In March and April 1959, a seismic party from the Bureau of Mineral Resources extended a seismic survey carried out in 1958 in the Latrobe Valley. A seismic reflection traverse was run across the Latrobe Syncline between Tyers and Traralgon South to determine the structure of the coal measures, the depth of basement and, if possible, the type of basement. Results indicated that the Latrobe Syncline (the structural feature which coincides with the Latrobe River Valley) is a broad syncline in which the strata are more or less horizontally bedded. The maximum thickness of coal measures is about 2200 ft. The survey provided information on the structures of the limbs of the Latrobe syncline and on several minor structures superimposed on the main syncline. It did not, however, show for certain what type of basement rock underlies the coal measures. The survey provided information on the structure of the formations beneath the coal measures; and although some of the seismic data is of poor quality, there is probably an unconformity in the stratigraphic section between 5000 and 9000 ft. Reflections recorded at times as great as 2700 millisec, show that the sediments in the Latrobe Valley are probably between 10,500 and 15,000 ft. deep.

In October and November 1959 a seismic party from the Bureau of Mineral Resources carried out a seismic survey in the Surat Basin, Queensland at the request of Australian Oil and Gas Corporation Ltd. A traverse extending from Surat eastward to within 10 miles of Tara was shot in five-mile sections of continuous reflection profiling with approximately five-mile intervals between the sections.^In addition two refraction traverses were shot near Surat to record velocities and depths of as many horizons as possible. Reflections were of fair to good quality throughout the survey and it was possible to correlate bands of reflections from one five-mile section to the next with considerable certainty. Over most of the traverses four reflecting horizons were followed, and in a few places reflections were obtained from a still deeper fifth horizon. The reflection survey revealed a wide basin between Surat and Cabawin (about 70 miles east of Surat), with its maximum thickness of sediments under Meandarra. The sediments there appear to be at least 19,000 ft thick. A marked anticline was discovered near Cabawtin. The refraction survey, using the "Depth Probing" method, revealed a refractor with a calculated velocity of 20,180 ft/sec situated about 1000 ft below the fourth reflecting horizon.

Kaufana No. 1 Bore was drilled to a depth of 3,380 feet. Thin Pliocene calcareous greywacke unconformably overlies Miocene "f-3" siltstone; this in turn disconformably overlies Miocene "fl-2" siltstone, shale, and greywacke. The Miocene "f-3" Bokama Limestone was not encountered, but may have been represented by a stratigraphic equivalent with a different lithology. No shows of hydrocarbons were observed.

The rig and ancillary gear were shipped by the 300-ton landing barge "Wewak" from Kaufana, Papua, to Wilson Island, a distance of approximately 1,000 miles. They were thence transferred to Wreck Island by the drilling company's landing barge "Tamona" of 47.38 registered tonnage. All stores, supplies, and fresh water were transported 58 miles from Gladstone by the "Tamona". Communications were maintained by an A.W.A. 5A Transceiver with OTC Station VIR Rockhampton. The bore was spudded in at 1400 hours, 7th May, 1959. 12-1/4 inch hole was drilled to 493 feet. Owing to lost circulation, no cuttings could be recovered from the hole, and a laborious system of bailing was resorted to. The 12-1/4 inch pilot hole was opened to 17-1/2 inches, and 13-3/8 inch J55x54.5 lb. STC casing was run to 480 feet. 12-1/4 inch hole was drilled to 1,170 feet, but owing to porous unconsolidated sediments and lost circulation in higher zones it was decided to run and cement 9-5/8 inch J55x40 lb. STC casing at 1,110 feet. 8-1/2 inch hole was then drilled to total depth, 1,898 feet. Recent, Pleistocene, Pliocene, and Miocene sediments were penetrated; basement was encountered at 1,795 feet. Fourteen cores were cut during the drilling of the bore, using a 20-foot Reed K500 "Kor-King" barrel. Both hard and soft formation 5-5/8 inch core heads were used. The hole was logged to total depth with a Failing Logmaster, giving the self-potential, 16 and 63 inch normal and single point resistivity, and gamma ray curves. No shows of oil or gas were noted, and in consequence no drill stem tests were carried out. Three deviation surveys were made; the maximum deviation was 1/2 degree at 1,580 feet. The bore was abandoned as a dry hole by placing cement plugs from 1,160 to 1,060 feet and from 50 feet to surface; a metal name plate affixed to a projecting pipe was welded on to the cap sealing the bore.

One hundred and thirty-nine species of foraminifera belonging to 56 genera are recorded. One new genus, Haerella, is described; 31 species are described as new, 76 have been previously described, 21 are recorded as partial identifications and eleven as doubtful identifications. The internal characters of several species have been investigated. An emended description has been given for the species Spiroplectinata compressiuscula (Chapman); the concept of the genus Praebulimina is discussed, and that of the genera Anomalinoides and Gavelinopsis. The type species of Anomalinoides, Anomalina pinguis Jennings, is found to have double septal walls. The use of the names Ellipsoidella and Nodosarella in the classification of uniserial calcareous foraminifera is also discussed. A chart shows the known vertical range of the recorded species in the areas investigated.

In several publications which have appeared during the last few years mention was made of Upper Jurassic (Kimmeridgian and Tithonian) and Lower Cretaceous (Neocomian and Aptian) marine fossils from Dampier Land, a peninsula which lies between the townships of Derby and Broome in the north of Western Australia. The fossils were listed in detail or otherwise mentioned in more or less preliminary stratigraphical descriptions of the area in papers by Brunnschweiler (1951a, 1951 b, 1954, 1957), Guppy (1953), Guppy, Lindner, Rattigan, & Casey (1958), and Fairbridge (1953). A great deal of geological work has been carried out since those preliminary exploration activities, chiefly by the staff of the West Australian Petroleum Pty Ltd (WAPET). The currently accepted stratigraphical picture has recently been presented by McWhae, Playford, Lindner, Glenister, & Balme (1958), and the reader is referred to this paper for the overall situation and the relationships of the formations mentioned in the present descriptions of the fossils. The occurrence of Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous formations in this region has been known for many years, but only in recent years have the nature and extent of the sequences become known in reasonable detail. The only description of Upper Jurassic fossils of this area is found in a short paper by Teichert (1940a). Unfortunately several of the fossil specimens described hereafter were lost in the fire in the Canberra offices of the Bureau of Mineral Resources in April, 1953. The illustrations on plates I and II had to be made up from discoloured and singed photographs, the negatives of which did not survive the fire. Mostly," open" nomenclature is applied even where an obviously new form is in evidence; for new species can only be established where satisfactory type material is still available. The main purpose of this paper is to substantiate earlier statements by showing what fossils have been found, even though this can only be done with the help of photographs which luckily escaped destruction by the fire. Much of the work for this paper was done before mid-1954, when the writer was still a member of the staff of the Bureau of Mineral Resources, and engaged in work on the stratigraphy and palaeontology of the Australian Mesozoic.

Legacy product - no abstract available

Legacy product - no abstract available

Legacy product - no abstract available

Legacy product - no abstract available