THE DEVELOPMENT OF LANDFORM STUDIES IN AUSTRALIA by H.I. Scott, B.A.Qld.,M.Sc.Macq. Submitted for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Geography, August 1976 University of New South Wales UNIVERSITY OF N.S.W., 27922 T3.DEC.77 LIBRARY ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Directly and indirectly, I am indebted to many people. Many of those whose writing has stimulated me are mentioned in the Bibliography, but I wish to thank the following in particular: My Supervisor, Professor J.A. Mabbutt, Head, School of Geography, University of New South Wales, for his helpful criticisms, suggestions and financial assis­ tance by way of my appointment as part-time tutor in the Department; Dr. G. Seddon, Director, Centre for Environmental Studies, University of Melbourne, previously Professor and Head of the School of The History and Philosophy of Science, University of New South Wales, and my Co-Supervisor during Professor Mabbutt's Sabbatical Leave, for his helpful cri­ ticisms of the early drafts of the various Chapters; Professor J.N. Jennings, Professorial Fellow, Department of Biogeography and Geomorphology; Research School of Pacific Studies, Australian National University, Canberra, for his helpful comments on the last five Chapters, his discussion concerning the development of Australian geomorphology since 1945 , and related matters by way of Correspondence. \ Emeritus Professor E.S. Hills, Department of Geology, University of Melbourne, for his helpful comments on Chapters Eight, Nine, and Eleven, and for his time in dis­ cussing the role which he and his Department played in the development of geomorphology in Victoria during the pre- and post-war periods; Dr. C.R. Twidale, Reader, Department of Geography, University of Adelaide, for his advice on Chapters Twelve and Thirteen, and his comments on the post-war development of geomorphology in Australia; Messrs. J.G. Speight and R.H. Gunn, Division of Land Research, C.S.I.R.O., for discussing Chapter Thirteen and the role of the C.S.I.R.O. in the development of Aust­ ralian geomorphology; Professor J. Andrews, Head, Department of Geog­ raphy, University of Melbourne, for making time available to discuss the establishment of the Departments of Geography at the Universities of Sydney and Melbourne, together with background information on some of the people, now deceased, who played an important part in fostering an interest in Australian landforms; Professor T. Langford-Smith, Head, School of Geography, University of Sydney, for his comments on pre­ war and post-war landform studies, and the different views of academic geomorphologists and C.S.I.R.O. scientists; Professor J.L. Davies, Professor, School of Earth Sciences, Macquarie University, for explaining his interest in certain aspects of geomorphology, his research prior to his arrival in Australia, and how this was adapted after his arrival; the late Dr. R.W. Browne, who was actively engaged in geomorphological investigations both before and after World War II - a student and colleague of Edgeworth David, and personally acquainted with most geologists and other Australian scientists during the whole of that time, thus being able to impart a wealth of information on the develop- ment of geomorphology in Australia from the nineteenth century to the present, including his personal involvement in the glacial controversy after World War II; Professor G.H. Dury, Professor of Geography and Geology/Geophysics, University of Wisconsin, Madison, United States of America, for his correspondence on the origin of his interest in geomorphology, and his role in Australian landform studies during his years as Professor of Geography at the University of Sydney; Dr. C.D. Ollier, Research Fellow, Department of Biogeography and Geomorphology, Research School of Pacific Studies, The Australian National University, for his corres­ pondence on the introduction of geomorphology in the Depart­ ment of Geology at the University of Melbourne in the post­ war period, and his views on the development of Australian geomorphology since World War II; Mr. G.P. Taylor, Head, Department of Production Engineering, The New South Wales Institute of Technology, son of the late Professor Griffith Taylor, for sharing his memories of their family life; the geomorphologists of fifteen universities, who answered the questionnaire dealing with their academic back­ ground and research interests; the Trustees of the Mitchell Library, for giving the writer access to documents and photographs of Australian history, without which the early Chapters of this Thesis would have been more difficult to write; the Interloan Librarian, of the University of New South Wales for her help in obtaining material from other libraries; iii the Librarian at the Australian Museum, Sydney, the Librarian of the Geological Survey of New South Wales, and the Librarian of the Royal Society of New South Wales, for giving access to documents and journals; Mr. G.W. Muir, Principal, Kuring-gai College of Advanced Education, Sydney, for arranging the printing of the Thesis; Mr. T.M.H. Thorpe, Lecturer, Kuring-gai College of Advanced Education, Sydney, for his friendly advice; Mr. J. O’Dwyer, Photographer, Kuring-gai College of Advanced Education, Sydney, for processing photographs, maps, and diagrams; Mr. K. Maynard, Cartographer, in the Department of Geography, University of New South Wales, for his help­ ful suggestions and assistance with the cartographic layout and the drafting of some of the diagrams and maps; my wife, for her secretarial assistance, financial support, and curtailment of social life over many years. iv ABSTRACT This thesis treats selected topics which illust­ rate the development of geomorphology in Australia. It reviews the use of landform evidence to support speculation concerning the configuration of the unknown in­ terior early in the nineteenth century, and the impact of Australian landforms on the first explorers. It discusses the reasons for the slow growth of landform studies, as shown for instance by the lack of in­ teraction with early visiting scientists. Furthermore it shows how the establishment of local studies is linked with the development of a scientific community and local sources of publication, and also with the development of mining and the associated geological investigation and establishment of Geological Surveys. The question of the occurrence of glaciation in Australia is treated as an example of a late nineteenth century controversy which stimulated important landform in­ vestigations . Geomorphology in Australia is largely an academic subject, and its development was closely linked with that of university Departments of Geology, notably that of the Univer­ sity of Sydney, where Edgeworth David and his students can be considered the local founders of the discipline. v The view of this school on the evolution of erosion surfaces in eastern-Australia tended to stress the tectonic displacement of extensive simple surfaces, whereas in the late 1920s and early 1930s, perhaps under the influence of overseas studies on denudation chronology, the importance of staged uplift and planation, combined with broad arching, was recognised. These views have essentially been confirmed by the later dating of the basalts in the regions. From the 1950s onwards, the major development of geomorphology in Australia is linked with the growth of uni­ versity Departments of Geography and the increasing speciali­ zation of university geography courses. This development led to a large recruitment of geomorphologists from overseas, particularly from the United Kingdom; and the importance of their background and of the interaction of features of the Australian environment with their interests are discussed. This development came at a time when the traditional domi­ nance of geologists in geomorphological studies in Australia was giving way, and this change led to a considerable revi­ sion of established views as well as to some controversies, for example those concerning the extent and nature of glaci­ ation in Australia, or the climatic significance of land- forms . Applied geomorphology, as represented in inventory surveys and in soil studies by the C.S.I.R.O., is particular­ ly important in Australia, so that the nature of the studies, and the reason for their significance in Australia are dis­ cussed. vi CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS i ABSTRACT v INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER I Appeal to the Evidence of Landforms in speculations about the interior of Australia ® 1.1 The evidence for a strait deduced from tides and currents ® 1.2 The concepts of a river of continental extent and of an inland sea ® 1.21 The use of stream projection to support the postulate of a large east-west river .l1* 1.22 Arguments based on climate and stream regimes 1.23 The attempt to establish the existence of an east-west river from evidence in the North-West of Australia 20 1.24 The continuing belief in the existence of a continental river in the light of growing evidence to the contrary 2 3 1.3 The end of the concepts of a conti­ nental river and of an inland sea 23 CHAPTER II Impact of the Landforms of continental Australia on early explorers and scientific investigators 26 vii CHAPTER III Early Scientific Investigations, Scientific Societies, and Landform Studies 33 CHAPTER IV Contributions by the Visiting Earth- Scientists in the Early Nineteenth Century 42 CHAPTER V The Stimulus Given to the Study of Landforms by the Search for Minerals in the Mid-Nineteenth Century 47 5.1 The use of landforms to predict the occurrence