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The principal deposits of bauxite occur on Bintan and adjacent islands which lie about 50 to 100 miles south-east from Singapore. This report is comprised of three extracts which have been drawn from papers made available to the writer by the Australian Government Commissioner for Malaya. The production figures, composition, and nature of the bauxite deposits are described in these extracts.

This investigation was undertaken primarily to assess the importance of a discovery of gold in the tributaries of the Porgera River west of Mt. Hagen, Mandated Territory of New Guinea. Two patrols were carried out. The first patrol was from Wabag to Mongureba. The purpose of the patrol was to inspect the main gold find in the vicinity of Mongureba. The occurrence of alluvial gold was also reported from the River Timen area, and consequently a patrol from Wabag to Mt. Hagen Police Post by way of the River Timen was undertaken. This report gives an account of the geological reconnaissance and its findings. The physiography, geology, geomorphology, and economic geology of the area are described. Accompanying maps and photographs are included.

The presence of laterite described as high-silica bauxite at Mt. Roe on Cobourg Peninsula had been reported early in this century by H.Y.L. Brown, who submitted a specimen for analysis. In the absence of information about the mineralogical composition of the rock the chemical analysis alone affords a very incomplete description of the material. It was considered that the rock might be somewhat similar to the commercially valuable high-silica bauxite which occurs in the Netherlands East Indies and Malaya. At the request of the Australian Aluminium Production Commission the writer was instructed to examine the area in the vicinity of Mounts Roe and Bedwell, and to sample and report on any accessible bodies of apparently aluminous laterite. The locality, topography, and general geology of the area are briefly described. Accounts of the laterite occurrence at Mounts Roe, Bedwell, Kura, and Victoria are given. The mineralogical character of the laterite is described.

On March 11th, 1949, severe earth tremors were felt in the Dalton area, and, less severely, over a considerable portion of New South Wales. These were succeeded in the epicentral area by numerous aftershocks during the following fortnight. G.M. Burton and the writer were detailed to investigate the tremors and left Canberra on the first day of their occurrence. The greater part of the week devoted to the investigation, was spent in the Dalton area. A reconnaissance embracing an area within a radius of some 40 miles of Dalton was also carried out with a view to determining the regional distribution of intensities, and the Chief Geologist circularised Post Masters and Police Officers stationed at fourteen N.S.W. towns from which some information about the tremors was to be expected. This report provides a general description of the earth tremors and their effects. Instrumental data readings are recorded. The geology and physiography of the area, and their relation to the position of the epicentral area, as well as the causes of the tremors, are discussed. Plans showing the distribution, on a modified Mercalli scale, of seismic intensities during the earth tremors are included.

This palaeontological report describes a collection of fossils from Fitzroy Crossing. The fossils determined and the horizon to which they belong are set out on the accompanying list.

An area of about 300 square miles was geologically surveyed in the Upper Murrumbidgee - Tumut River area. The object of the work was to investigate dam sites and tunnel lines in connection with a Hydro-Electric Scheme by which it is proposed to transfer water from the Murrumbidgee River into the Tumut River. Two proposed dam sites were examined. A detailed account of the topography, general geology, and engineering geology of these sites is given in this report. Accompanying geological plans are included.

The report describes the results of a micropalaeontological examination of samples taken from the depth of 450 to 1032 feet down.

Prospectors J.C. Paul and T.C. Ash claimed to have discovered wolfram near Lake Koolymilka in the area reserved for the Long Range Weapons project. The general geology and working of the area are briefly outlined in this report, and it is shown that no wolfram or any other minerals of economic importance are present.

A field party from the Bureau of Mineral Resources left Melbourne on 19th March, 1949, together with a relief party from the Australian National Antarctic Research Expedition. The objects of the party's visit to Macquarie Island were the establishment of a Seismological Observatory, the determination of the secular variation of magnetic declination, and the location of magnetically suitable areas for a proposed Magnetic Observatory. The present preliminary report is concerned exclusively with an accident which occurred during the construction of the Seismological Observatory and which caused injuries to A.B. Billan, R.A.N. The building plans and choice of the site are discussed.