(PLEASE NOTE: the prices for the pre- and post-conference field trips are incorrect on the registration form. A corrected registration form will be available soon. See below for correct prices and a detailed itinerary.)

pre-conference field trip             mid-conference             post-conference           self-guided

This all-inclusive excursion (all meals and entrance fees are included, accommodation is in hotels and travel is by luxury coach) includes some of the more spectacular geological sites in Western Australia. As well as enjoying the impressive rocks and landscapes, you will also have a rare chance to learn (from experienced geologists) about their true significance in terms of the Earth’s history. We will travel “back in Time” to when the first animals were stepping on to the land, and walk on the same rippled surfaces, now rock, which hold their footprints. Also on the itinerary are fossil-rich rocks holding boulders dropped from floating ice during WA’s last Ice Age 300 million years ago, coal seams, a pink lake and the world-famous eerie landscape of the Pinnacles. And, as well as geology, you will discover much about the history, plants and animals of this part of the State.

Footprints on the Sands of Time (Kalbarri, Coalseam and the Pinnacles)

Dates:     Wednesday 13th August - Saturday 16th August (4 days, 3 nights)               
 Cost:       A$1107 inc GST twin share  
NB DELEGATES AND ACCOMPANYING PARTNERS ARE BOTH WELCOME ON THIS TRIP

ITINERARY

We leave Fremantle before 8.00am and take the inland route via Gingin, Moora and Three Springs to Mingenew. Near there delegates will enjoy an interesting stop at Coalseam Park to see Permian fossiliferous rocks. Other stops will be as necessary. Overnight at the thriving port town of Geraldton.

Coalseam Conservation Park is around 25 km north of Mingenew. At the beginning of the Permian, around 300 million years ago, a continental ice sheet covered much of the southern part of the supercontinent of Gondwana that included this part of Western Australia. The Irwin River, which usually only flows after heavy winter rains or in association with cyclonic activity, has cut its way through sedimentary rocks formed since then, and a range of environments is represented. Striking evidence of the climate at this time is given by 'drop stones', boulders dumped into fine sediments when floating ice melted and released them. The lowest strata exposed are grey shales and limestones (containing abundant fossils) representing deeper water deposits, overlain by sandstones formed in shallow water. Higher in the sequence the rocks show evidence of being terrestrial, part of a swampy delta. Within these deposits are coal seams, formed from plant debris, and leaves of the Gondwanan seed-fern Glossopteris can be found. Because the beds are dipping, continuing along the river takes us forward in time: later sandstones represent a return to marine conditions. Younger sedimentary beds dipping at a different angle overlying all these illustrate erosion, deposition and uplift of the rocks in this area. NB collecting is not allowed in this Conservation Park. The area is also renowned for wildflowers and native wildlife.

Day 2
The next day we head for Kalbarri via Pink Lake and another stop, with an afternoon viewing sites round Kalbarri.

Overnight Kalbarri.

Day 3
A full day discovering the spectacular natural wonders of Kalbarri.
Kalbarri National Park is located on the lower reaches of the Murchison River, which has cut 80 km of magnificent gorges into red and white banded sedimentary rocks thought to be of Lower to Middle Ordovician age (more than 460 million years old). These were deposited in shallow water and show evidence of this in the form of ripples, the burrows of creatures living in the sand, and the tracks and trails of animals which moved across the damp sand surface. We plan to visit The Z-Bend and The Loop, from which easy trails take us past interesting outcrops and spectacular scenery, including the well-known "Nature's Window". Tracks of the ancient precursor of the insects, an arthropod called a euthycarcenoid, will be a highlight.
Along the coast, wind and wave erosion has exposed the layers of the coastal cliffs that rise more than 100 metres above the ocean. Red Bluff will be visited. Here there are extensive views south along the cliffs, and we will be able to see masses of vertical burrows made by ancient crustaceans and examine the sediments in detail. Other localities will be included if time permits. Kalbarri is also famous for its prolific and diverse wildflowers, most of which bloom from spring into early summer. Twenty-one plant species are found only here, mainly in the coastal cliff tops and gorge country. One of the best known is the Kalbarri catspaw, a small yellow or red plant that is usually seen on recently burnt country from August to September. There are also several orchids that can only be seen in and near the park. The fauna includes Western grey kangaroos and emus and reptiles such as the thorny devil, which can be seen during the day. Ospreys soar from the sea cliffs and wedge-tailed eagles patrol the gorges.

Overnight Kalbarri.

 

Day 4

On the last day we drive south from Kalbarri via Geraldton, then along the coast road to see the Pinnacles (Nambung National Park) with other stops en route.

The Pinnacles are pillars and remnants of sandy limestone which have been shaped by weathering and erosion. The limestone formed by consolidation of extensive dunes of shelly sand along WA's coast which built up during and after an interglacial episode around 130 000 years ago. Rainwater percolated through the dunes, dissolving limy material in one place and depositing it another, cementing the sand grains together into rock.
The process of pinnacle formation may have taken many thousands of years, and represents action both above and below the ground surface, at various times. We think that the pinnacles must have formed before 6000 years ago, since Aboriginal artefacts thought to be of that age have been found in amongst them, even cemented to the outside of a column. The landscape is spectacular and memorable.
Nearby Lake Thetis, also part of the Nambung National Park, contains stromatolites.

Return by the coast road to Fremantle, arriving by approximately 7.30pm

ACCOMMODATION:

Ocean Centre Hotel in Geraldton for the night of 13th August 2008

Palm Resort in Kalbarri for the nights of 14th & 15th August 2008

COMMENT:

- Note that papers on some of these sites are to be given in the conference.

- Winter temperatures range from 10 to 20 degrees C and most rain falls during June and July. The wildflowers begin to bloom after July, and the cooler months are the most comfortable for exploring the park. There should also be water in the gorges which makes for a more scenic experience.

 


mid-conference field trips              pre-conference             post-conference           self-guided
 Perth Area

Dates:     Tuesday 19th August  (half day, 12.30-5.30pm)
 Cost:       A$22 inc GST each

1) Scarp to Surf (east of Perth):    
This will include the Mountain Quarry in the Perth Hills, where we will look at ancient rocks of the Yilgarn. This is a very old piece of continent, itself a patchwork of old pieces of continent, to which other material has been added at various times: it forms the nucleus of Western Australia. Most rocks in the Yilgarn originated either as sedimentary and igneous rocks which formed between 2.8 and 2.5 billion years ago (Ga) or as part of numerous, very extensive, granite bodies which crystallised at 2.6 Ga.

Following their initial formation, most of the sedimentary and volcanic rocks and granites were buried to depths of up to 30 km in the crust, which subjected them to high temperatures and pressures and caused changes to their minerals and textures: they are now metamorphic rocks, and include many stripy rocks with mineralogies similar to granites (known as gneisses). Some melting also occurred, giving rise to granitic veins and the rock type known as migmatite. There are also later intrusions in the form of dykes (where molten material has been forced into cracks in existing rocks to form sub-vertical linear bodies). These are dark, iron-rich dolerites and basalts with medium- to fine-grained textures respectively: often there are fine-grained margins to a coarser central part.

A lookout point at the top of the Zig-zag gives a fine view of the Swan Coastal Plain from above the Darling Fault and the various deposits of sediments parallel to the coast can be made out and discussed. Half-way down the scenic Zig-zag (an old railway track) is a quarry into dolerite. From there we head towards the coast and look at the various aspects of the Tamala (Coastal) Limestone, including significant fossil horizons laid down during an interglacial 135 000 years ago, when there was a world-wide sealevel rise of several metres, exposed on the river at Minim Cove.  The final site is on the beach at Cottesloe where we see evidence of sealevels having been lower in the past. The rock itself is a coarse to medium-grained "calcarenite", a term implying a kind of sandy limestone, deposited as sand-dunes or in beach-nearshore environments. Most deposits represent wind-blown shell fragments, with variable amounts of quartz sand, which accumulated as coastal sand dunes during the middle and late Pleistocene and early Holocene (i.e. between at least half a million years ago and perhaps the last few thousand years). They were later turned into rock by water percolating through the shelly sands, which dissolved limy material in one place and redeposited it further on, cementing the grains together. At Cottesloe we can see an ancient beach with marine fossil shells that predates the dunes.

2) Coast and Karst (north of Perth): 
We go north along Wanneroo Road to Yanchep Park to see caves, karst topography, enjoy one of the park trails and perhaps see koalas, returning along the coast. Karst is a distinctive topography in which the landscape has been largely shaped by the dissolving action of water on carbonate bedrock, in this case the Tamala Limestone (See notes for 'Scarp to Surf' for information on this rock). We intend to stop at Watermans Beach or another coastal locality of the Tamala Limestone to see marine beds as well as the dune-bedded horizons, and possibly enjoy the interesting displays at the Naturaliste Marine Discovery Centre at Hillarys Boat Harbour. Return down the coast to Fremantle

3) Cape and Lake (south of Perth):
Travelling south along Rockingham Road to Cape Peron, we see outcrops of the Tamala Limestone (See notes for 'Scarp to Surf' for information on the Tamala limestone), at two localities where evidence of changing sea levels is also demonstrated. There will be a stop at the Penguin Island kiosk for afternoon tea, then on to Lake Richmond. This lake, in the Quindalup dune system, is a permanent lake which was once part of the sea and was cut off during the last 4,000 years. Unlike other lakes around Perth, Lake Richmond is deep and quite fresh. Lake Richmond is geologically important because of its unusual origin and because there are well developed stromatolitic structures, which are built up from layers of micro-organisms and sediments, deposited over thousands of years, around the lake edge. This lake is the least saline of a suite of WA areas which contain stromatolites in waters of varying salinity. The stromatolites in each area contain different microbes and have a different internal structure. The lake is surrounded by vegetation zones which reflect soil changes. In the lake are molluscs and several species of fish, and monitor lizards and long necked tortoises as well as a large variety of birds live nearby. This trip includes views of the attractive coastline and some of Perth's semi-rural market garden area. Back to Fremantle.

COMMENT:
There will be lunchboxes on the coach in order to maximise the time for these trips. We aim to finish at 5.30pm at the latest: the conference dinner starts at 7.30pm.

 


post-conference field trip:            pre-conference           mid-conference           self-guided

This is an all-inclusive excursion (all meals and entrance fees are included, and travel is by luxury coach) taking you on a sweeping journey through wildflower-bedecked inland Western Australia, visiting many historical sites as well as some of the key geological localities associated with WA's mining history. We will stay in comfortable hotels as well as enjoying one night in a well-appointed outback station with the chance to talk to our host about the indigenous history of the area and the use of natural resources by Aborigines. Free time periods in Kalgoorlie allow you to discover this historic city at your leisure, and we will see the spectacular Big Pit as well as exploring an underground mine. Find out from your experienced geologist guides all about the history of gold-mining in WA (and the reasons why the gold is there in the first place), and learn about the plants, animals and other interesting aspects of Western Australia.

The Way to the Gold  (Mt Magnet and Kalgoorlie)

Dates:    Thursday 21st August - Monday 25th August (5 days, 4 nights)
 Cost:      A$1287 inc GST twin share        
NB DELEGATES AND ACCOMPANYING PARTNERS ARE BOTH WELCOME ON THIS TRIP

ITINERARY

Day 1
We travel by coach via Great Northern Highway to Mt Magnet with a couple of interesting stops on the way and with extensive descriptions of geology and natural history en route. There will be viewings of a greenstone belt and banded iron-formation rocks in the Paynes Find area, and the Gold Battery at Paynes Find.

"Greenstone belts" represent piles of volcanic, sedimentary, and intruded mafic rocks forced into elongate downfolds by intrusion of granitic rocks from below, and affected by elongate fractures which penetrate deep into the Earth's crust. These fractures are pathways for gold-bearing fluids, and gold mines are commonly found on or adjacent to these fractures within greenstone belts. The soils over the dark volcanic rocks are much richer and, because of the underlying rocks being highly variable, are more diverse than soils over granites and support a highly diverse and endemic flora. Usually the belts appear as dark ridges snaking across the flat plains of inland WA. Their rocks usually range in age between about 2.6 and 3 Ga (thousands of millions of years).

"Banded Iron-Formation" includes colourful and striking sedimentary rocks composed of layers of silica and iron oxides originally formed on the sea floor more than 2.4 Ga ago. They are important because they record the change from an oxygen-poor to an oxygen-rich Earth atmosphere. Our early atmosphere contained no oxygen. When photosynthetic (producing oxygen when they metabolize) bacteria first evolved more than 2.7 Ga ago, the oxygen they gave off as a waste product reacted with, amongst other things, iron and silicon dissolved in sea water, and laid down the result as mud on the sea floor. The iron and silicon came from submarine volcanic eruptions, but once the period of intense volcanism finished and the chemicals that react with oxygen were used up, the oxygen content of the atmosphere was able to rise. This allowed the evolution of organisms which needed oxygen to live that eventually included animals such as human beings.

Paynes Find, located 420 kilometres from Perth on the Great Northern Highway, with its small community of no more than 20 people, marks the centre of pastoral and goldmining activity. It takes its name from prospector Thomas Payne, who was the first to register a lease for gold mining in the area. In 1987 the State Government Battery, established in 1911, was sold to the Taylor family and is still operating today as, the Paynes Find Gold Battery (an ore-processing facility), and is a popular tourist attraction. A display centre showcases the region’s gold, pastoral, wildflower & sandalwood industries. From late July to September, wildflowers are prolific in the area, depending on seasonal rainfall. White, cream, yellow and pink everlastings flow in carpets across the landscape.

Overnight at Mt Magnet.

Day 2
We have a full day to see localities around the area including the orbicular "granite" at Boogardie Station, other large granite outcrops, a gold mine and weathering profiles formed on granite. The gold deposits in Mt Magnet are related to the greenstone belt region on which the town is sited.
The magnificent orbicular rocks at Boogardie are well known as an ornamental stone.  Rocks like these are uncommon, because they require special circumstances for their formation, but they are found in many places throughout the world. These particular examples are over two and a half billion years old. They are igneous rocks which have crystallised from molten material pooled in the Earth's crust. Normally as the melt cools, many crystals would start to form, but here the sites for crystallisation were few, and radiating/concentric crystal frameworks developed, with the different layers reflecting the conditions at the time of formation. Processes occurring afterwards have modified both the appearance and the composition of this rock.

Overnight at Mt Magnet.

Day 3
We then travel towards Kalgoorlie via a new, fully bituminised tourist route and visit outback icon Sandstone (and its 'London Bridge'), Agnew, Leinster, and Leonora, short stops as appropriate. We will visit the Sons of Gwalia Historical Precinct at Leonora. In order to encompass this, we will stay at a station stay venue about 2 hours drive north of Kalgoorlie as the full distance is too far to make for a comfortable day's drive plus stops. This venue has a seminar room with projection equipment and in the evening there will be a short illustrated summary of aspects of the trip and time for questions and discussion.

Overnight at Morapoi Station.

Day 4
An early start should get us into Kalgoorlie by around 10.30 (morning tea). We will then explore the mining town of Kalgoorlie and localities around the area. The top of Kalgoorlie's wealth was reached around the end of the 19th century, which can still be seen from the great public buildings constructed around that time. WA currently supplies 75 per cent of Australia's total gold production and about 8 per cent world-wide. Much of it is dug from the ground along Kalgoorlie's Golden Mile (named because it covered an area of a square mile, not because it was a mile long), which has more than 3,000 km of old underground workings and has yielded more than 50,000,000 ounces of gold (or over 1500 tonnes) so far. You can see the workings of the modern day mining industry at the lookout over the Super Pit on the outskirts of Kalgoorlie, an enormous hole in the ground 4km long, 1.5km wide and 400m deep that makes the huge Caterpillar trucks that carry the ore (more than six metres high and seven metres wide) look like tiny Tonka toys.

The Australian Prospectors and Miners Hall of Fame brings to life a new world of exploration and discovery. We will put on hard hats and travel 36 metres underground into one of Kalgoorlie's oldest gold mines; witness a gold pour and try our hand at gold panning, as well as wandering through the Historic Precinct to experience a slice of the life of prospectors and miners 100 years ago and spending some time exploring the interactive galleries of the Hall of Fame (see comment).
Travelling south to Kambalda we intend to visit a nickel mine and also see localities on Lake Lefroy.

Overnight Kalgoorlie.

Day 5
Returning the next day via Coolgardie we hope to have an extended stop at the Londonderry pegmatite and short other stops on the way. This large group of pegmatites (a coarse-grained intrusive igneous rock) is one of the easiest to visit and has most spectacular minerals. The bodies are intruded into a dark green amphibole-rich rock and in the large open quarries you can see the roof of the intrusion and the various pegmatite mineral zones. These are lithium-rich pegmatites, and attractive purple lithium mica specimens can be picked up from the heaps along with many other interesting minerals.

If access is difficult, we will stop at Meckering to see an interpretive site at the fault scarp which was created during the fault movement which caused the Meckering Earthquake of 1968. This earthquake had a magnitude of 6.9, and virtually destroyed the nearby town of Meckering as well as causing damage in neighbouring towns. The Earth movement, due to tectonic pressure from the east, resulted in a fault scarp about 1.5m high and 750m long.

Return to Fremantle by coach, stopping at Coolgardie (see Sites above) and other places along the way. The Ettamogah pub at Cunderdin is a good afternoon tea spot.  There is much history to be seen along the road including the important Goldfields Water Supply pipeline and the original railway to Kalgoorlie. Arrive back approximately 7.30pm.

ACCOMMODATION:

Commercial Hotel in Mt Magnet (21st and 22nd August 2008) 

Morapoi Station Indigenous Station Stay (23rd August 2008)    www.morapoi.com.au

Railway Motel in Kalgoorlie (24th August 2008)    www.railwaymotel.com.au

We will be staying in the centre of Kalgoorlie, which will allow the group to appreciate the feel of the historic town with its broad main street, and to see some of the historic sights including Paddy Hannan's statue and the nineteenth century buildings.

COMMENTS:
- Note that papers on some of these sites are to be given in the conference.

- Winter temperatures range from 10 to 20 degrees C and most rain falls during June and July. The wildflowers begin to bloom after July, and the cooler months are the most comfortable for exploring the outback.

 


optional self-guided excursion          pre-conference          mid-conference         post-conference

Rottnest Island
Instructions for a self-guided tour of the highlights of the geology of Rottnest Island, together with copies of the ferry and Island bus timetables, will make it possible for conference delegates and guests to do this excursion pre- or post-conference, at their leisure and at their own expense. Indicate your interest on the registration form.