LOWER HUNTER VALLEY HISTORY OF GEOLOGY AND MINING EXCURSION
David Branagan & Claus Diessel, April,1993 LOWER HUNTER VALLEY HISTORY OF GEOLOGY AND MINING EXCURSION
Originally held 2nd April, 1993, for the 27th Newcastle Symposium on Advances in the Study of the Sydney Basin
by
David Branagan' and Claus Diessel"
, Department of Geology and Geophysics, The University of Sydney, N.S.W. " Department of Geology, The University of Newcastle, N.S.W.
Cover photo - Brown's Ravensfield stone quarry, about 1900 1 INTRODUCTION
This excursion, as did that held in 1992 (see Branagan and Diessel, 1992), pays homage to some of the pioneers of Australian geology, those involved in the search for and development of the vast coal resources of the Hunter Valley, and those whose curiosity caused them to examine the rocks and minerals and to seek answers to many questions about the geological nature of the region. They include Ludwig Leichhardt, James and Alexander Brown and sons, William Keene, the Rev. W.B. Clarke and John McKenzie, Charles Wilkinson, Carl Siissmilch, Walter Enright and more recently George Osborne, Leo Jones, and Arthur Lloyd.
In particular, the classical mapping by Edgeworth David (David, 1907), carried out by David and George Stonier between 1886-1892 (Branagan, 1990) is the basis of much of the excursion.
Enough information is provided so that the excursion can be undertaken independently. Although a car or cycle would enable the complete route to be followed as set out below, enterprising persons can visit most sites using public transport and on foot. Application for permission to enter private land should be sought.
EXCURSION ROUTE
Fig.1 shows the route followed in these notes, Fig.2 is a generalised geological map of the region and Fig.3 is the generally accepted stratigraphic succession for the Lower Hunter region. The following stops are discussed in the guide, but it is unlikely that all indicated stops will be visited during the excursion:
Stop 1 Anglican Church, Raymond Terrace Stop 2 Quarry east of Raymond Terrace Stop 3 Road Cutting, Pacific Highway, SkIn north of Raymond Terrace Stop 4 Road Cutting, Seaham Stop 5 Anglican Church, Seaham Stop 6 Quarry, Seaham Stop 7 Woodville Rd (near Butterwick Turnoff) Stop 8 Largs Village raised beach Stop 9 Morpeth Stop 10 Four Mile Creek Stop 11 Walka Water Works, West Maitland Stop 12 Telarah - Greta Coal Stop 13 Farley, David memorial Stop 14 Ravensfield Stone Quarry Stop 15 Pokolbin - mineralisation in granodiorite Stop 16 Abermain - David's Greta Seam discovery 2
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Fig. 1. Route map with numbered stops. 3
L_.!. __ J~B Fig. 2. Geological sketch map of the Lower Hunter Valley. From Guide book to the Excursion to the Hunter River District. Pan-Pacific Science Congress, 1923. "r1 qq~. Slt.llpraph1c eolumtl$ JftOoiIImg eorr.'.,ion 01 ,Ite Catbonlt.roul 100ma,ioni in 'hi Vl Sua-GAOUPI lCM'1t Hunl., V.'1er PERIOD GROUP ••• .-.--.. -~ Wlln,m'UI CMldlln Sub-Groull Group t...... ,pooI s.,~'oup ~ " __HOwry '" Sinctsione ....@ 0 Go.larct _,glOUp ~. 0 CURlIICETOWN_ 0 ~ AA'I'ffOttO TlIU'AC£_j lOOUl._ N 0 GlOUCESTU_ I» 0 PATEllSOM CU"UCUO •• POn nEPHEIIS CAiltION.FUOUS Iat.U 0 .. IUIUUMGT_ 'AU'".l. '"tl w i Pltongl Im.one . ~ I " N,,'lbeen 'U9g"" 'grmaloon I ~ Group p ...... P ....., .. o Ser_1I .. - ...,, M ...... V.I( .... u "-'-...... Con!l~"'" c;,aII_lIl_ -..... "'''u."u g- F_.... -... l ... , ISlS ..) '_Ii_ t1) luau 106oon IsI"'a a.lcll 11111111111111 '_11- I ..IU ~ Sub-9roup P ...... y,II:: ....u ---- .: t.. "" hali, "'0.) F..-ti_ N_UIlIe aoo..oo s..ttt-g«IIUP " Ci1 CDII Melsures ~Jlown Sub-g,OlIiI ~ -. .... hh,. .._ F __IoOft " § LatnDlon Sub-9roup a0 " W.... 1Ih SaIMf,,~ '_to. I» I (uo., .... , o.mPHY '01"1"11:1011 , ... 'ic .... " ~ 0 c..,I_rl'ot ,_., .... I» 'aur ...... Creel! Form_lOtI & liOn.) ! F.....ut •• cr" Tomago Coal 0 Wall,s C'eek G,I-...... -- M ••sut ...... 0 FormailOfl 0• V.tc-k \ ...... l'~'DY".I' ,...". I",". ~ 0 Z N .. P- 0 .. "0\01"' VlftCenl , V.I(ul(.-. w :; fCll''''ltlOn 1115 .., ...... -...... ~ -. ww. \ ...... , .... Ot,oc1,u ..,.". t __•••• 1_ ..~ w '_Ii_ - g ~ .. "" .. I1 .... d "',.lIbl'llng SIIIYO"U!! '760 .., ..... ~ Group \ ...... ,_.• 81.,,11(11'1 fOl'",,,IIOn ...... ·.""'''.,.n w,,,..,_.~J .• 1_• C) Pa.IDn Form"'lOn ",",011 1 n Kllchenef For ..... hDI'I I',.... VII~'CJ G,ec. COf.1 ••11 ...... r', &.;=.:-=- I(UIII I(UI'II F_I.. IUe,., ...... /;11." ...... ',. ~I"' ..K .. I. 1_ ""elsures " Conglametate (In ..) f_.""" " Dtea'"e. U .... :>- ~ C...... Nnlh~l~ "--c.. ... f .._".1)65.) ~ farley formalion ~-- ...... '..-'011...... I·~• : ;' : : :., . .. ' - ...... Oil_DOd '''''herlord F~a~.;,'( 0.,." ...... '''''11011 .... § FOI'm"lDfI ._, .. • ... ,t.. G~. 11..... _ AU~III 'Drm.'~ .... ---...... ~ LOCh."",., Forma"on 1! "'" 5 Depart Newcastle (University), travel via Highway 123 to Sandgate, thence by Highway 1 (Pacific) to Hexham, crossing the Hunter River to Raymond Terrace. Notice en route the low-lying Hexham Swamp area to the west and south-west and Mount Sugarloaf beyond.
Ludwig Leichhardt visited the mount before travelling up the Hunter Valley, and disproved the then (1842) idea that it was capped by "trap". "I ascended in order to ascertain whether Dr. Nicholson's map was correct, in which it was marked as being composed of Trapp. I found that it was not the case, but that it was the same pudding stone which extends over an immense country from Newcastle around Lake Macquary almost to Brisbane Water and perhaps to the Liverpool Range, as it is here in Glendon even more powerful than down in Newcastle. But this pudding stone appears to me the museum in which we have to study the fonner state of this country, as it contains pebbles of a great variety of rocks, probably all from the upper country, though New Zealand, Van Diemensland and the bottom of the sea might have furnished a great part of them." [ The map referred to has not been located, but it was probably a copy of the topographic Map of the Nineteen Counties prepared by Surveyor General Thomas Mitchell, and printed by John Arrowsmith in 1835, on which Mitchell himself drew the geology which he had observed. One copy of this map is in the archives of the GeolOgical Society of London].
Leichhardt was befriended by Alexander Walker Scott of Newcastle and other members of the Scott family ( Robert and Helenus and his daughter Augusta of Glendon), who had interests also in the Newcastle region. Leichhardt visited Ash Island (where Walker Scott had property), "to do what we could to overcome the much discussed and over-publicised shortage of water on this otherwise richly endowed island ... to our great astonishment we found that the artesian bore, which had been sending up fresh water, was now running salt. .. I count little on the deepening of the artesian well - in fact the geological considerations and the nature of the rocks around Newcastle give no promise of any success". No details of this bore have been found, but the reference is certainly one of the first to artesian water in Australia. However it seems likely that the bore was only tapping a semi-confined aquifer in the Cainozoic sediments.
Left on Swan St, rt. on Sturgeon St. Raymond Terrace
------_.------
Stop 1. Anglican Church, designed by Edmund Blacket, and consecrated in 1862. [Rector, Fr. R. Winder]. The church itself is interesting, being constructed mainly of Muree stone (see Stop 2) and a mortar made from (a fossil) shell grit obtained at Limeburners Creek, (23kms NNE from 6 Raymond Terrace), with roof of Welsh slate. The interior contains a beautiful pulpit, constructed of fine-grained Totara Limestone (Early Tertiary age) from Oamaru (New Zealand) and small columns of multicoloured limestone; two tablets in the side chapel are made of Ravensfield stone (see Stop 14); the side chapel altar is composed of several varieties of marble (probably Italian). Some blocks of varved shale (probably from Seaham, see Stops 4 & 6) are behind the church.
An eastern triple window (produced in Melbourne) was erected in honour of William Keene (1798-1872), in the year of his death. The eastern end (chancel) of the church had to be removed in 1965 after long-term foundation failure. The chancel has been successfully redesigned by Brian Suters of Newcastle. The triple window was then re-erected as fOUT smaller side memorial windows in the church .
•
1.. Fig. 4. William Keene, F.R.G.S. (1798 - 1872). 7
Fig. 5. Portion of a large coloured geological map (reduced) by William Keene, prepared for an exhibition (1862). 8
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~ ~ ~ =~ Fig. 6. Portion of a long coloured cross-section (reduced) by William Keene, prepared for an exhibition. 9 Keene is buried in the Anglican portion of the Raymond Terrace cemetery. He arrived in Sydney in 1852, with a strong background in applied geology in France and England. He appraised the geology around the Fitzroy iron works near Mittagong for the government in 1853, and at the end of 1854 was appointed Examiner of Coalfields. From 1863 he was stationed in the Hunter. He carried out a great deal of work, including geological mapping in the region, and also established a geological museum in Newcastle, which attracted a great deal of interest (Branagan & Vallance, 1974; Branagan, 1972). Two examples of his work are illustrated in Figs. 5 and 6. The fossil gastropod Keeneia found in the Dalwood Group was named for him by Robert Etheridge Jnr .. Keene was also an expert on wines, publishing a book on the subject, and for many years was a judge at various venues in the Hunter.
Continue north on Sturgeon St, cross Glenelg St, rt. on William St. Continue across Pacific Highway to top of hill and into Boomerang Park.
Stop 2. Boomerang Park Reservoir. From here, there are extensive views of the lower Hunter. To the north and northwest the higher country marks the position of Carboniferous rocks, including volcanic sequences, marine and glacial beds. These rocks are on the north of the Hunter Thrust system, which was largely elucidated by G.D. Osborne (1950). See also Dickins (1987) for some of the later story. A large quarry (Boral) 1.6 km to the north exposes two formations of Carboniferous rocks (Italia Road Formation-tuffs, conglomerates, sandstones and shales overlain by Grahamstown Lake Formation-dacitic ignimbrite), striking northeasterly and dipping gently southeast.
North from Raymond Terrace, along the Williams River is Irrawang, site of the homestead of James King (1800-1857). In 1831, King sent samples of sand from dunes at Rose Bay, Sydney, to England. King claimed the sands were "better suited for the manufacture of fine plate and flint glass than any found in England", but costs for its transport, despite the call for payable ballast, made it uneconomic. Later, King began making pottery at Irrawang, using local materials, and the site has been extensively excavated by archaeologists. Like Keene, King also devoted considerable attention to improving the quality of local wines.
In the distance to the southwest the higher ground marks the outcrop of Triassic rocks of the Sydney Basin, except in the vicinity of Pokolbin, where Carboniferous rocks are exposed in the core of the Lochinvar Dome (Anticline). The lower country consists of a variety of Permian strata 10 (marine and freshwater) and alluvial deposits of the Hunter River and its tributaries (Williams and Paterson Rivers from the north, Wallis Creek from the south).
The small quarry in the park exposes dipping beds of Muree Sandstone which were used in many of the local buildings. David recognised that there were stratigraphic correlation problems in this area, complicated also by structural complexities, mainly faulting, and by generally poor outcrop. He felt that "the chief abnormal feature ... is the assumed overlap of the Upper Marine Beds upon the Greta Coal Measures, in the neighbourhood of Raymond Terrace (David, op. cit. p.79).
Return to Pacific Highway, rt. towards the north (Buladelah). Continue S km, passing, en route, Grahamstown Lake, Newcastle water supply, brought into service in 1960, which transfers water to the Tomago sands, held largely in an aquifer (Pleistocene) about 20m thick. Water is pumped to Grahamstown from the overflow from Chichester and other dams (see Stop 11).
Continue to northern end of long cutting, Skms north of Raymond Terrace, just beyond turnoff on left to Rees James Road (alternatively go into Rees James Road and continue to the end of the bitumen)
SUlp 3. Here, weathered coal is exposed underlying richly fossiliferous marine strata. These beds belong to the Greta Coal Measures, but David (op. cit. 113) and others were uncertain about this, and believed the coal belonged within the "Lower Coal Measures" close to the Carboniferous. David used data from "Garrett's Tunnel, some 7kms further north (now the site of a lion park), but changed his mind several times over the stratigraphic position of the coal "for it will be observed that between Woodville and Largs on the gne hand, and Eelah on the other, there is a distinct outcrop of the Greta Coal Measures, and that these are above the horizon of the volcanic belt shown as identical with that which overlies the seam at Garrett's Tunnel". In recent times Rattigan (1964) supported this idea.
Continue north on the highway Skms, left on Six Mile Road (gravel). 1km along this road, pass on the left Abercrombie quarry, in which there are good exposures of Late Carboniferous sedimentary rocks (Seaham Formation) traversed by several basaltic dykes. Continue to New Line road, rt. to Seaham. Just before Seaham, note the memorial to First World 1 War on right., erected by the local Knitting Support Group, note also the I weir rt. (at Porphyry Point on the Williams River, named for the porphyritic rock of Carboniferous age cropping out in the bend of the river), designed to prevent salt water incursions from downstream, built in 1967 and sealed in 1978. This is part of the Chichester Dam/ Grahamstown Water supply scheme.
After crossing the river, turn left towards Raymond Terrace (Main Rd. 601). Continue 100m to cutting at top of first hill.
Stop 4. New exposure of Seaham varves (Seaham Fonnation). This cutting is relatively new and shows clearly some of the characteristic features of the Seaham varves - alternating laminations, dropped pebbles and drag structures. These were attributed by Siissmi1ch and David (1919) as evidence of glaciation (of a continental nature), an idea supported by many workers over the years. Osborne & Browne (1922) in particular recorded a striated pavement just west of Paterson. The glacial theory has been challenged more recently by Brakel (1972), who attributed the features to volcanic activity in a cold climate, but Crowell and Frakes (1971) present a strong case for acceptance of glaciation as the main cause of the sedimentation and its associated features. Although placed in the late Carboniferous, Because of the presence of Rhacopteris, Calamites and other fossils, the Seaham Formation has been thought to be of Carboniferous age but on palynological evidence, Helby (1969) places these beds in the earliest Permian.
Continue 100m to Anglican Church
Stop 5. As the one in Raymond Terrace, this church shows the use of local stone. In particular, note the orientation of some blocks and its effect on weathering.
Turn back towards Seaham, take first road on left, 50m to Seaham Quarry.
Stop 6. This is the site of the reserve made famous by its dedication in 1925, through the efforts of Edgeworth David, as a site of considerable geological significance, because of the glacial evidence exposed there. The site is now part of the Seaham Wetlands Reserve. A new sign is planned to replace that which was put on the site in 1925. Two excursion snapshots from the thirties are illustrated in Fig. 7, while in Fig.8 some examples of the varved succession are illustrated. 12
• • ~ 4; _~ u .lJ .usoorne (hand on hip) leading an eXcursion to the Seoham Quarry, about 1930 (Stop 6).
0.0 . Osborne with students (John Dulhumy at bock) at Seaham, about 1 937 (SlOp 6). Fig. 7. Two early excursion snapshots from the Seaham quarry. 13
Geologicol Mop SEAHAM - PATERSON AREA ICALf.
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Fig. 8. Two examples from Siissmilch and David (1919) showing details of the varved succession and position of the glacial horizons. 14 Return SOm to "main" road (601), left to top of hill, left SOOm, left towards Maitland (Main rd. 301). Continue 8 kms towards Woodville just beyond (on left) Morpeth Rd, and Butterwick Rd ( on right).
Stop 7. Newly exposed gutters show an interesting succession of Carboniferous rocks, basalt and richly fossiliferous (Rhacopteris ) beds, and several thin coal seams. David traced the basalt for some distance, but these new outcrops, probably not exposed during David's mapping, emphasise the enigma of the possible presence of Carboniferous coal bearing rocks, and the long controversy about the Palaeozoic age of Australian coal measures, and the synchroneity, or otherwise, with European coal measures which lasted for more than thirty years from the 1840s (Vallance,1981; Clarke,1878). Rattigan (1964) recorded a number of coal horizons in the Carboniferous rocks north of the Hunter.
Continue through Woodville and swing left, southwest across the Paterson River for l.Skm, left on Dunmore Rd, passing a very small quarry in which Muree Rock (Bolwarra Conglomerate) is exposed. Continue through Largs (pass Morpeth Rd on left). Turn left at post office, continue 300m to beginning of The Grove Rd (contact Mr.R. Blacktop).
Stop 8. Immediately to the east is the site of the Largs "Raised Beach". This was recently named on the Register of sites by the National Heritage Commission. Found by George Stonier in 1887, it was described by Etheridge and David in 1890. Stonier was responsible for most of the mapping of the unconsolidated deposits of the Lower Hunter which appears on David's map.
From this site, it is possible to get a good idea of the position of an ancient shoreline along much of the north side of the present Hunter Valley. Sites similar to this, but less well exposed, are known upstream at Bolwarra, and near "Fonthill" on Wallis Creek near West Maitland (see stop 12).
It is also possible to note from this site the changes that have occurred in the course of the Hunter River since European settlement. The river channel between Oakhampton and Maitland has not changed in the last one hundred years, being constrained by the outcrop of resistant rock on the northern side of the river. Downstream from Maitland there have been many changes in course. Five meander loops have been cut off since 1860, and there were important changes earlier. In 1877, the distance by 15
Fig. 9. Portion of David's map (1907) showing the basal Carbonifereous rocks traced around the Butterwick area. 16 river from Maitland to Morpeth was 27kms, from 1893 to 1949, after the cutoff of three loops, the distance was 18kms, and after cutoffs in 1950 and 1952, it was reduced to 9.5kms. The long meander east of Largs (Narrowgut) was cut off in 1952, while the Kings Island bend immediately to the south was cut off before 1893 (see Harrison, 1957).
Return to Largs Post office, rt. to end of village, rt on Morpeth Rd. Pass the northern end of Narrowgut abandoned meander. Rt to Morpeth. Continue across Hunter River to Morpeth (originally Green Hills). Toilets available near bridge.
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Stop 9. From the terrace along the river there are extensive views across the Hunter Valley to the Carboniferous rocks (note dip slopes). A thick sandstone near the base of the Tomago Coal Measures has been extensively quarried along the river here for building stone. Near here, Stonier located the boundary of the "Upper Marine Series" (Maitland Group) and the Tomago Coal Measures near Morpeth, marked by the presence of a bed containing abundant Chaeonyma (a fossil bivalve), and traced it south to Thomley.
A little further to the west, Howes Lagoon and its attendant creek are part of another earlier abandoned meander of the Hunter River. 17 Morpeth was the end point of the important Hunter River Steam Navigation Company which operated from Sydney to the Hunter from 1840. A service to Sydney operated until 1931. A paddle steamer service began operating from Sydney as early as 1831, and a regular ferry service operated from Newcastle from 1824, as road access was very difficult. At this time Maitland was the centre of activities in the Hunter Valley with a population of 3500 (in 1848), while Newcastle had a population of only 300. Incidentally, the early operation of this company was responsible for the breaking of the monopoly on coal mining held by the Australasian Agricultural Company from the 1820s till 1844. The Steamship Company began to buy the cheaper coal, mined "illegally" by James & Alexander Brown on their lease of 80 acres (Portion 27 Parish Maitland) at the headwaters of Four Mile Creek about 8kms south of Morpeth. The A.A. Co. took the Browns to court, but the result was a token fine of one shilling and the end of the monopoly. However, the bailiffs forced the family from the lease and they lost the buildings they had built there. Nevertheless, the Browns did resume mining at Four Mile Creek a little later, and their brother, John, lost his life when he descended a new shaft there in June 1846 and was gassed.
Lt. Edward Close was appointed as first engineer and inspector of Public Works to the district in 1822 and began the development of the area. He built the fine house, Closebourne (now Morpeth Conference Centre).
The East Maitland to Morpeth line was the first passenger-carrying branch railway built in the Hunter, opening in 1864 (closed after floods in 1953). It ran along the terrace adjacent to Howes Lagoon. The Hunter River Railway Company, formed in 1853 to build a railway from Newcastle to Maitland, was taken over by the NSW Government by the time it opened in March, 1857, when it was named the Great Northern Railway by Governor Wm. Denison, himself a military engineer, but one originally in favour of cheap, horse-drawn lines with wooden rails, designed to open up the country much faster, with minimum outlay.
There are various lunch facilities in Morpeth, such as at the Landing Wharf (Robert St.) or at Morpeth Common in Edward St at the east end of the town.
------[If wishing to visit Stop 10, return through Morpeth and take the Metford Road. Continue to New England Highway, thence right towards Maitland, tum left on Brunswick St. then into the Shamrock Hill Road. Continue 2kms. The site of J.&A. Brown's first mine is off to the east (left) about 600m. This is in the proclaimed East Maitland Mine Subsidence Area, where mining was carried out for many years by Thomley Ashtonfields No.2 and Bloomfield Collieries. As early as 1878, John Mackenzie, 18
Fig. 11. Part of the geological map of the Four Mile Creek Coalfield (reduced), by A. C. Lloyd, 1930s 19 Examiner of Coalfields,ordered that the many dangerous abandoned coal pits in this area were to be fenced or logged over.
Stop 10. As there is now little remaining evidence of the historical site of the first Brown mine, this stop can be by-passed, if desired].
Take the Morpeth Road along the abandoned meander (Howes Lagoon) direct to East Maitland.
Continue west along the New England Highway to West Maitland (Fig. 12), right to the Courthouse, then left to the Walka Water Works (note small sign on telegraph pole). There are extensive views across the flood plain on the west side of the Hunter River
l,,,/iogruph ","Nt'l!' HriJIlI!. Wt,ll Muililllut'. from tJ dr(/I\'InR 11\" "'. C. Tt'"-,, i" 185J und pllblHht'd '" "AllllrnhQn K(t'''su/..~'' by Sw/(Is amI KI'IIII), in 1855 Reproduced by t'our/~sy 01 Milchtll Library, Sydney.
Fig. 12. A view of old West Maitland.
Stop 11. Walka Water Works. The first permanent water supply for Newcastle and Maitland came from the Hunter River at Oakhampton, just above Maitland. A reservoir was constructed of brick, overlaid by stone, together with an impressive pump station, using two types of brick. The stone was quarried on the south bank of the Hunter (Nicholson's Quarry, 2.5 km north of the water works) on what David believed was the horizon of the Ravensfield Sandstone (see Stop 13), although he noted the 20
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Fig. 13. Sketch of the layout of the Walka Waterworks.
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Fig. 14. Flood mitigation, 1950s (Harrison, 1957) 21 paucity of marine fossils. A volcanic rock containing large red felspar crystals from near Clarencetown was used as a bedding rock foundation for some of the heavy pumping equipment. The scheme was designed by William Clark. Completed in 1887, it remained in service until 1941, although largely replaced by water from Chichester Dam, completed in 1923, and from 1939 by the Tomago Sandbeds Scheme. The pumphouse was later used as an emergency power station. There are photos of the earlier days in the museum and an interesting small model of the original pump. A large diagram on the south side of the lawn explains the operation of some of the flood mitigation works (Fig. 14).
Return to High Street. Tum right across Long Bridge (Veterans Flat) to the roundabout, take the Bungaree Street exit left, continue past Telarah Swamp on the left to Telarah Street. At the railway bridge, a stop can be made to note the steeply east-dipping bed of pebbly sandstone on the east side, overlying shaly beds exposed on the west side. These rocks belong to the Maitland Group. Continue via Telarah St., right on South Street, left on Green Street. Pass Lismore Street and stop beyond the last buildings before the road climbs. Cross the road into the common on the north side of the road.
Stop 12. Here are excellent exposures of the Greta Coal Measures dipping east at about 20°. The locality is close to the position incicated by arrow in Fig. 15. The base of a coal seam (probably the Homeville Coal),
Fig. 15. Part of an E-W cross-section by David (1907) showing the stratigraphy and structure near Farley. 22 overlying white silty sandstone, can be examined on the western edge of the old "quarry area". Overlying the seam is a fairly thick conglomerate, then an area of no outcrop probably represents the position of the Greta Seam, underlying a second conglomeratic sandstone. The Homeville Colliery shaft (marked in Fig. 16) was sunk just 100m to the east about 1880, while a drift (inclined tunnel) followed the seam down to the east from the "quarry". Beds lower in the sequence are exposed in the nearby railway cutting just to the southwest. 300m southeast, and south of the
Fig. 16. Portion of David's map (1907). Note the Homeville Colliery shaft to the east of Farley. Setfian from $lon~ cttt~k 1lttasuttS~
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Fig. 17. Part of a 4m long chart (redrawn and reduced) prepared by John Mackenzie and the Rev. W.B. Clarke for an exhibition in 1865. 24 railway, was the site of the Maitland Colliery (operating from 1888). The Homeville Colliery was essentiaJly the starting point for David's survey south towards Cessnock which resulted in the recognition of the extensive area of Greta Coal likely to be readily available at shallow depth in the Abermain -Kurri area (see Stop 17).
The coal-bearing rocks near West Maitland were named the Stony Creek Coal Measures by the Rev. W.B. Clarke, for the Creek which flows past Farley. These were known from the 1850s and were first worked about 1856 in a shaft south of Rutherford by the Hon. Bourn Russell (father of H.C. Russell, astronomer, meteorologist and first President of the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science). A section from a chart referring to the Stony Creek measures is illustrated in Fig. 17.
One of the coal seams contained a thick layer of kerosene shale (cannel coal), a feature of the Greta Seam in many parts of the area. The seam also often splits, causing confusion about the number of seams present and difficulties in correlation from colliery to colliery. A further complication was the rapid deterioration of the upper part of the seam by oxidation and the likelihood of spontaneous combustion of the "brassy tops" of the seam because of the presence of unstable sulphides, such as occurred in the East Greta Colliery south of West Maitland in 1903. Careful recording of seam details by John McKenzie and his predecessor as Examiner of Coalfields, William Dixon, helped to clarify the picture, but the many name changes for various collieries make unravelling the history of mining a very slow process. However, the mapping by David and Stonier was the essential step in clarifying the stratigraphy, which was further refined by Leo Jones and Arthur Lloyd Uones,1939). An example of the seam correlation achieved by David (1907) is illustrated in Fig. 18.
,..'nllll' ('"rk t '"lIit', 8w\.b 0 .... Coutr.'y .... - (""-I, .... HUI)
~~~ , . ::~!~ ~.~ Fig. 18. North-south correlation of the Greta Coal Measures by David (1907) 25 From the quarry hill, a long mine dump can be seen south of the railway. Along this edge of the Swamp Creek Flood plain, Stonier and David recognised another "raised beach" similar to that at Largs. Continue to the Old Wollombi Road thence left under the Railway and immediately right to the former Farley Station. A monument to Edgeworth David was erected just north across the creek from here in 1962. Fig. 19. Monument to David at Farley (from Parkes et al., 1969) Stop 13. This monument, which is illustrated in Fig. 19, commemorates the important work Edgeworth David did during the late 1880s and early 1890s in the Hunter Valley. One of many examples is the stratigraphic column for the Maitland area illustrated in Fig. 20. Although minor refinements have been made over the years, it is still correct in its essential features. He first tried lecturing to a public audience in Maitland with enormous success. The monument is possibly incorrectly sited and perhaps should be on the south side of the railway near the entrance to "Fonthill", according to Lanthland (1947), who described David's tent as "unique, especially for those days, it being fitted with all necessary household conveniences even to a drawing room". Pcrhaps this was really a mapping table! However, there were apparently facilities for slide making and other technical matters on site. Plans were made (and a design adopted) by the Western Suburbs Progress Association in 1961 to erect a larger monument at Rutherford shopping centrc, but this was not carried through at the time. 26 • • • . ~ ~ ",-*. ... . l . • I • Fig. 20. David and Stomier at the Farley c ~mp. David and his wife lived here for several periods of some months in the 18805. Their leisure hours were spent translating De Koninck's work on the Palaeozoic fossils of New South Wales from French, which was later published by the Geological Survey. SECTION 27 Shewing sequence of beds. re n~' t,.tn/s." R.ised~heJ." rJ ----- RECENT'" b=-- muthtoM. «C., ! 1aI-~ DemrS~i' &d.s '- . ~ ; ~ lS ~ ...J < o FO"Un-MlLE OREEK fc'lt..~~ ;;:~~::~ =:::::::=:::::?::O:3 (I) CR:INOID.A.L BEDS _. __ UJ • II: UJ (I) -- . .. . d 'L..i __ ::E GRETA OR LOWER 1COAL MEASURES , =- c::r:: *-== IJ.l • I F.&.RLET BEDS-l I "" I t--I 1 .o-oj&~i;E~i~'Shain R.veMlleld" witll I.~ UmblPM nodul., CMC,.~ 011 UJ,p. '"~ II: : Cltl(/Jy slims. UJ H.tpu·s HiH ~.ndstQM TuffKWMI Solt s;m dsloM AnduitK c onrtonwr.~. UJ'" Z II: < ~ LOCHJ:NV A.B BEDS_I II: I UJ ~ 9 Mt/~hyre w/tlJ ~trolltt, S.ltdy hI(f.nous sh./u with ~"~kJ. M.uIV'r untblDM "'lfh pianO. GlHI-' bftb Ittdk.,rd br rlri.,td~ldt~ CARBON IFEROUS CJlIrHy co.nt CO/IIJolMr.,u. fiMlJJnd'~ tuffs, Fig. 21. David's (1907) stratigraphic column of the Maitland area. 28 Continue southwest along the Old Wollombi Road, noting the excellent views. Turn off left at Ravensfield gates. Continue past house (courtesy Mr. B. Browne), through gates 1.15km to: ------, Stop 14. Ravensfield quarry, illustrated on the cover of this guide. Quarrying ceased here in the 1960s after probably more than a century of operation. The cut surfaces and natural outcrops of this probable near shore deposit expose Spirifer and Eurydesma fossils, sedimentary structures, and some zones of faulting. Stone working equipment and buildings related to the quarrying may also be examined. The Ravensfield Sandstone is a very fine building stone, extensively used throughout the Hunter region, specially for monuments. The quarry is situated along a ridge where the sandstone has a south-eastedy dip. It was a particularly useful marker for Edgeworth David during his mapping from Farley to Cessnock (David, op. cit.:121-122), although this quarry site is in fact a rather isolated outcrop. The route taken to the next stop passes through the centre of the Lochinvar Anticline (Dome), the structure and stratigraphy of which was first mapped by C.S. Wilkinson (1884), although the cause of folding (an intrusion) would now probably not be generally accepted. His cross-section and part of the letter of transmittal are illustrated in Fig. 22, and his portrait is shown in Fig. 23. !:oIimilar Iman iroDitoall l.yen occur in L1'IJ Coal Meruutel of Eul It,,,itland, whieb an probably idr.ntico.l wilh t.h~ Mcaaun!:II of tM Singhltoll dillrict., the COIII· ...m. of West. llait1and beinl the equivalents of Lbo Gr~ta leam. 'nil: followiog ftkc.tch aocuon iIInltntn t.hc relativo position of Lbr. Jill'e~Dt Coal Meuurc.:- t ~ ~ oj ,. j ~ " •~ • 1:- i ~ •" .. i H l ;: "3 ~ ~ 1 j;!" 'IV In this aecLion it will be MeO that tb. Grel.& 1tSID. are t.be loweat. of tht! ..riel in this district. IIlUI t.hat Utei .. pret;("nt outcrop ilL the IUrface 1,( due to LheJeudation of _,reat antieliDe callIOIl b, the enlpiioa of \.be diOrite near Loehinv&f. Four and .. haJf miln lo lhe nonh of C rcUL, on the bub or the HUDter Riv., Lben it &Dutil .. .III&a of diorile, ud inllUl'diately Leyond lhi. Lilt, C Fig. 22. E-W section through the Lochinvar Anticline by Wilkinson (1884) 29 Fig. 23. C.S. Wilkinson (d. 1891). Government Geologist. Continue south-west through Bishops Bridge, right on Majors Rd (to Keinbah) and left on Lochinvar Rd to the T-junction on Highway 82, (opposite the aerodrome), then right to the Pokolbin turnoff (Broke Rd, and left on Macdonalds Rd.) to Pokolbin, [Debeyers Rd, mainly gravel, west of the 'drome can also be used, until it joins Macdonalds Rd]. Continue south to the T-junction at Oaky Creek Rd, left, then right on Marrowbone Rd. Continue O.Skm after McWilliams (on right) to the hilltop. Turn right through gate (courtesy Mr. L. Tickner - close gate!), 400m to base of hill. From here it is necessary to walk. Turn right (west) across the dam wall, left up hill 150m, right through gate (close after passing!) and diagonally south west, crossing a thin layer of fossiliferous limestone, 400m to: Stop 15. Here at Milfield (Mt. Bright) we find in the words of David (op. cit. pH7, 115) "next, below the basal conglomerate of the Permo Carboniferous System, is a great series of lavas, agglomerates, tuffs, and grano-diorite. Copper has recently been proved in this last-mentioned 30 rock ... copper deposits ... in the form of thin bunchy lodes, at two localities. These copper deposits are not likely to prove of economic value". The granodiorite is well exposed in the gully. This is a rare rock in the Hunter region, and its relation to other plutonic rocks in eastern New South Wales is not at all clear. Part of David's cross-section through the granodiorite is illustrated in Fig. 24. -~~,...... ,.,. -...... AWcldllp.dtll 41 -,... f' AI PIlI ,I PrtJWIIt ~. ., ~ MaadM ~ ! : / / ,, ""'" tWf , , , , ------_.- --~ '-PERMO - CARBONIFEROUS_ - - -- erupl;re rl1'o4.s) Fig. 24. Cross-section by David (1907) near Pokolbin. The quartz-diorite (granodiorite) may have an erosional contact with the overlying volcanic rocks. Interest in prospecting for metalliferous deposits went hand in hand with the search for coal in the later years of the 19th century, particularly as the extent of sedimentary and igneous rocks in the region had not been well documented at that time. In particular, the possibility of locating economic deposits of iron close to coal was kept constantly in mind, and the Government Geologist, Charles Wilkinson, carefully examined iron-rich rocks in the East Maitland area in 1885 before dismissing them as too small, later directing his attention to much larger deposits in the Karuah area. Continue east on the Marrowbone Rd. , right and left to Wollombi Rd and left to Cessnock. Continue on Highway 132 (Kuni Rd) to Abermain. Stop at Swamp Creek. 31 Stop 16. This is the site of David's 1886 discovery that resulted in the development of the South Maitland Coalfield as it became known. David refers to the site as being on "Deep" Creek, which is the present name of a tributary of Swamp Creek, joining it on the northern edge of the present Abermain, but elsewhere he notes that his "Deep" Creek is shown on the Parish map as Swamp Creek. David's mapping of the Greta Coal Measures shows that the site could only have been on the presently named Swamp Creek. See part of David's map in Fig. 25. Fig. 25. Portion of David's map (1907) showing the structural change and low dips in the Greta Coal measures near Abermain and Swamp Creek. David was alerted by a local settler to the presence of coal blocks found in the creek, so he built a small coffer darn and, together with Stonier and probably his field hand D. Grant, sunk a hole to the seam (Fig. 26), which was measured as five feet five inches (1.7m) and showed evidence of erosion and thus more coal above. The dip of the seam here was less than 32 Fig. 26. Stornier and David locating the Greta Seam in Swamp Creek (Abermain), the initial step in the development of the South Maitland Coalfield. 5°, and David realised the potential of the area for the development of low cost mining free of the problems met with near Maitland where the dip was much higher. He sent a telegram to Wilkinson recommending that the crown land to the south and east be reserved for mining, which Wilkinson immediately acted on. This did not please those who were interested in selecting land for farming, but the action was, in time, fully justified. The Silkstone Company was soon floated to work the seam, sinking a shaft through 4.5m of alluvium, conglomerate and sandstone, then more than 4m of coal. This area was later mined by the Abermain Colliery. An early view of the colliery is illustrated in Fig. 27. After this discovery, David had to establish that the seam was the same as that in the West Maitland area. This was done by careful mapping back to the north (see Stop 10). Part of his correlations in the South Maitland Coalfield are illustrated in Fig. 28 . ._------ Return to Newcastle. 33 Fig. 27. Abermain Colliery in its earliest years. \\') IIMr 111111 s..lkll.·\ '. 1I.,ro' ...... 'I }I."" __ 1I~: ...11' _,__ ...... 1- ...... _...... "., '1'.-" -- __ " " ~i.;r.;:.J{".• .- ... . . ,-·~-' ...... • -'-'--"'- Fig. 28. Correlation of Greta Coal Measures in the Abermain Area by David (1907). REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING 34 Armstrong, J.,1983. Shaping the Hunter. NSW Division, Institution of Engineers, Australia. Brakel, A., 1972. A sedimentological study of the conglomerates and associated sedimentary rocks of the Seaham Formation in the Hunter Valley, NSW. University of Newcastle Ph.D. Thesis. Branagan, D.F., 1972. Geology and Coal Mining in the Hunter Valley, 1791- 1861. Newcastle History Monographs No.6. Newcastle Public Library. Branagan, D.F., 1990. A history of New South Wales Coal Mining in D.F. Branagan & K.L. Williams (eds.) Coal in Australia: Third Edgeworth David Day Symposium. Edgeworth David Society, Department of Geology & Geophysics, University of Sydney: 1-17. Branagan, D.F. and Diessel, C.F.K., 1992. Newcastle Region History of Geology and Mining Excursion. Adv. Stud. Syd. Bas., 26th Newcastle Symp. Excursion Guide. Clarke, W.B., 1878. Remarks on The Sedimentary Formations of New South Wales (Fourth Edition). Government Printer, Sydney. Crowell, J. c. and Frakes, L.A., 1971. Late Palaeozoic glaciation in Australia. Journal of the Geological Society of Australia 17: 115-155. David, T.W.E., 1907. The Geology of the Hunter River Coal Measures, New South Wales. N.5.W. Geol. Survey Memoir 4. David, T.W.E. and Etheridge, R., Jnr., 1890. Records of the Geological Survey of NSW, II: 37-52. Ellis, M.H., 1969. A saga of Coal. Angus and Robertson. Harrison, E.W.,1957. Flood Mitigation of the Lower Hunter River, NSW. Journal Institution of Engineers, Australia, December:321-331.. Helby, R.J., 1969. The Carboniferous-Permian boundary in eastern Australia: an interpretation on the basis of palynological information. Geological Society of Australia, Special Publication 2: 69-72. Jones, L.J., 1939. The Coal Resources of the Southern portion of the Maitland-Cessnock-Greta Coal District. NSW Geological Survey Mineral Resources No.37. Lanthland, E.S., 1947. "Fonthill". Journal Newcastle & Hunter District 35 Historical Society (New Series)I:52. Osborne, G.D., 1950. The Structural Evolution of the Hunter-Manning Province. Royal Society of New South Wales Monograph No.1. Osborne, G.D. and Browne, W.R., 1921. Note on a glacially-striated pavement in the Kuttung Series of the Maitland District. Proceedings Linnean Society of NSW96(2): 259-262. Parkes, D., Lakes, M. and Comerford, J., 1969. Mines, Wines and People. Rattigan, J., 1964. Occurrence and stratigraphic position of Carboniferous Coals in the Hunter Valley, NSW. Australian Journal of Science 27(3): 82. Sussmilch, c.A., and David, T.W.E., 1920. Sequence, Glaciation and Correlation of the Carboniferous Rocks of the Hunter River District, New South Wales. Journal & Proceedings Royal Society of New South Wales 53 (for 1919): 246-337. Vallance, T.G., 1981. The fuss about coal in D.J. and S.J. M. Carr (editors) Plants and Man in Australia: 136-176. Wilkinson, C.S., 1884. NSW. Coal and iron ore deposits, Maitland, Branxton and Singleton. Annual Report Dept. of Mines: 8, 149. •