THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE. 11

sunk to a lower depth;-but am inclined to
think that the carboniferous strata will be
found to run out in the higher parts of the
hills behind Mr. Clare's house, where, I was
told, indications of their out-cropping have
been found.

In the upper part of Symonds' Creek,
higher up than Mr. Clare's house, occur rocky
masses of aphanite, over which the stream falls
in a cascade of considerable height.

Farther observations on other points were
rendered impracticable on account of the thick-
ness of the forest, and the consequent inacces-
sibility of the country. Moreover, the short-
ness of time did not permit us to extend our
examinations over other districts; as, for in-
stance-Wairoa, Karaka, &c., where Coal
probably likewise occurs. The following general
conclusions may therefore not be considered as
established facts; but as probabilities, re-
sulting from a very limited number of obser-
vations.

I. QUALITY OF THE COAL.

The Coal is a tertiary Coal. With respect
to its quality, it belongs to the best sort of
brown Coal, to the so-called "Glanz-kohle,"
with conchoidal fracture. It has quite the
appearance of a Cannel Coal, but does in fact
not belong to the old carboniferous formation,
but to that of a tertiary, probably, Miocene
age. A future palæontological examination of
the fossil plants which are found in the bitu-
minous shale connected with the seam, as well
as that of fossil marine shells found in differ-
ent strata above and below the coal, will lead
to a more exact determination of the geological
age of the Coal,-and furnish an opportunity
for making a comparison with similar tertiary
Coal-formations in Europe.

The practical quality of the Coal, for steam
purposes and for producing gas, can only be
proved by experiments. A chemical analysis
of the Coal will be made at the laboratory of
the Imperial Geological Institution in Vienna,
from the specimens collected at the different
localities; and its result duly reported to the
Government of New Zealand.

The Iron pyrite does not occur in the
Coal
in such a quantity as to lessen materially its
value.

The fossil gum found in the Coal is a kind
of "Retinite," derived from a coniferous tree,
probably closely related to the Kauri, but by
no means the same species.

There is no great difference in the quality
of the Coal found at the places 1, 3 b.
and 4 b.

II. THICKNESS OF THE SEAM.

I was not able to convince myself of the
existence of different series of seams, one above
the other, in different levels. I am much
rather of opinion that the same series occurs at
the localities 1, 3, and 4, a difference of
thickness in the same series of seams at
different spots is quite a common occurrence.
The fact that the same seam is found at vary-
ing heights above the level of the sea, and with
different dips, is accounted for by the occur-
rence of disturbances and dislocations having
taken place after the formation of the Coal-
measures-such as must have accompanied the
eruption of the later volcanic hills in the
vicinity of Auckland.

The average thickness of the seam, which at
the locality No. 1 is greater than at 3 and 4,
may be estimated to amount to above six feet.
The sections through the Coal seam show,
both at 3 and 4, distinctly, that the seam con-
sists of three parts;-an upper, middle, and
lower part. The section which has been
described as 4 b, can be taken as a fair
average.

III. EXTENT OF THE COAL-FIELD.

The existing openings seem to justify the
conclusion that the Coal-field extends from the
southernmost opening, No. 1, in a N.N.E.
direction, as far as the out-cropping in Mr.
Campbell's farm, for a breadth, from the base
of the hill inwards of about two miles. In a
southern direction it probably extends still far-
ther; while in a more northern direction the
Coal-field seems to be interrupted in the higher
ridges near Mr. Clare's house, (see 4 d), and
near Hay's Creek, where, in the vicinity of a
Native Settlement, eruptive basaltic and
dioritic masses, and conglomerates occur.

IV. THE DRURY AND HUNUA COAL-FIELD
IS IN REALITY BUT A PART OF A LARGE
BASIN OF TERTIARY FORMATION, EX-
TENDING OVER A CONSIDERABLE PORTION
OF THE PROVINCE OF AUCKLAND.

From information, (for which I am in-
debted to the Hon. Mr. Whitaker, Mr.
Heaphy, Rev. Mr. Purchas, and others), on
the general geological features of the neigh-
bourhood of Auckland, the probable boundaries
of this basin may be described as follows:-

On the south and east its boundaries are
formed by the range of hills running from
Waikato Heads, along the course of the river
to Mangatawhiri, thence through the Hunua
to the Wairoa, and along the course of that
river to the sea. This range consists of erup-
tive basalt, breaking through older formations,
and interspersed with a thick stratum of con-
glomerate (Boulder formation). These ba-
saltic eruptions belong to a geological period
of an older date than the volcanic hills near
Auckland.

On the eastward the line runs across the
island of Motutapu, to the east of Tiritirima-
tangi, between Motuketi and Kawau, across
Takatau Peninsula towards Cape Rodney.
Thence it turns to the westward, along a
range of hills of older geological formation,-
running to the West Coast, and following that
Coast to Waikato Heads.

The middle of this tertiary basin is occupied
by a marine formation, consisting of beds of a
soft sandstone, alternating with bands of a
yellow clay (Thoumergel). Some of these
strata contain numerous marine shells,-(as
for instance, at Hobson's Bay), and small