(By A. M. Howitt .) 
The Great Northern Parker’s line of reef is situated in the parish of 
Korweinguboora (counties of Talbot and Grant), about 8 miles north of 
the mining township of Gordons, and a little over a quarter of a mile north¬ 
west of the junction of the Eastern Moorarbool River and Gum Creek, in 
the Wombat State Forest. 
Mr. H. S. Whitelaw, in a cursory examination of the locality in July, 
1900, pointed out that the Great Northern Parker's reef might be the 
western leg of a saddle formation, the cap of which had been denuded. 
I was instructed, in accordance with that gentleman’s suggestion, to make 
a more detailed examination, in order, if possible, to satisfactorily decide the 
question. 
My work was accordingly confined to a detailed examination of the area 
shown on the plan accompanying this report, and to a cursory examina¬ 
tion of an area of about four square miles of the surrounding country. 
Geology. 
Cainozoic .—Recent deposits of sands, clays, and gravels form the alluvial 
flats along the Eastern Moorarbool River, Gum Creek, and their tributary 
gullies. Deposits, provisionally classed as of Pliocene age, consisting of 
sands, clays, gravels, ironstone cement, and boulder wash, fringe and cover 
the lower slopes of the Ordovician slates and sandstones adjacent to the 
Eastern Moorarbool River and Gum Creek. These have no bearing on 
the particular object of my report, and will not, therefore, be further referred 
to here. 
Ordovician .—These beds, which consist of dark to light slates and 
sandstones, coarse grits, and some indurated beds of sandstone, are, 
owing to the surface soil, seldom clearly exposed at the surface, so that, my 
observations were mostly directed to the hill summits and old workings along 
and adjacent to the line of reef. The strike is nearly north, and south 
(magnetic) except near the Jones-Bradford mine, where it is a little west 
of north ; and, wherever noted, the dip was from 40° to 60° westerly, 
including one observation at about 250 feet east of Atterbury’s shaft (see 
plan). 
The reef, as seen in the workings, wherever accessible at present for 
examination, is conformable with the inclosing beds, and has generally 
clean slate walls. 
Whether the westerly country extends for any considerable distance east 
of the line of reef cannot be definitely stated, owing to absence of outcrops ; 
but that such is probably the case is indicated by the fact that on the 
Moorarbool River, about 1 mile south-south-east, of Atterbury's shaft, and 
about 28 chains east of the southerlv continuation of the Great Northern 
Parker’s line, a dip of 50° westerly was again noticed. 
The above evidence, although not conclusive, is against the assumption 
that the Great Northern Parker’s is the western leg of a saddle reef. 
