NEWCASTLE HISTORY OF GEOLOGY EXCURSION
Originally held 3 APRIL, 1992, for the 26th Newastle Symposium on Advances in the Study of the Sydney Basin
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.
INTRODUCTION
This excursion pays homage to the pioneers of Australian geology, specially stratigraphy, which began to be studied in detail in the Newcastle region by many competent workers, such as Ludwig Leichhardt, who wrote" Ich bin iiberzeugt, dass die Geologie von Australien im allgemeinen von Newcastle ihren Anfang nehmen muss und dass der Geologe sich von hier aus schrittweise nach Norden, Siiden und Westen zu wenden habe." [ I am convinced that (the study of) the geology of Australia must begin at Newcastle, and that the geologist must work out steadily from here towards the north, south and west.] (Oct 12, 1842).
The excursion visits sites where important early observations were made and hypotheses developed. It also discusses, in passing, some of the mining history, as the practical mining was both the result of geological observations and the source of new knowledge for continuing improvements in productivity and an understanding of the human environment in the Newcastle region.
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 laid out, enterprising persons can visit most sites using public transport and on foot.
EXCURSION ROUTE
Fig.l shows the route followed in the excursion notes. Fig.2 is a generalised geological map of the region and Fig.3 is the generally accepted stratigraphic succession for the Newcastle Coalfield, although proposals for a revision of stratigraphic nomenclature and subdivision of the Newcastle Coal Measures are currently before the Standing Committee on Coalfield Geology of New South Wales.
1 2
lUll I : I .... <, ,0 " t ·; ' I . . < •• ''''''''N " "" lur.n1tU
~ ..,
FIG.1 ROUTE MAP .~ < f'A]'::;\It!NEWCASTLE C"j. 0 SCALE _~y S ~~ _ . ~ _ Fr E3 Fd 1C Kms , '- A7I Mcrcw~thcr I
REFERENCE
OuaternCiry oil 0 D ~ / ~ r- 0. ~. .. : :' :".:: , Narrabeen Group Newcastle COill Measures g w
!: Tomago Coal Measures 'J D !: Maitland Grot:p c:; a.. - Greta Coa / Measur'".1s ~• • ., Oa /wood Group o -- Seaham Formation ::lm..~ ---- .. Catherine Hill -c Peterson V01canics Bay o I: ~ "v I Undi fferenl iated \.L~ D--
. 'I· :.M" ::.-/.: ~ ...... ". FlG2 GElERAUSED GEOlOGICAL MAP .. .. :.. 1· ... '·:·. :.: ::.0·" 4
,a. <<..:l II:z Valces PO,"' Cool Seam Member II:w MUflmorah
"- C,ouc1ace Bay Belmonl CongiomeHlIe Member ::> FOfma'H)t1 0 a: '-', Uppel Pllul .')('am • ,Relds M,sl.ihf: Seohamp1on Sandstone Member ::J F Utf/lal IUtl V>'" 0 Lowe, Plio(Se.-"II VI 0 W II: .J'" ::J '"0 MI. Hullfi/l Vl 0 ' ::0 Fer" Vallcey Tull Mel'llbcl ""o Upper SpI,l <{ F Clfl V.IIH,')' Redhead Conglomerole' Member Lo .... e. Spl.t
Me.e .... elher Conglomerate Memb'!, I KolalH FOIff!allUlI L Victoria Tuntlel a.. r SCrfm ~ r SI'e,Jflelds HIJI Fill. Nobbys T ull Member ~ i Nobbys Yaung Wallse·d S,.na' H." Can.'am .. a'o Mom.o. } } Soam l 8al Beach '-'~ i' Dudley Seal'll Cockle Creek Conglomerate Member Dudley Yord wo" Ba,ohalo ~ Bogey Hole Fm. Seam .... Yald So;,,. Seom o l71 gfles H," Fill. Ferndale Conglome.ate Member j ~ So/eho /a Seall ~ Wa,alall ~ 400 l Melres 8334
FIG.3 STRATlGRAPHIC SUCCESSION I of the Newcastle Coal Measures, redrawn and amended after McKenzie (1962). 5
Stop 1 Blackalls Park Stop 2 Threlkeld Reserve, Coal Point Stop 3 Snapper Point Stop 4 Catherine Hill Bay StopS Opencut, North of Catherine Hill Bay Stop 6 Caves Beach Lookout Stop 7 Swansea Heads Stop 8 Lambton Colliery Stop 9 Merewether Beach Stop 10 Shepherd's Hill Stop 11 Church & Brown Streets Stop 12 Bogey Hole, Watt Street Stop 13 Shortland Esplanade/ Nobbys Beach
Depart Newcastle (University), travel via Highway 133 towards Toronto.
This was the route travelled by Rev. W.B. Clarke (1842), Ludwig Leichhardt (1842), Edgeworth David (1889), Leo Jones (193Os), and many others, all interested in examining the coal seams and associated sedimentary rocks on the west side of Lake Macquarie.
Pass, on the left, the lead-zinc-copper smelter of Pasminco Metals Sulphide, formerly Sulphide Corporation Pty Ltd.
The sulphide works were established in the 1890s, by E.A. Ashcroft, to treat zinc-rich ores from Broken Hill by electrolytic refining. Sulphuric acid was produced from 1912, recovering sulphur dioxide from the stacks, which had previously been destroying vegetation on the adjacent hills. From 1913 it was using acid in fertilizer manufacture. Lead smelting ceased in 1922, and the company diversified, including cement manufacture (clay and coal from nearby, limestone from Attunga and shell beds on Hunter River). After World War II (under CRA) acid and fertilizer plants were modernised and new processes for zinc, lead and copper production were introduced (Turner, 1978).
On right, across Cockle Creek, is Stockton Borehole Colliery. Continue south across the mouth of Cockle Creek.
Turn right at traffic lights - Macquarie Road (to Fassifern ). [This road if taken right on Fassifern Road leads to Newstan Colliery ( on site of old Northumberland Colliery), established by the newly-formed Joint Coal Board in 1950, one of the first fully mechanised, trackless (i.e. no rails) collieries, using conveyor belts for haulage). 6
....~ l G iii ~ j .&. ~ ~ ' . .:. ' I • III ~ ID \ .J ",\ \ I oJ - ~ !
. , , ,.. J ..;. I: ') . " ~ I ;~ ~ • .l ; ., J~;." , I \ I • ..... \il • ~ • 1 • : I.J ~
(J :"' , ..I "
... ..1, ~~ k~_. -- . . < -,;' "":,~~ I , . , II~\ • - .... - - .- . \. \, ..; -\..., . . . "":.: ... : \ ,...... '~y 7
Turn left on Fassifern Road, continue on South Parade left on Faucett Street, over old railway line and Bayview Ave. to the northern side of Blackalls Park.
STOP 1. This is the most easily accessible spot to see the almost enclosed Fennel Bay, known to the Aborigines as Kurrar Kurran, because of the extraordinary fossil forest which formerly existed here. W.B. Clarke made a sketch of the site in August 1842 (reproduced in Fig.4) counting about 500 tree stumps and describing the site in detail, measuring the orientation of fallen logs and the dimensions of the various stumps. By the time of Edgeworth David's visit, and later publication (1907), many of the stumps had been souvenired. Sadly this practice has continued so that today there are only about thirty, visible at low tide. These are now protected by Heritage legislation (Percival, 1985). Both Clarke and David attributed the preservation of the logs to general subsidence and cover by muds. Diessel (1985), however, believes that the trees were overwhelmed by volcanic ash from a violent eruption (see also Stop 8).
Leichhardt, on his expedition from Newcastle to Gosford and return along the coastline "to find out, if possible, if the coal of Newcastle is above or below the sandstone of Sydney", waded across the narrow entrance to the bay (the present bridge location) on his way to Coal Point.
[Those wishing to have a closer look at the fossil site from where Clarke and David saw it should go back on Fassifern Road, take Narara Street and cross the abandoned railway to the lake shore (the status of the fenced land between the railway and the reservation on the shore is uncertain).]
Travel by Railway Parade and Cook Street, left on Toronto Road, right at traffic light onto Highway 133, left on Excelsior Parade to Coal Point (signposted). Continue on Skye Point Road to Grant Road, right to Threlkeld Reserve on the south side of the peninsula.
STOP 2. This is the site of the small mine opened (Figs.5 and 6) by the Rev. Lancelot Threlkeld in 1840. Threlkeld began mining hoping to support his financially troubled Aboriginal Mission, then at Toronto ("Ebenezer"). Threlkeld (1834) had published a dictionary of the local Aboriginal language which contains a surprisingly large number of terms for geological features in the region.
Threlkeld began a drive at water-level into the Great Northern Seam (1.8m thick) which went in more than 30m, and a 13m deep air shaft was sunk. The coal was shipped onto lighters and taken to Sydney for sale, in direct ;,. %V/,0' 98 ~ / .. ~ I ~ fl fl #; o ... '? I,'vA., ~ ''''I''- ~ . -? r - " . I n ""c ::!! " /A "." f /. I "lp " .0,,'. 01 k ' IJf-,:',-" / // . , f f)p, D,,, {f ! L' / . 1-'1 1(,.,( " '
'" . OB WOrked\ l)yRorl ,.fy (r'/'" / ~:7 \ [01.. ::.,'.:.. :.l L-J ~;?l" U' ::· .·.·'···· j·· Iii' ...... d. \t]~v,
opposition to the Australian Agricultural Company's coal (see Stop 11), but the shallow entrance of Lake Macquarie limited the size of vessels which could enter.
Leichhardt thought that the seam "corresponds to the top layer' [ of the four distinct layers of coal at Newcastle], although the coal was better, burning very well, and leaving a fine white ash. Mining was continued later (about 1900) by the South Hetton Company.
Return via Coal Point Road, passing occasional outcrops of the Wallarah Seam, right on Jarrett Street, left on Lake View Road, right at T junction, on Ridge Road, left at T junction (Highway 133). Continue south, noting the Wangi power station to the left, and, later, Eraring power station on the right, together with its cooling water inlet channel. Continue through Dora Creek and Morisset, then left on Highway 82 ( Hue Hue Road), right on signposted road to Vales Point power station, crossing Wyee Bay, an arm of Lake Macquarie, thence on Vales Road to Pacific Highway, from where a fourth power station (Munmorah) can be seen.
Wangi was the first of these power stations (Fig.7). It was constructed by the NSW Railways in the 19505 to add to its electricity supply in the Hunter region obtained from Zaara Street station in Newcastle, when the Electricity Commission (now Pacific Power!) was established. Wangi Power Station began operating in 1957 with a capacity of 330 MW. Coal was supplied from the Awaba State Coal Mine, (Great Northern Seam) which commenced in 1947 specifically for the purpose of combined colliery/power generation, a practice that was to continue for many years. (The Wangi-Myuna Colliery is now established in this area). Munmorah (1967), with larger individual generating u{li!§, has a total installed capacity of 1220MW followed by Vales' Point (1970s) with 1890MW. The former had some problems during construction, because of the occurrence of a wide dyke (weathered) under the site of the very tal1 chimney.
The tailings dams of Munmorah and Vales Point were the sites of several studies into the formation of submarine gravity slump structures by C.T. MCElroy and others (1970s). The recently (198Os) constructed Eraring Power Station (2640MW) has inlet cooling water channels which draw water from Lake Macquarie south of the digitate delta of Dora Creek. Discharge takes place more directly east to the lake. Coal is supplied mainly from Myuna and Cooranbong Collieries, with additions from Awaba and Newstan Collieries. A proposed power station south of Wyong at Mardi has been put on hold, because of the reduction in power demands since 1988. This is now the only site on the coastal lakes close to coal and easily able to use salt water cooling. LAKE MACQUARIE 13
( SCALE ! 0 ... ewI ERARING lCole_ ...n
DORA CREEK ~..,.
~ CGlht'rinc Hill a Bay SOUTH
Wvbuna Head
PACIFIC
OCEAN
/ 'f POWER STATIONS, LAKE MACQUARIE SCALE .5'...;.... 0 5 ". .1-- _ I ' . . KiI_ ..... 6568
FIG.8 DISTRIBUTION of tEAYY MlERAL SANDS, ....aRAH 11
The drilling accompanying these coal developments led to greatly increased knowledge of the coal measures stratigraphy, which was gradually extended south from the detailed surface mapping done by L.J. Jones of the NSW Geological Survey during the 1930s and continued by BHP under M. Lonie, G. Harman. M. Johnston and P.J. McKenzie, and particularly with the Joint Coal Board (RA. Britten) and NSW Electricity Commission (C. Crapp). Apart from occasional contributions by universities, current stratigraphic work in the Newcastle Coal Measures is carried out by the members (M. Ives, J. Brunton, J. Edwards, R. Rigby, C. Tobin and C. Weber) of the Newcastle Coalfield Subcommittee of the Standing Committee on Coalfield Geology of NSW.
Although aware of the deterioration in the seam, Edgeworth David, early in the century, was convinced that the Borehole Seam would eventually be the main source of production as far south as Gosford, based on the then few drillholes that had been put down. While the lower coal seams in the Newcastle Coal Measures (Borehole, Young Wallsend, West-Borehole, Dudley, Victoria Tunnel) still supply large tonnages for coke production in the Newcastle steel works and for export, the drilling, mainly beginning from the 19505 has established the suitable quality of the higher seams, Fassifem, Great Northern and Wallarah, which provide much of the energy coal in this region.
Left on Pacific Highway, right to Elizabeth Bay (signposted) continue through the village, taking the road to the State Park headquarters. This is the location of the former offices of Wyong Minerals.
Wyong Minerals mined many of the dunes south from this point as far as The Entrance, (Fig.S) using a floating dredge, commencing in 1959, for the heavy minerals rutile and zircon; the third common heavy mineral, ilmenite, was also separated, but was less in demand. Reserves at that time were >25million cu.metres, containing 600 000 tonnes of heavy minerals, 47% rutile, 43% zircon, 10% magnetics. The dunes were high grade, with lower values in the intervening troughs. Earlier sandmining was undertaken by National Minerals at both Catherine Hill Bay and Caves (Hams) Beach on the beaches and in the dunes behind the beaches. The area has been rehabilitated over the years. The introduction of the South African plant, Bitou bush, originally thought to be a quick solution to stabilising the dunes and preventing erosion, was somewhat disastrous, because it grew so quickly that it choked the growth of many indigenous plants. However many native plants are now well-established.
/ 12
Continue to the Budgewoi road ( bitumen) and tum back left. Note that this road, and that continuing south from Norah Head to The Entrance were first constructed by the mining company. At Elizabeth take the Park road (signposted) towards Birdie Beach, follow the signs to Snapper Point, north of Fraser Park beach.
STOP 3. Here there are excellent exposures of the Munmorah Conglomerate, the Vales Point and Wallarah Seams and the Teralba Conglomerate, all part of the Moon Island Beach subgroup (defined by Britten). At the point the remains of an interesting aerial ropeway can be seen. This extended from the point down to the sea-cave on the north, from where gravel was extracted with a scoop for road surfacing. The gravel was produced by the natural attrition of the conglomerate by wave action, as can be seen occurring today. This gravel was possibly used for the base of the Pacific Highway built with unemployed labour between 1926 and 1931, through Catherine Hill Bay.
This coastline was traversed by Leichhardt, returning from Gosford in 1842. His observations caused him to suggest that the sandstones of the Sydney region were equivalent to the coal sequence in the Newcastle region. "... the Newcastle coal measures and the Sydney sandstone.... seem to be contemporaneous formations, whose differences in character correspond naturally to differences in their manner of depoSition. The Newcastle coal measures were deposited in a vast estuary, whereas the Sydney sandstone is a marine formation." Thus he envisaged a facies change, as shown in his diagram (Fig.9). Although we now know this is not correct, it was a very modem interpretation, and quite a reasonable one based on the observations he was able to make on his jO\lfney, during which he camped overnight at the north end of Birdie Beach. Just a few years earlier (1839), J. D. Dana, the American geologist visiting Newcastle, thought that the conglomerates and sandstones over the coal seams there were equivalent to the Hawkesbury Sandstone.
There are toilet facilities at Fraser Park, where lunch can be taken.
Return on the same road as far as the sign to the park exit (right), thence right on Pacific Highway. Along the highway there are good views across Lake Macquarie.
The position of the lake is controlled to some extent by the structure of the rocks which dip gently beneath the lake forming a syncline (Fig.10). Although partly the result of slight folding during the Cainozoic, there was an increase in subsidence from the western flank (the Lochinvar Anticline) towards the synclinal axis when the Permian and Triassic 13
. ( ~.,' , '. '/,, '-: .. . (.. c-'. . '...... ' . • . . . • . . . • ' • .• ~ .: : ',: .~ • ::;.::--: •• : •• : .' .:. • • • .'. .'. • : '0' : • .. ::. ··. ·.L!..;·~r...... ·r.··.·6·.· L··" .. ' " ... , .... : ::.' ::;;...... 1(..' ' " '.':"''- <..; t·).· '.' .'~'G . . '. :- •• ' .' <...... ,;: " 'L.,.. . ,- .•. " • • '-"'" • • ' • .:: :.. ... :.: ~~ ~~ :: ~ 2 ,·· ?i .... : .... : . ',: ...... " . \ . .."...... ". '. ' ' . . '. •• ~ • • -=:;:::; • • • • ...... ,, ' • ..:::.- ..: .: .. '.. :.e::-< :.:.:- ':'. '.:;; .... ~~ .. "... ',f, ,'" . Or-
: .' : ': '.' '. J. '. '. ~_. . 0 • 0 .0 _ • 0 . . . . . ~ idealised cross-sectLon sh0TUiJt9 tJut r:eLationship I heLi.eIN? ro exist- "erwe~n -the cuaL beds at' NeLVcastLe. -tk COTT,9toTneralos /'UO..r Taggerah and t'lu HaLoktZShvrJ' san as tong.
FlG.9 CONCEPTUAL SECT10N from south (left) to IlOfth along the coast L..EJCHHARDT, 1842
A 150 I jj ~, \/ . ;
_ = I. II to
R(I E RENCE
i§I ''1il
8340
FlG.10 GEOLOGICAL CROSS-SECTlON across LAKE MACQUARE. U~Qrawn a[ter ""1 ' K~nzu' (1962) . 14
sediments were deposited. Evidence for this is seen in the eastward splitting of the major coal seams and the general thickening of the Newcastle Coal Measures away from the western flank. It is also of interest to note that the conformable relationship between the Permian and Triassic sediments in the Macquarie Syncline is replaced by an angular unconformity on the adjacent Lochinvar Anticline.
Tum right onto the Catherine Hill (coal haulage) road. The original Pacific Highway (193Os) descended into the village by sharp curves and steep grades. Continue past the colliery workings to the beach, parking at the south end (toilet facilities).
STOP 4. Walk south along the beach, under the jetty (constructed 1889, enlarged in 1970s), to examine the old workings of the thick Great Northern Seam, and the overlying Teralba Conglomerate (Fig.11). On the adjacent rock platform the Bolton Point Conglomerate (Eleebana Formation) underlying the seam is traversed by a swarm of small dykes.
The mine was opened by the Newcastle New Wallsend Colliery in 1873 and worked until 1876. A jetty directly connected to the seam was built, and up to 80Otons/week were produced. The wreck of its coal vessel brought an end to a busy few years, which saw a thriving community of more than 100 inhabitants, most of whom moved to Swansea (Pelican Flats). However in 1888 a British shipping company, wanting independent supplies of bunkering coal formed the Wallarah Coal Company, and sent Thomas Parton from South Staffordshire to open its mine. Parton and his under manager Joseph Sperrings drove other tunnels, built connecting railways and constructed a larger, higher jetty, from which coal taken to Sydney.
Continue north through the village. This village is an important heritage, as the cottages were built by the mining company for its workers, and only a few have been modified externally. There were in fact originally two separate villages, Mine Camp ( Catherine Hill Bay) and Middle Camp (several kms to the north ). This whole area remained essentially accessible only by water until the 1920s.
STOP 5. Inspect the opencut (right) 1km north of the village, where the Wallarah Seam, overlying white kaolinitic sandstone and Teralba Conglomerate has been worked by Coal and Allied (formerly J.&A. Brown). This operation is typical of the numerous opencuts which came into operation in the early 195Os, when there were acute power shortages, underground operations were inefficient, and modem equipment, including draglines, became readily available. However, there was initially 15
36 foet Greenish-grey 8ho.l08 palL!ling into red sho.loslike ~he chocolo.te sho.lo8 of the Nllrro.becn stage.
10 foet Conglomerate woa~borillg ochreous brOl\'D. 10leot Chie8y shales, greonish.grey to ochreous and red. 21.et Hard whitish anndatono. The bn.sal be'd of the Triassio rocke. 2 lee. Coal milch weathered. This Is lb. Wallarab or Buill s.am. 1 inch Brown ahale, with VerttbrtlTia, 1 inch Uoal. 8 inoh She.ly coal. with bo.nda of brown ahBIe. 3 feet Dark grey aho.le, becoming lighter in colour downwarda. I loot Red ahate like chocolate abale. Ilont Fine.gra.ined lIo.ndat.on8. 45 Ice. Coaraa conglomerate.
20 feet ConglomerAtio sandstone.
56 feet CaBrllo conglomerate. MOON isLANf}
Cliff opposite Moon Island, - 80uLh of NewcaaLle. The w1Iite 8~ralum over ha.lf-wa.y.up.tbe oUfFmark. the junction of tho Triassic rocka with those ofr~he Permo·Carboniferoua system.
FlG.11 CATlfERINE tiLL BAY SECTION by EDGEWORTH DAVID (1907) r
little thought given to rehabilitation, until the Joint Coal Board became fully operational.
Continue on Flowers Drive, crossing the Permian/Triassic boundary to the Pacific Highway, then right. [Note that in new cuttings (on the left), for the diverted highway, not yet open (April 1992) there are former coal workings exposed. These have been filled with flyash and cement to stabilise them]. Turn right on Scenic Drive (signposted) towards Caves Beach. Turnoff left (signposted) to Caves Beach Lookout.
STOP 6. From here are extensive views in all directions. The coast south of Caves Beach ( Mawson, named for a local identity, not the Geologist), where a large Government Quarry operated around the turn of the century, marks the spot where the Silver Valley Company proposed, in the 19705, to build a large jetty and coal dump for exporting coal, to be mined locally. This area was later taken up for a proposed large resort. However subdivision seems to be now envisioned.
The narrow and shallow entrance of Lake Macquarie at the southern end of the long sand spit of Swansea Beach is visible (less than 0.6m in 1842). Near the mouth of the entrance is Moon Island. The southern headland, Swansea Heads, is Reid's Mistake, named for a sea captain, who, in 1800, entered the channel, assuming it was the entrance to the Hunter River (Newcastle harbour). However, he collected coal from the cliff exposures, and returned to Sydney with his cargo.
The sites of the various power stations and collieries can be noted from here. In the distance to the north west is the Triassic ridge of Mt. Sugarloaf, thought, before the visit by Leichhardt in December 1842 to be capped by basalt. Immediately below the lookout is a former opencut in the Wallarah Seam worked during the 1950s coal boom. Note that north of Swansea there are now no working collieries on the east side of Lake Macquarie.
Continue on Scenic Drive, left on Park Ave, right on Civic Ave ( opposite High School ), left on Caves Beach Road., (crossing sand dunes), right on Northcote, left on Hamilton, right on Lambton Parade. to the Park I ' at breakwater.
STOP 7. Walk east to the rock platform beneath the headland. Here is an important geological section, first mapped in detail by Edgeworth David (Fig.12). The Boolaroo Sub-Group is exposed, particularly the Lower and Upper Pilot Seams (the latter in the cliff face). Here again we have many 1 7
Hor iZOD for }".fooL (Gr03t Horthern):Conl Sellm.
Fo~ail Lrcea aD borizon oC the Aw.. 1ua. TrEes 01 J!.'eDnel Ba.y.
80 feet, chicHy iuft"aeeou8 grey shalea, wiLh occaaiQQa.l phcrty budll. and Eomo perillhed coal, perhapr, on horizon oC FiiiiferiJ Befl,m.
Top of dift" .. t QO't'Cl'Dlllut Quarr"
45 lr.el. conRlomerllLo, po.aaing downW4rJia luJ,o pebbly IAnd,Loall, .,..it.b drift kea !oJl"i1i,ed III lr.onst.o ne.
2 to,3 (ed dark grey ,bale.
4.0 feel. ha.rd, bluish.grey ..ndltallo .
Bot.tom 01 Go\'el'Dment Quarry. 12 teet. cheri a aDd carbonaceou8 ,balea. S feel. 9 inchea ccal and hada, UpperPUo& 8.am • e lee, 6 lach. _py ahllla an4 banI. dleMI f'Oak. feet yellow eha.le. 8 (toe!. lpeckled luKI, well 1~"U1ed alld.t.ono. &lid
1. feel. chen. and I"I,Ih.JN. a led, Low., '1101 ham, ooaland Ihale lwId. ~~~~~~ii~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~'b:.::rtr~~II f.L ..ndllone. pauing dO .. I1 ...... inl.a ~ bud, Gal cona1omerall. SecLiDD .... Governmont. Quarry, SwanBU, &bowiDg borimnl or (cuit Lreea.
RG.12 SECTlON NEAR SWANSEA HEADS (DAVD,1907) ...... ------.... _-._------p- ..,~
i PIaa 01 I~ &nn ud RIOW (Of ,b'l.On:I.) WI ,iI.. Dft I.op'" Ih. Lower Pilol 0.1 60am Olp.ed DO UII"Oft blt .._ Udl •.IIIut.: op,..11.o I •• l'Uot 81.t.lioo, t..h Idr.cquari..
F1G.13 PLAN OF FOSSI.. TREES ON ROCK PlATFORN, SWANSEA HEADS (DAVD,1907) 18
fossil tree stumps, preserved in vitric tuff over the Lower Seam exposed on the rock platform. Although many are upright others have fallen over. Note that like the fallen trees at Fennel Bay these have a particular orientation, probably caused by the blast from a violent eruption from the north-east (Fig.13). The tree stump photographed by David and illustrated in his 1907 Memoir (Fig.13A) is still present on the rock platform.
Return via Northcote and Bowman Street to Pacific Highway. Continue north from Swansea, crossing low-lying Pleistocene and Holocene sandbar deposits, through Belmont, right on Wommara Ave and Kallaroo Road towards Redhead, crossing the former colliery railway to John Darling Colliery (opened by BHP in 1925, mining the Borehole and Victoria Tunnel Seams, but now closed).
This was one of a number of railways operated by the NSW Dept of Railways for private owners (Fig.14). The railway was initially constructed by the Redhead Coal Company in 1888-89, and its opening encouraged a number of companies to begin mining the Borehole Seam in this district. About 1km after the crossing the site of the former Redhead Colliery is passed, adjacent to the road.
Well-preserved fossil insects were found north of here early in the century by J. Mitchell and described later by RJ. Tillyard (1918). A scientific reservation, preserving the site of fossil insects, in similar rocks, has been established near Belmont North.
Continue to Collier Street.
STOP 8. Lambton (B) Colliery (historical marker). This colliery (Fig. 14A), originally called the Durham Colliery (Scottish-Australian Company) was the last colliery to work immediately south of Newcastle, closing in 1990. The headframe has already been dismantled, the shaft is to be concreted over and the site developed for other purposes, leaving little evidence of a once flourishing industry.
If time allows, visit the cliffs exposed at Redhead Beach (right via Hutchinson, left on Beach Road.) In this vicinity, as early as 1828, Rev. C.P.N. Wilton recognised that coal seams had been on fire in earlier times, like the seam at the Burning Mountain near Wingen at the north end of the Hunter Valley. Otherwise continue on Dudley Road, passing Awabakal Nature Reserve, within which is Redhead Lagoon ( not visible from the road ). 19
...
-..
~. - Fill. 13&. YIEWOF TREE STUMP. PHOTOGRAPHED BY DAYID ( 1907) 20
FlG.14 COLLERY and OTtER RALWAYS, t lWa_/J ~" ~ o,-,~~ '1M ,.,., .....~ 0.._ FW .... '~ ""' ....".1' - _I\€D ":l Dc"",,,,..,..; .., '"""' -• "".:>- ...... c:....." ""'~ -,. I. c.,.."".1 J 6 " 4.. N .. L".e:. (1.("'-1 !for,", --...,....,rt"UU/ The water-bearing sands in this area were examined in 1877, by William Clark, an engineer, as a possible source of water for Newcastle. Right on Kahibah Road, Right on Burwood Road., passing on the left the surface buildings of the now closed Burwood Colliery (1982), which was operated first by a shaft, and later (by BHP) by a decline, constructed in 1939 to the Borehole Seam, cross the former colliery railway at Flaggy Creek, right on Kahibah Road, right on Pacific Highway 1, right on Scenic Drive to Merewether. The Fern Valley Seam is exposed at the junction, cut by a weathered dyke. Good views can be obtained north across the Hunter River delta to the higher Carboniferous rocks, and to the south over Murdering Gully towards Glenrock Lagoon. The lagoon is the possible site of the original finding of coal by convicts Mary and William Bryant, and their companions, on their epic escape voyage to Timor in 1791. The sewage works at Glenrock is now connected with an ocean outfall tunnel, driven in the Waratah Sandstone, below the old undersea workings of the Burwood Colliery, and below onshore workings of a number of smaller operations, including the original Victoria Tunnel workings of the Newcastle Coal and Copper Company. Continue to the south end of Merewether Beach. STOP 9. Walk south past the Merewether Baths to the well-exposed cliff section (Fig. IS). This was one of the key places described by Edgeworth David in his monumental study of the Hunter River Coalfields. It was earlier visited by Rev. C.P. N. Wilton (1828) and even earlier (1821) by Alexander Berry, who noted that Dr. Hutton [the famous Scottish geologist] would have greatly enjoyed examining the outcrop. Leichhardt and Strzelecki also came here to see the section. The section shows much of the Lambton Sub Group, from below the Dudley Seam to the Merewether Conglomerate of the Adamstown Sub-Group. The succession Nobbys Seam, Nobbys Tuff and overlying Victoria Tunnel Seam (called Burwood Seam in Fig.1S) is particularly evident, cut by a fault (4m displacement). The Bogey Hole Formation forms the wave-cut platform. Evidence of a railway line can be seen at the southern end of this cliff section. This was constructed by Dr. James Mitchell, probably as early as 1846 to link the coke ovens and smelting works he constructed further south along the coast, and the harbour wharves at the Hunter River. At this time Mitchell was concerned with the smelting of copper ores from Kawau, New Zealand, and from South Australia. In 1853 Mitchell and others formed the Newcastle Coal and Copper Company, which took over the smelting and coke works, and several mines in the general Burwood area. The tunnels on this line were the first railway tunnels built in Australia. This line was HorizonLaI Salle 0 » 'f' 'II ClU~itHI F A e c o I..."lke l\tnCt,uari(' S~v,"-",i1. Bench HrCAL Northern ~AJI1 (l1'lter IIlul Lower PIlot .\II .. llllllltiillll ~'Ull. Rrd/lr~(/ ."tt.J"'''~'~'r I\IIIUU.,,1 ~AUI, \'IIMI1S ~:1111 lIirl~ ~·nn .. YIIIII ~AIlI ".'" ...... Ilm.·lu.1o ~alll ..__ '''u,_"", ___ 000 ~ __0'1 n .• - .-, ",. 11 .. ,.",,/0 .;I,,,t.I,,'14 '""'- V"rlil',,1 ~'nll' 0 ~ .000 F~ct NEWCASTLE l!cdhead Merevether Shephel'd's Hill c H Little Beach J ~ Nohh,'s FlG.15 a.FF SECTlON, IEREWETtER (DavId,1907) 24 abandoned about 1890, as it was costly to maintain, and the Redhead line used instead. Continue via Frederick Street, right on Helen Street and Memorial Drive (noting the Merewether Conglomerate at Shepherds Hill) to Cliff Street, right into Strzelecki Memorial Lookout. STOP 10. Here a very fine stone memorial has been erected through the enthusiasm and generosity of the Polish community of the Hunter region. It commemorates Strzelecki's short visit to the region in 1842 (at the same time as Leichhardt, although they apparently did not meet). The cliff section that Strzelecki measured, and published in 1845 (Fig.16) together with sketches of plant fossils (Fig. 16A), has been reproduced on the memorial stone, together with an embossed portrait. Continue via York Drive to overlook the Bogey Hole. STOP 11. Bogey Hole is the site of one of the early convict coal workings, described by John Busby, Government Mineralogist, when he visited in 1824. These workings were also seen by S. Stutchbury early in 1826. Fossil insects were found here, close to sea-level, below Nobbys Seam and described by Tillyard. Right on Ordnance Street, left on Watt. Close to the south end of Watt Street, within the old Hunter Hospital grounds a shaft 37m deep was sunk about 1817, by convict labour. These two sites were probably part of the same mine workings (Fig.17). Continue via Watt Street, left on Church Street pass the Anglican Cathedral, site of some damage during the 1925 and 1989 earthquakes, and also affected by mine subsidence in the Australian Agricultural Cos. workings early in the century. STOP 12. Just past Brown Street a plaque on the right marks the site of the A Pit Shaft of the Australian Agricultural Company. The A.A.Co's. mine was visited by J.D. Dana in 1839, and he collected one of the first fossil fish to be found in Australian rocks. It was also reported on, for the government by S. Stutchbury in 1850, when he recommended that longwall mining would be more appropriate than the bord and pillar method being used in the Newcastle mines. More detailed studies were carried out on behalf of the company by F. Odemheimer and his assistant E. Herborn in 1855-57. 25 ~ ~, " '-, '<:..~ '",< , ~, ., = -;; -:; ~ .t , t ~." ~ ;;, ~ , i .' ~" " '"'-, 'S:" "., ~ I ~, ... -f: ~ ".'' . <:'. ~ 26 1111 I "I...... , .•. · ... , .. .. Fill. ISa. SKETCH OF PLANT FOSSILS. STRZELECKI. 1845 ' ). STOCKTON PORT \2 HUNTER C\ • B PH N N -,' _Ii"...... o ~ ctJl~ ~ .....-...... ' -~-;--"--"--..;;;;r. ' ... "'IC?'"--;;'"..- . ~': Tf1't~~~:. . __.. ,· S:AJ4~'TlM'N'SUm N#:tbily. 5 ••"., P/lt:J"t: ---- tlpptv Dudl.y s...m .s 0 VrH _ •• _ .• _ . , t.tNvtV"~/6y S6Im .... JIO -& .. IIi6 ifiIo -_ . • _- •. Ylr tT 5 .../17 / J"'IIW'II ------AAIIITWnnMiW s..m OuIcro~ ~DY*. FlG.17 EARLY COALMINES IN NEWCASTLE 28 One of Strzelecki's good friends in Australia was Phillip Parker King, Commissioner (in the 1840s) for the A.A.Co., which had control of coal production after Government working with convicts ceased in 1831. King had considerable scientific interests, and mapped details of the geology in the Company mines. He later encouraged Strzelecki to complete his book on Australian geology and publish it. King was in charge of the company when it discovered the Borehole Seam in a borehole at Hamilton in 1848. Prior to this The A.A. Co. mined the less satisfactory Dudley and Yard Seams. Left at Mc Cormack Street. Note the stone wall here. It consists of sandstone from the Permian coal measures, basalt from near Allandale, and gneiss from South America, brought as ballast on sailing ships coming to Newcastle for coal after the California goldrushes. Left on Tyrrell, left on Newcomen (T junction) to King Street. The central business district of Newcastle was badly damaged by the earthquake of December 1989. Many earlier records exist of earthquakes in the area. Both Rev. C.P.N. Wilton and Leichhardt recorded the tremor of 28 Octoberl842, as did Rev. W.B. Clarke in Sydney. Right on King Street to Watt Street. Just near this corner early convict workings were discovered during extensions to Newcastle Hospital in 1984 (Fig.18). Left on Watt Street, right on Scott Street, left on Parnell Place to Nobbys Beach. STOP 13. Nobbys Head was an island when Newcastle was first settled (Fig. 19). William Bligh was among those who surveyed, and recorded the site. Governor Macquarie in 1818 began the work of closing the gap and making the entrance to the Hunter River safer. Sandstone was first quarried from the riverside face of Beacon Hill, but the work was carried on sporadically, as the rock was not very suitable and disintegrated. Later blocks of Waratah Sandstone from Braye Park, Waratah, and elsewhere, were used to fill the gap, but it was some years before the gap was filled (1846). The top of Nobbys was also levelled by 1855 (30m removed) so that a lighthouse could be erected. The 3m wide dyke exposed on Nobbys' Head (Fig.20) caught the attention of many early geologists, including Stutchbury, W.Keene and J. Wilson, all in the 1850s. Stutchbury incorrectly believed the Nobbys Tuff, a fine-grained, brittle rock was altered to this nature by contact metamorphism by the dyke intrusion. J.D. Dana also thought this, being misled by the difference in appearance of the rocks on Nobbys compared with those at the southern end of Nobbys Beach, as he thought the rocks belonged to the same formation. 29 • ~----- ..... --- Gel- -CII , ,, ,, , , , ,, , , \ , .... \ , , I C \ .. _1 • -Gel.. i: .,' , ~ W :J: en ~ 11:1 zo I .,. 31 ~94Io~gz:;, '£1II1ZC ; ~ ~. fJa/d CtKou.red sand.sfnne, ~~ 1iliiliilllf ~~~~~ ~ Ccu6oruzce.ous s/I.a.U. &cJ. &nglomeraa tvtth ~ bun.ts, thrbonac4ous .sh.aLIl. {!(xU. ~i.sh~. "tau 0/6U 86-aQ JJen~h the Beacon, 8out-h Dead -#evu-ostie , fSi,yntU HiLL). i-\ff'l =c ;;. \§~ . , Fig. 20. DYKE AT NOBBYS (DANA" 1819) 32 .. , .... =~ • III ",.. i:5 CI Z 0- J: - CI III• ...III - ....Z .....III W = C Z ~ 5! ! ....ti - U') • III I .... ~ Ii: =U')- i:5 U') I;:j 10.1 ,- III • ~ ~ U') • .... =~ -N • ,. ." -... 33 He was unaware of the large fault which displaced the rodes. Keene was the Government Examiner of Coalfields between 1854 and later Keeper of Mining Records, until his death in 1872, and carried out many detailed surveys of the Hunter River coalfields, including the Newcastle mines. His mineral collection, displayed in his Newcastle office, attracted many visitors, even from Sydney. The earliest mines were established on what was the mainland southern head of the Hunter River, close to the northern end of Shortland Esplanade. Other slightly later convict workings were scattered around the area beneath Fort ScratchIey (Flagstaff Hill), and at Nobbys, mining both the lower Dudley and Nobbys Seams, and later, the Yard Seam. This is a complete story in itself, to be pursued at another time. After the visit to Nobbys Head the bus will return to the university via Darby Street, near the site of the A.A. Company's Sea Pit, comer Darby/BulI Street (Fig. 21). REFERENCES Armstrong, J., 1983. Shaping the Hunter. NSW Division, Institution of Engineers, Australia. 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, (editors) Coal in Australia. Edgeworth David Society, University of Sydney. Branagan, D.F. ok Moelle, K.H.R., 1981. Old Mine Workings in the Yard Seam at Newcastle NSW. Prog. ok Abstracts 15th Symp. Advances in the study of the Sydney Basin, Geology Dept., University of Newcastle. David, T.W.E., 1907. Geology of the Hunter River Coal Measures. Memoir 4, Geological Survey of New South Wales. Diessel, C.F.K., 1985. Tuffs and tonsteins in the coal measures of New South Wales, Australia. CR 10 Int Congr Carbon Strat Geol, Madrid 1983 Herbert, C. and Helby, R., 1980. A guide to the Sydney Basin. Geological Survey of New South Wales, Bulletin 26. 34 Hunter, c., 1991. The earth was raised up in waves like the sea, (earth tremors felt in the Hunter Valley since white settlement). Hunter House, Newcastle. Percival, 1.,1985. The Geological Heritage of New South Wales, Vo!.l. National Parks and Wildlife Service, Sydney. Turner, J.W.,1978. Manufacturing in Newcastle, 1801 - 1901. Newcastle History Monographs No.8. Newcastle Public library. Turner, J.W., 1982. Coal mining in Newcastle, 1801 - 1900. Newcastle History Monographs No.9. Newcastle Public library.