ATLAS OF AUSTRALIA—1S86.
aiul old sktos of tlio LaureaLiau perictl. In the p^Jaaoioic rocks oi
tlio Siluriiui age, fewer veins iiro mt-t witli. Gold liiw also been found
in rocks of ])ovonian formation. Tlia aurifarous deposits of the
Gympie District, in Quoousland, uro noted for tlieir richness. Ic
some parts of the onst coast, gold has occurred in couueotion witli
alluvium of rcceut formation. Tho earth-debris wliich is the result
of the disintpgratioii of the pnAffiozoic strata, lias retained the gold
\Yhich has "been boiiio with it from those rocks. Here liave been
found the nuggets, i that is, largo masses of gold, many of them of
great weight. Generally speaking, tiese alluTial deposits containing
gold h&vo occurred near tho surface, but not imfrequontly they aro
found overlain by lava streams from voli'anoos, long since extinct.
Subseciuently to it« discovery in Now South Wales and Victoria,
gold was found iu several parts of Queensland. Tlic first discovery
of any importance was made on tho Pitr.roy Hiver, not far from
Eockliam])ton. As tho result of rewards offered by the Government
in 1867, several goldfields became known, among them Gjnnpic,
which has heen unsurpassed for its i-iclincss.
In South Austi-aliii the occurrence of gold has been demonstrated,
bat it is not found nearly so extousively there as on the oast coast.
Several mines have been worked at a profit both iu South Australia
proper and in sho Xorthorn Territory.
Gold has been found on tho west const of Austi-alia, bnt not in
quantities hitherto that would remunerate the search for it. Large
sums have boon offered by tho Government of 'Wcstem Australia for
tho discovery of a p;iyable goldiield. Quartz i-eefs are known to exist,
and thoir auriferous character has been tested, but it cannot be said
that any practical result has accrued therefrom, as in the case of other
parts of the continent. Looking at the fact, however, that vast tracts
of tho great western colony still remain unexplored, one is led to the
conclusion that until it has been examined geologically throughout, an
opinion as to general chanvcter iu this respect would be premature and
UTiroliable.
In the year 1883 tho gold obtained fi'ora Australian mines
amounted to 1,116,84-5 ounces, representing a value of ,i-t,40l,.'>47; of
this ounces, worth i:3,121,012—an amount exceeding twothirds
of the total—were the |)roduot of tho auriferons areas of Victoria.
Tlie aggregate value from tho mines of Queensland for tliis
year was £744,729.
Silver.—Though probftbly not so widely diffused as gold, silver has
been found in considerable quaivtities in various parts of Australia.
In the form of chlorides, bromites, and sulphites, associated with
other metals in varying degrees of compleidty, it occurs in the veins
which i-.vmify tho rocks of tho palseozoic age.
Sflvor ores are found extensively in several ¡»arts of tho eastern
Cordillera and tableland regions, and in tlie Stanley or Harrier
ranges near the westei-n border of New South "Wales. Attention
was first, jjerhaps, forcibly directed to silvor-miniiig by the great
discoveries in tho vicinity of what is now called Silverton! Pabulons
accounts were circulatcd of the richness of the argentiferous deposits
of this part of New South "Wales, but actual te.st has shown that the
proportiou of pure metal in tho TOrlous ores is more than ordinarily
high. Silver-mining has consequently been established as an additional
industry. At Mitchell's Creek, in the Bathnrst district (known
as Sunny Corner) silver occurs in lodes in the sedimentary rocks,
slates, sandstone.'«, and schists, associated with
1 pyn
and 0 of il
Ä S - lbs..
Near Cape Jervis end Almanda, in South Australia, silver has been
found, bnt mining for it has not proved i-emiin erati ve.
The difficulty experienced in reducing tlie various combinations
with which silver is found associated, is at present tho greatest obstacle
to progress in mining for this metal, but there is every reason to believe
that, with better apparatus, and an increased knowledge, even
tho most complex ores will readily be reduced to their olements.
In the threo colonies of Australia which have produced this metal,
tho returns for 1883 show an aggregato value of £274,53:5 ; of this,
77,065 ozs, representing £203,!)17, were obta,ined from the mines of
New South Wales.
Ci^ycr.—This metal is very widely distributed throughout Australia;
its existence has been domon.strated in all the colonies. It is
perhaps, however, in South Australia wliero min
cop]>or has
been attended with the greatest success. It occ
primary rocks, and is associated for tho most part
substances. Sulphide oroa of surpassing richness
n found il
rocks of tho Cambrian age in South Australia ; it occurs also iu thu
form of carbonates. On thu eastern coast, veins in the granite rooks
of the Dividing Eange contain copper associated with other metals.
In South Australia the principal copper deposito aro found in couueotion
with schists of highly metamorphio character. The first discovery
was made in tho hills on tho east side of Adelaide, ovcrlookiug
the town. The chief mining areas of South Australia aro at Kapunda
and Burra Burra, north-east from the cajiital, and at Jloontu* and
Wallaroo, on tho west side of Yorke's Peninsula.
I t has been estimated that the deposits of copjier in New South
AVal It less t 3 squa
mining cer situated at Cobar, Nymagee, and Mou
, Hope.
This metal
Dund at Mount McDonald, Blayney, Hui
,nd
Hockley.
Copper deposits of a very rich character have been discovered i
tho north part of Queensland, in the Cloncurry district.
I t occnrs here in lodes of grey oro and bine carbonates, and nc
unfrequently as malloable copper of a very tine quality. Tho difficult
and expense of transjiort retard the development of mining for tlii
metal in the northern parts of the continent.
Copper is found in Gippsland, in Victoria, in tho form of carbc
nates and pyrites. It also occurs at Bethanga. Mining for it doe
not, however, assi
"Western Austi
ness. The principal m
The yield of coppei
valued at £957,170.
Till.—Tin occurs in
coppor deposits of considerable rich-
3 aro in the neighboui-huod of Northampton.
Australia for 1883 amounted to 12,300 tons,
IS of considerable various pa.-t,s of
Australia. Perhaps the i-ichest deposits are those which aro found in the
beds of old streams, where tliey have lain after beiug separated from
tlie granite rooks by tho deuuding effects of water. Very rich veins
are also met with in basalt and other igneous rocks.
'J'in is obtained at Vegetable Greek, Eose Valley, Glen lunes,
Emma^-i!le, Tingha, Wilson's Downfall, and Albui-y iu Now South
Wales.
nei glib irhood of Ting
arrow quart.. 0
a about twenty different lodes n
felspar veins ¡ others in porphyrit
In the Mclroso i-auges, which are of Silurian formation, near C
dobolin, silver i-s found iu connection with lead, ai-senic, and copper, i
in green and blue carbonates. Galena has beou tested, with a residt
of 136 ons to tho ton.
North-east, abont thirty mile.'! fi-om Tontorlielil, at a locality called
Boorook, a very rich oro, in various combinations with other metals—
principally as chlorides, bromites, or sulphites—has been found in
the slate, greenstone, and Syenite formations of that jiart of the
eastern tableland.
At Kmmaville, on Plant Creek, in New South Wales, silver lodes
occur in slate and claystones, ¡iiid can be traced for a distance of two
miles. This ore is of a very complex character, but its extreme richness
ha-s led to tho e.tpendituro of capital for its treatment. Silver is
found in veins in the Devonian rocks in the neighbourhood of Scone.
Ill tho colony of Victoria it occurs in comhination with s&veral other •
minerals. At Bethanga and St. Aruaud lai-ge quantities of ore have
been treated, but great difficulty is experienced in the process of
separsition. Onthisacconntoresconspicuousfortheirextremorichness
cannot bo worked at a profit.
A considerablo poi
thorpe, near the bord
! i strict there arc
in is found in hi
n of Que
tributed by New South Wales,
Iron,—Discovori es
;land is tin-producing- At Stan,
.th Wales, the chief tin dcposit^
^ stream tin; veins also occui'- In the Wild Rivei
inmerous stanniforous deposits. Around Herbertoii
iches or [lockets of moro than ordiuaiy richness,
h in Victoria, chioliy in the Beechworth district;
e tributaries of the "Tarra "i'arra, Tliompsou, and
:iso in Gippslimd and Strathbogie.
3,140 tons of tin were obtained in Australia, valued
toi«, representing i824,5-'j2, were conralia
mtirely
lire limited almost
regions of tho east
when
idoraooast.
Mining for this metal is carric
the various faoilitios for working at a
tion. Nearly all tho iron deposits hitherto found in Australia an
situated iu close proximity to limestone and coal, two of the princijia
elements used in its reduction. It is found at Wallorawang, Nattai
Lithgow A ly, J e r n s Bay, Carcour, and Mittagong, in Nuw SontI
Wales.
Iron t L,d La 4 beoi tested with %
AUSTRALIA.
Chrome-iron ore ooours iu serpentine rocks near Ipswich, in Queensland,
and in large bouldei-s in tho •vicinity of the Brisbane river. In
the neighbourhood of Toowoomba a brown hematite has been discovered
near limestone and coal. Iron is also found in the alluvium
caused by the detrition of the igneous rocks in the district of Kockhampton.
Iron ore occurs iu some parts of tho Kiinberley disti'ict in Westera
Australia, but it is of a very poor quality.
There is uo doubt that the excitomont attending tho discovery of
the moro valuable metals has monopolised tho labour that would
otherwise bo available for tliis class of mining. There is every indication,
however, that the production of iron wiD rank evontuaily as a
permanent industry in those districts in the colonies whore the ore is
associated with natural facüities for its ready treatment.
In 1883 4,034 tons of iron were produced in New South Wales
and Victoria, representing a value of £81,608.
icnd,—Though this metal is widely distributed in various parts of
Australia, and occurs in quantities of considerable extent, mining for
it, priucipally on account of tho low value, has not been attended with
any very marked success. It is found in the veins or fissures of tho
gi'iLuitic and other igueous rocks, which occur more or loss in tho
tablelands and mountainous regions, and is associated frequently in
these matrices with metals of a more valuable character. Lead has
been obtained at Talbot aad Avoca, and in Gippsland, in Victoria; at
Herbertou and Ravenswood, in Queensland; near Kapunda and
Campbell's Creek, and at Cape Jarvis, in South Australia; and
at Eooburue, on the north-west coast of Western AustraUa.
1 lead I
of Northam))ton, but
worked in the neighbourhood
imunerative, the majority has
of lead obtained in Australia
70 J of this by f a n
is of South Australi
greater part represents the
Antimony.—Antimony is fou
ably, in diiïere
At Rockwell, r Rylst.
: the slat
f South Wales, this
:1 is associated with
letal
land it
assite; iu the Ai-midale district it is met with in connection
d. Antimony lias been found as a snlphuret at Heathcote,
Ruthorglen, and at Munawading, near Melbourne. In Queenscours
at Tiaro, the Palmer River, and in the Hodgkinson dis-
The total ([uantity of this metal raised from the various mines in
New South Wales, Victoria, and Queensland, up to the end of the
year 1883 reached an aggi-egate value of £230,!i95. A very large
propoi-tion of the ore hitherto obtained 1ms been exported to England
Several of the metals that are looked upon as less important are
met with in mining in various parts of Australia. Among these may
be mentioned ziuc, bismuth, ai-sonic, cobalt, manganese, and mercury.
Zinc is found at Daylesford and in Gippsland in Victoria ; bismuth at
Omeo and Tarrangower in Victoria, in the Glen Innes district in New
South Wales, near Gilberton, in Queensland, and at iluruinnie and
Balha.mah, in Soutli Australia; arsenic near Armidale in New South
Wales; cobalt at Yea, in Victoria; manganese at Gladstone, in
Queensland, near Armidale, in New South Wales, and at Pleasant
Creok, Daylesford, and in Gippsland in Victoria ; and mercury, iu tho
form of a red sali)liurot, associated with gold, near Eylstone, in Ne\v
South Wales.
Precious Stones,—Diaincmds occur in tlie deti-itns, tho result of the
denuding effoots of wind, frost, and Hoods on the rocks of the older
series, do]ioaitod in several of the river-beds of Australia. They have
been found at Bingara, and the Cudgegong river, in New South Wales;
in tho Ovens district, and in several places in the vicinity of Beechworth,
iu Victoria; and in the beds of several of the tributaries of
the Gilbert river, in Queensland. Nine hundred and twenty diamonds
were obtained at one mine at Bingara, from 27!) tons of drift.
0[iuls, emeralds, and amethysts occur in the Kimbcrley district, in
Western Australia.
Rubies, sapphires, and garnets are mot with in several of thf gold-
• fields. Agates occur also in the creek-beds of the Gilbert river district
in Queenslantl.
Fossils —In the remains of the animal and vegetable life which formerly
found a ]3lace on our globe, preserved to iis in tho strata of the
earth's crust, the student possesses one of the most interesting snbjects
for human research; furnishing, as it does, tho most satisfactory proofs
in regard to the age of the rocks in ivhicli these fragments lie embedded,
and to which they have become assimilated in character
throughout the lapse of ages, retaining only their distinctive fonns as
evidence of their origin. Thougli generally speaking, fossils afford
the most reliable testimony as to tlie period of deposit of a given
series of rocks, they are not tho only sources frfim which tho scientist
draws his conolusioiu! in this respect. It is perhaps when all tho
evidences of palojontology and geology agree that we can accept the
deductions of science iinquestionod. Apart from the interest which
attaches to iiuything of tho past brouglit into viow in tho present, there
is a value almost incalculable in the discovery of those reliquiai of
a bygone age.
tho cycles
order of
By adding fi'agment to frogment, piece to pii
we prepare the gi'onnd-work of a history of our
that have come and gone ages before man's form was s
forests. Like the needles and solitary rocks, which range t
iu perspective on some of our coasts, and mark its limits i
periods in the history of the world, these vcstigoB of a
since vanished, fui-uish to the mind a faint idea of a formei
things in which it had no part, the more recent fairly clear and
defined, but becoming dimmer as they recede iu the distance, until,
disappearing beneath tho great ocean of the past, they are lost to
view amid waves that spend their force against eternity itself.
Since its discovery Australia has contributed in no small degree, in
the form of fossils, to the number of the links which bind us to the
past. The search for minerals, which has largely occupied the
attention of a considerable proportion of the population, has tended to
this result. Both animal and vegetable remains have been discovered
place to any extent. Graptolites of the
Cambrian i
Australia.
Fossils of 8
the coal deposit
I has taken
the carbonifer
of the coal s
feras have 1
embedded in
In Wester
land, rema
of tho Lias
banks of the Bowi
I also oc
ral of tho
3, judged to be indicati
Oria, New South Wah
r Valley
iriferoiis a of
thcd il
7 South Wales,
Land planta of
s of Queensland equisetaceous plai
L identified, and ganoid fishes ha
Hawkesbury sandstones,
iistralia on the Greenongh River, and
i, eycads, and
s of molhis
r Lo«
n for of life (
•r Oolit.
a beds supposed to be
age.
interior furnish evidences c
arious kinds, and reptiles aj
The cretaceous deposits of the
existence in the ])ast of molluscs of \
bious in their habits.
Vegetable growths have been met mth in a petrified state iu many
part« of Victoria and New South Wales, among them being those
resembling conifers, myrtacoie, palms, and feras of tho current era.
In a paper read before the Boyal Society of New South Wales on
tho 6th December, 1882, the Rev. J. B. Tenison-Woods gives a very
interesting desci'iption of "A fossil plant formation iu Central Queensland,"
in tho Dmmmond Range, about 300 miles from the sea-coast.
The following passage from this paper will sufficiently indicate the
nature of the discovery :—
" A little beyond Bobimtiingen, which is tho last station on the
" railway, there is a heavy embankment, and the
' I «
y derived fi
h the ler of plant ii
iently well T.
• the first glance
.ions they contained,
'none of them being •ed to admit of theii-
' identification. There were some long, lineai', narrow, ligulate lei
' which strongly resemble the Cordiates Auelralw of M'Coy, .
' . . , It was found afterwards that these leaf-like impress
"were in reality stems of Calami
" however, encouraged me to a elc
"of tho rocks axonnd, and soon
" of stems of Lei'idodendrun and
" obtained."
Fossilised bones and teeth of {
among the remains met with in va:
the bones of a bird larger than the
In this direction thei
Sliy
the explored and uui'xplored regions
tho unknomi probably a.s the infiuitesi
discover)- of tliis u
re extended exploration
e number of fragments
with Calamites, were
gigantic marsupials and i-,ards are
irious parts of the Continent; am
very wide field for re,«earch, both ii
ia. The known is tc
infinity.
•£,—Posse icovere about tweuty-
^rees of latitude, and with a surface that varies from sea-level
Ititude of over 7000 feet, it is reasonable to expect lhat the
of Australia would esliibit considerable variation. This wiil
ise. In general terms it may bo said that the
bo found to be the
climate of Australia is dry; this featui-e is much more marked in the
interior than in the neighbourhood of the ocean,
y parts of
the inland plains this dryness increases to aridity, i