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Note on timber found beneath alluvial drift at Swansea

Legge, William Vincent 1895 , 'Note on timber found beneath alluvial drift at Swansea' , Papers & Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania , pp. 68-69 .

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Abstract

On the pleasant drive from Bicheno to Swansea the traveller,
after crossing over the spurs of [the range called " Lyne's
Sugar Loaf" by the so-called "cut," comes suddenly in view
of the large level tract of country lying south of the hills he
is descending, and stretching from the hamlet of Cranbrook
inwards towards the foot of the ranges which bound the St.
Paul's Valley on the east. This tract is mainly formed by the
coast range, which fringes the shore from St. Patrick's Head
to Bicheno, suddenly swerving inland at the latter place, and
joining the above-mentioned highlands east of the St. Paul's
which lie at some distance from the East Coast. At the
latitude of Swansea the ranges approach the coast again, and
then follow the shore southwards. The level tract of country
hemmed in by these features is alluvial, and forms what may
be generally styled the basin of the Swan River, and its
smaller companion streams, the "Cygnet" and the "Wye." On the estate of Cambria, which lies mainly at
the foot of the hill, locally called the " Lookout," the soil is
rich and of great depth ; and on that part of it lying between
the main road and the shores of Oyster Bay there is a lagoon
of considerable extent, which seems in former times to have
had egress to the Meredith River by a watercourse now
extinct, but visible in the form of an ordinary sinuous depression
in the paddocks. Following the course of this
depression a deep dyke has recently been cut by Mr.
Meredith to drain the lagoon. In the shallowest part of the
old watercourse this ditch attains a maximum depth of about 12
feet, and it was at the bottom of it that the men employed in
the work came upon the log, lying transversely to the direction
of the drain. It was so hard that they had considerable
difficulty in cutting it asunder with an axe, a fact which may easily be realised on inspecting the sample of wood which
accompanies this note. It will be observed that the wood is
almost black, like the Irish " bog oak," and exactly resembles
in texture a solid piece of ebony.

Item Type: Article
Authors/Creators:Legge, William Vincent
Keywords: Royal Society of Tasmania, Van Diemens Land, VDL, Hobart Town, natural sciences, proceedings, records
Journal or Publication Title: Papers & Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania
Collections: Royal Society Collection > Papers & Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania
Additional Information:

In 1843 the Horticultural and Botanical Society of Van Diemen's Land was founded and became the Royal Society of Van Diemen's Land for Horticulture, Botany, and the Advancement of Science in 1844. In 1855 its name changed to Royal Society of Tasmania for Horticulture, Botany, and the Advancement of Science. In 1911 the name was shortened to Royal Society of Tasmania.

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