PETRIFIED TREE
MILLIONS OF YEARS OLD RELICS OF ANCIENT TJMEfI. A petrified tree, estimated to be millions of years old, .has been found ia Brisbane in the course of a recent inspection of the tuff-schist contact at Petrie Bight, in connection with the foundations; of the proposed Kangaroo Point Bridge. The tree was brought to the notice of the chief Government geologist,' Mr L. C. Ball. The tree was in the , old quarry face overlooking the river. ' In the Greater Brisbane area there is evidence of an ancient tree-clad valley, which, in the middle ages of the geological record, lay directly across the course of the present Brisbane River, Many millions of years ago, and, according ,to scientists, long before tha evolution of man, this hollow was suddenly overwhelmed, and almost obliterated by powdered and broken rock, resulting from'volcanic eruptions in tha neighbourhood. In the course of tha ensuing ages the {material became hardened into rock, which is-known to geologists as tuff, and to the local. stone-mason-as porphyry. ’ Besides confronting scientists with, many knotty problems, this rook has provi ’ed Brisbane with an exceptionally beautiful'building stone, as. many of the city’s older structures and some quite recent edifices testify. ■lt is assumed that most of the vegetation of the \*alley was consumed by the volcanic fires,- but many logs, having been covered by the ash, were preserved, and subsequently underwent complete silificatioh to the minutest detail of their woody tissues. Such petrified trees have been found near the base of the tuff in several Brisbane quarries. One of the longest, a pine, formerly stretched across .the southern end of Gotha street, near Centenary Park, and_ this specimen has attracted the attention of foreign investigators. In view of the scientific interest at* taching to these occurrences, it is suggested that the civic authorities should consider reserving and protecting any favourably located, large and well-pre. served petrifactions in the places 'where they are found.
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Evening Star, Issue 21746, 14 June 1934, Page 12
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322PETRIFIED TREE Evening Star, Issue 21746, 14 June 1934, Page 12
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