309 THE UPPER PALAEOZOIC ROCKS OP TASMANIA. By A. H. Voisey, M.Se., Linnean Macleay Fellow of the Society in Geology. (Two Text-figures.) [Read 28th September, 1938.] At the suggestion of Dr. A. N. Lewis, of Hobart, a visit was made to Tasmania during March and April, 1937, in order to examine critically the most important sections of Upper Palaeozoic rocks so that comparisons might be made at a later stage between them and corresponding sections on the mainland of Australia. This paper presents a reorganized account of the Upper Palaeozoic succession for Tasmania. It has been compiled after a careful field examination of many of the sections and a study of the literature. It has been necessary to curtail any criticisms of earlier works owing to the length of this paper and in order to avoid confusion. The author does not agree with any interpretations previously put forward, and has attempted to subdivide the sequence in a manner which will permit more exact reference to the occurrences by future workers. Unfortunately, it has been found imperative to reject the serial names used by Johnston (1888) and his successors, as there does not seem to be sufficient data available to uphold the implied correlation with the Hunter River (N.S.W.) Kamilaroi sequence. The same terminology as that used in New South Wales has been used in Tasmania up to the present time. Owing to recent research on Kamilaroi palaeontology little reliance is placed on fossils whose ranges were once regarded as limited to certain zones within the system. Hence, in a fragmental record such as the Tasmanian one, it is rarely that the correct stratigraphical position of any bed can be ascertained. Similarly, it is difficult to determine either the positions or duration of any of the non-sequences, many of which must have occurred. This paper will be destructive in its main theme, which is to break down the old system of nomenclature, but it is hoped that out of the ruins will arise a more satisfactory classification than that which has been used in the past. Previous Literature. The most comprehensive description of the Tasmanian Upper Palaeozoic rocks is that of R. M. Johnston (1888). He placed all the beds in the Carboniferous System and divided them into similar series to those occurring in the Hunter Valley, N.S.W., and gave these series exactly the same names, viz. Lower Marine Series, Greta Coal Measures, Upper Marine Series. He considered that no representatives of the Newcastle Coal Measures ( N.S.W. ), which he placed doubtfully in the Permian System, had been discovered in Tasmania. Field-work in Upper Palaeozoic areas was carried on, notably by W. H. Twelvetrees (1903, 1912, 1915a, 1915b, 1918), Loftus Hills (1913, 1914, 1921), and FF
BioStor
