Lake Macquarie Petrified Forest

Last updated August 06, 2021

The Lake Macquarie Petrified Forest is a petrified pine tree forest at Fennell Bay, Lake Macquarie, New South Wales, Australia. Geologically it is located in the Permo-Carboniferous strata.^[1] The nearest town is Swansea.^[2]

The petrified forest was first referred to in print (as Kurrur Kurran) within a grammar of the local Aboriginal people published in Sydney during 1834 by missionary minister Lancelot Threlkeld.^[3]^[4] The scientific aspects of the site were first addressed in detail by the geologist priest William Clarke, who visited the area in 1842 and prepared a detailed report which was subsequently presented to the Geological Society of London and published in its proceedings for 1843.^[3]

The fossil forest (Kurrur Kurran) was in 2009 nominated to the State Government as being State significant heritage, but has not been listed as such yet.^{[ citation needed ]} In the meantime the best available scientific collection of silicified wood from the fossil forest (itself listed as local heritage) passed to the care of the City of Lake Macquarie which after keeping it for some time disposed of it (into the Lake) without notifying any of the geologists interested in or studying the fossil tree horizon.^{[ citation needed ]}

The fossil tree horizon extends at least as far as the coast, where it can be found a little to the south of Catherine Hill Bay.^{[ citation needed ]} Work continues trying to trace if this might be a very extensive horizon traceable right across the preserved Sydney Basin (e.g. to Marrangaroo in the west).^{[ citation needed ]}

It has been generally accepted^{[ by whom? ]} that the trees were both killed and buried (preserved) by ash from a volcanic eruption,^[2] likely occurring somewhere well off the present eastern coastline.^{[ citation needed ]}

Related Research Articles

Swansea is a town at the entrance to Lake Macquarie from the Pacific Ocean in New South Wales, Australia. It is part of the City of Lake Macquarie local government area, Greater Newcastle. The Aboriginal people, in this area, the Awabakal, were the first people of this land.

A polystrate fossil is a fossil of a single organism that extends through more than one geological stratum. This term is typically applied to "fossil forests" of upright fossil tree trunks and stumps that have been found worldwide, i.e. in the Eastern United States, Eastern Canada, England, France, Germany, and Australia, typically associated with coal-bearing strata. Within Carboniferous coal-bearing strata, it is also very common to find what are called Stigmaria within the same stratum. Stigmaria are completely absent in post-Carboniferous strata, which contain either coal, polystrate trees, or both. The word polystrate is not a standard geological term. This term is typically found in creationist publications.

Belmont is a suburb in Greater Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, located 20 kilometres (12 mi) from Newcastle's central business district on the eastern side of Lake Macquarie and is part of the City of Lake Macquarie council.

Awabakallanguage is an Australian Aboriginal language that was spoken around Lake Macquarie and Newcastle in New South Wales. The name is derived from Awaba, which was the native name of the lake. It was spoken by Awabakal and Wonnarua peoples.

The Awabakal people, are those Aboriginal Australians who identify with or are descended from the Awabakal tribe and its clans, Indigenous to the coastal area of what is now known as the Mid North Coast region of New South Wales. Their traditional territory spread from Wollombi in the south, to the Lower Hunter River near Newcastle and Lake Macquarie in the north.

Catherine Hill Bay is a coastal bay and village on the southern peninsula forming Lake Macquarie, south of the Pacific Ocean entrance channel at Swansea in New South Wales, Australia. It is part of the City of Lake Macquarie local government area. The village is the oldest continuous settlement in the City of Lake Macquarie. The Aboriginal people in this area, the Awabakal were the first people of this land.

An Australian grammar : comprehending the principles and natural rules of the language, as spoken by the Aborigines in the vicinity of Hunter's River, Lake Macquarie, &c. New South Wales is a book written by Lancelot Edward Threlkeld and published in Sydney in 1834. It is a grammar of the Awabakal language.

Kuringgai is an ethnonym referring to (a) an hypothesis regarding an aggregation of Indigenous Australian peoples occupying the territory between the southern borders of the Gamilaraay and the area around Sydney (b) perhaps an historical people with its own distinctive language, located in part of that territory, or (c) people of Aboriginal origin who identify themselves as descending from the original peoples denoted by (a) or (b) and who call themselves Guringai.

The Reverend Lancelot Edward Threlkeld was an English missionary, primarily based in Australia. He was married twice and survived by sons and daughters from both marriages. His work in Australia did much to increase knowledge of Aboriginal languages, but he had little success with converting Aborigines to Christianity.

Users are warned the below content may contain words which may be culturally sensitive. These terms and concepts may be the consequence of historical authors' worldviews and may not be considered appropriate today. These views are not necessarily the views of Wikipedia or the below article's authors.

Dora River is a watercourse that is located in the Upper Central Coast/Lower Hunter regions of New South Wales, Australia.

Fassifern is a suburb of the City of Lake Macquarie, Greater Newcastle in New South Wales, Australia, located west of Lake Macquarie. The Sydney-Newcastle railway line runs through Fassifern railway station, which is a major station along the line. There used to be a branch line between Fassifern Station and nearby Toronto, but this has been replaced by a bus service, aptly named "The Train".

Coal Point is a suburb of the City of Lake Macquarie in New South Wales, Australia on a peninsula south-east of the towns of Toronto and Carey Bay, on the western side of Lake Macquarie.

Fennell Bay is a lakeside suburb of the City of Lake Macquarie, Greater Newcastle in New South Wales, Australia north of the town of Toronto on a bay of the same name, on the north western shore of Lake Macquarie.

Caves Beach is a locality on the Swansea peninsula between Lake Macquarie and the Pacific Ocean in Greater Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. It is part of the City of Lake Macquarie local government area. The locality is named for the large number of caves on the nearby coastline. It has a surfing beach which is popular with the local surfers. It is highly popular for spearfishing, with the premier target species being the elusive red morwong. The traditional owners of the land were the Awabakal people.

Swansea Heads is a locality on the Swansea peninsula between Lake Macquarie and the Pacific Ocean in New South Wales, Australia. It is part of Greater Newcastle, City of Lake Macquarie local government area. The Aboriginal people, in this area, the Awabakal, were the first people of this land.

Little Pelican is a suburb of the City of Lake Macquarie in New South Wales, Australia, located 26 kilometres (16 mi) south of Newcastle's central business district across the entrance to Lake Macquarie from the town of Swansea. It consists of a reserve and caravan park along Swansea Channel, and is traversed by the Pacific Highway.

Ebenezer Colliery was a coal mine located at Coal Point, New South Wales, Australia.

Specimen Ridge, el. 8,379 feet (2,554 m) is an approximately 8.5-mile (13.7 km) ridge along the south rim of the Lamar Valley in Yellowstone National Park. The ridge separates the Lamar Valley from Mirror Plateau. The ridge is oriented northwest to southeast from the Tower Junction area to Amethyst Mountain. The ridge is known for its abundance of amethyst, opal and petrified wood. It was referred to as Specimen Mountain by local miners and was probably named by prospectors well before 1870. The south side of the ridge is traversed by the 18.8-mile (30.3 km) Specimen Ridge Trail between Tower Junction and Soda Butte Creek. The trail passes through the Petrified Forest and over the summit of Amethyst Mountain el. 9,614 feet (2,930 m).

Reverend Dr John Fraser was an Australian ethnologist, linguist, school headmaster and author of many scholarly works. He is known for his revised and expanded version of Lancelot Threlkeld's 1834 work, An Australian Grammar, with the new title An Australian language as spoken by the Awabakal, the people of Awaba or Lake Macquarie being an account of their language, traditions and customs / by L.E. Threlkeld; re-arranged, condensed and edited with an appendix by John Fraser (1892). In this, Fraser created new divisions and terminology for some Aboriginal groups in New South Wales.

References

↑ David, T.W. Edgeworth (1907). "The Geology of the Hunter River Coal Measures, New South Wales". Memoirs of the Geological Survey of New South Wales (4).
1 2 "Swansea Headland Petrified Forest". Geological sites of NSW. Cartoscope. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
1 2 Organ, Michael; Byrnes, John (14 April 2009). "Fossil Pine Forest, Lake Macquarie". Michael Organ - Research Collection. Archived from the original on 19 April 2019. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
↑ Threlkeld, L.E. (1834). An Australian Grammar: comprehending the principles and natural rules of the language, as spoken by the Aborigines in the vicinity of Hunter’s River, Lake Macquarie, &c., New South Wales. Sydney: Stephens & Stokes.

Coordinates: 33°05′16″S151°39′55″E / 33.087838°S 151.665144°E / -33.087838; 151.665144

This City of Lake Macquarie geography article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This article about a specific Australian geological feature is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[1] David, T.W. Edgeworth (1907). "The Geology of the Hunter River Coal Measures, New South Wales". Memoirs of the Geological Survey of New South Wales (4).

[GeoMaps-2] 1 2 "Swansea Headland Petrified Forest". Geological sites of NSW. Cartoscope. Retrieved 5 August 2021.

[MOrgan-3] 1 2 Organ, Michael; Byrnes, John (14 April 2009). "Fossil Pine Forest, Lake Macquarie". Michael Organ - Research Collection. Archived from the original on 19 April 2019. Retrieved 5 August 2021.

[4] Threlkeld, L.E. (1834). An Australian Grammar: comprehending the principles and natural rules of the language, as spoken by the Aborigines in the vicinity of Hunter’s River, Lake Macquarie, &c., New South Wales. Sydney: Stephens & Stokes.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]