Holes, heaps and homogenisation: how historic gold mining in Victoria changed geomorphological
and legal landscapes.
Professor Susan Lawrence, Latrobe University, and Dr James Grove, University of Melbourne.
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Although we are taught about the gold rushes in Victoria in many ways the landscape changes have been forgotten. Massive volumes of sediment were processed for gold in, and next to, river systems from the 1850’s onwards. We will present our research reconstructing the volumes of sediment worked, where they were redistributed in the landscape, and how this forged a path for environmental legislation.
Rivers of Gold Project Website: https://rivers-of-gold.com/
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Professor Susan Lawrence
Susan's research area is the physical evidence of the recent human past. Her current research is about the environmental history of water use in the nineteenth-century mining industry and the resultant pollution of rivers. This work has also addressed the archaeology of British colonisation, gender, urban development, and material culture studies. She is a past president of the Australasian Society for Historical Archaeology and convenes the Victorian Archaeology Colloquium. She is also a member of the Heritage Council of Victoria's Archaeology Underwater Cultural Heritage Committee, a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities and a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London.
Dr James Grove
James is a geomorphologist who uses GIS and field research to undertake research on riverbank erosion, arctic fluvial geomorphology, and river condition assessment.
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Notice of AGM
The GSAV will be holding its AGM on Anzac Day, Thursday April 25th, from 6:15 pm, in the Fritz Lowe theatre at Melbourne University. This is your opportunity to see a brief summary of what the GSA Victoria has done over the past 2018 calendar year.
Agenda
1. Minutes from 2017–2018 of the GSA Victoria Division AGM on 26 April 2018.
2. GSA Victoria Division Chairman’s Report for 2018–2019
3. GSA Victoria Division Financial Report for 2018–2019
4. Bicentennial Gold 88 Endowment Report for 2018–2019
5. Heritage Subcommittee Report for 2018–2019
6. Awards Committee Report for 2018–2019
7. Election of Committee Members for 2018–2019
8. Call for nominations of a Divisional Councillor to the Governing Council
9. Other business.
GSAV Committee
Interested in contributing to the future of geology in Victoria? The society provides an excellent opportunity for you to pay-it-forward and use your leadership skills to nurture the growth of the profession. Our state and country faces unprecedented challenges in meeting the resource needs of a growing population and our society provides an essential forum to share and develop the geoscience skills to meet those challenges. It also provides students with the opportunity to share their work, discuss science with peers and get financial support for their studies.
This year's AGM provides an opportunity for you to nominate for a role on the committee to ensure this work continues. 'New blood' is important for the continuity and vibrancy of your Society. This year a number of senior committee members who have generously offered years of service to your organisation will be stepping down from their roles. These big shoes will need to be filled to keep the society healthy!
The nomination form will be attached to the newsletter in the next email. Should you have any queries please contact a member of the current GSAV committee. These are the committee roles that you could consider applying for:
OFFICE BEARERS COMMITTEE
Chair
Vice-chair
Secretary
Treasurer
SUBCOMMITTEE
Awards Program
Bicentennial Gold Publications
Investment Promotions
Education Webmaster
Membership Melbourne University Student Representative
Newsletter Monash University Student Representative
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2018 Postgraduate Research Grant Scheme
The Geological Society of Australia (Victoria Division) is pleased to announce the successful applicants of the 2018 Postgraduate Research Grant Scheme for the encouragement of research in Earth Science. The grant was established to acknowledge projects that address Victorian problems.
Under this Scheme, $20,000 will be allocated annually, beginning in 2019, for 2-year PhD grants (2x$5000 each).
The two awardees are:
Karen Kapteinis, Latrobe University
Research Project Title: The geomorphology of the alluvial megafans of the northern Victorian Plains.
Project outline:
Low-angle alluvial megafans have been observed to extend from the Victorian highlands northward into the Murray Basin. Megafans are defined as large fluvial features formed when a stream exits a mountain range onto a flat plain. Intermittent, high-volume discharge events gradually build up the surface of the fan by depositing successive layers of sediment on the surface. This depositional pattern is facilitated by a network of distributary channels that feeds the different areas of the fan. Due to their very low angle (no more than 0.0009°) and low relief, these features had previously not been identified as alluvial megafans and were instead classified as general channel and flood sediments of the Shepparton Formation, a Pliocene-Holocene aged floodplain formation. Furthermore, alluvial megafans have been poorly described world-wide, and this study will significantly add to their study. Three megafans in particular will be the main focus of this study, and are located along the Loddon River, Campaspe River and Bullock Creek. These fans stretch from south to north, and range in length from 90km to 120km, from apex to toe, with the Loddon River and Bullock Creek fans overlapping significantly in their middle and northern extents. The aim of this research is to understand the past and present geomorphological processes that contributed to the formation of these megafans. The methods proposed to undertake this research include Carbon 14 dating, sedimentological and geophysical analysis, and GIS spatial mapping. By completing this research, a better understanding of the flood processes of the Victorian Riverine plains will be achieved, in addition to understanding the formation processes of low angle temperate alluvial megafans in a mid-latitude context.
Elizabeth Mahon, University of Melbourne
Research Project Title: Tectonostratigraphy and Sedimentology of the Latrobe Group, Gippsland Basin.
Project Outline:
The Latrobe Group in the Gippsland Basin is a Late Cretaceous to Eocene aged clastic succession, which documents a period of syn- and post-rift deposition in southeastern Australia. During the breakup of Gondwana, rifting of the Australian continent from Antarctica provided accommodation space for the Latrobe Group coastal plain to marginal marine sediments to transgress across the Basin. These sediments provide both source and reservoir for hydrocarbons in the Gippsland Basin.
Recent research has hinted at a greater marine influence than has previously been documented. Tectonic influence on the Latrobe Group during deposition is also not well documented. The purpose of this study is to understand the influence relative sea level rise and tectonics have had on the deposition of the Latrobe Group.
Due to extensive exploration in the Basin, an abundance of data is available, including well data, and a large, merged volume of 3D seismic data. Faults and horizons will be interpreted on the 3D seismic dataset, which will form the basis of the stratigraphic framework, and aid in identifying tectonic influence. The seismic data will be correlated with the well data, and the well data used for sedimentological interpretation. These interpretations, in conjunction with core, palynology, and thin section analysis, will be used to determine the depositional environments, and the amount of marine influence identified.
The bulk of the literature dedicated to the Latrobe Group was produced in the 1980’s following the discovery of large hydrocarbon fields offshore. In the thirty years since this time, technology, and our understanding of geologic processes has increased greatly. This work will use modern technology to provide new insights into an important clastic petroleum reservoir in southeastern Australia, and assist in forward planning of a commercial basin.
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The GSA Endowment Fund applications for 2019 are currently open. Deadline: Friday 29 March 2019.
Awards are not restricted to GSA members. Information about the GSA Endowment Fund and the 2019 application form can be found here: http://bit.ly/2koGCf1
Email applications to: GSAEndowmentFund@gmail.com
Elyse Butterfield (Masters Student) from the University of Melbourne was a recipient of the fund in 2018.
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Nominations for our national GSA awards are now open:
- W.R. Browne Medal, for distinguished contributions to the geological sciences in Australia
- S.W. Carey Medal, for a person distinguished in the field of tectonics (sensu lato)
- Joe Harms Medal, for excellence in mineral exploration and contributions to the discovery of ore deposits in Australia
- E.S. Hills Medal, for outstanding contribution(s) to any branch of the geological sciences by a young Australian geologist
- A.E. Ringwood Medal, for exceptional research advances in the knowledge of fundamental Earth processes, especially through studies involving petrology and geochemistry and who is recognized internationally for the stature of that contribution
The nomination should include a brief summary of the most significant contributions of the nominee. Nominations should be received by 31 March 2019 and should be addressed to:
Graham Carr
Chair, GSA Awards Standing Committee
Email: info@gsa.org.au
Guidelines and details pertaining to the awards can be accessed here.
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Membership renewals for 2019
For those who haven't renewed their GSA membership yet for 2019, you can pay your dues by:
• Paying via credit card over the phone to the GSA Business Office on
02 9290 2194
• Mailing a cheque or a renewal form to the GSA Business Office
(a self-addressed envelope and renewal form were enclosed with
renewal notices)
• Paying via Electronic Funds Transfers
Account Name: Geological Society of Australia Inc.
(BSB: 082067 Account Number: 52-507-4491)
• Signing in and accessing your profile page on the GSA website
(www.gsa.org.au).
Please see the following HELP videos if you encounter any difficulties:
• How to re-set a password
• How to sign-in and pay online
• How to print a receipt/invoice
If you need assistance, please contact the GSA office: membership@gsa.org.au
Want to know more about GSA membership? Contact us!
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Forthcoming events
Unless otherwise noted, all 2019 talks will be held at the Fritz Loewe Theatre or the Hills Lab, School of Earth Sciences, University of Melbourne.
April 25th: Monthly meeting: (TBA) and AGM
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Student Scholarships
The GSAV are pleased to offer scholarships for honours and postgraduate students in geological sciences for assistance with travel costs associated with attending conferences (fieldwork excluded). The number and value of the scholarships awarded each year is made at the discretion of the GSA Victoria committee. Up to $500 for travel within Australia and between Australia and New Zealand and $700 for travel elsewhere is available, paid half before and half after the conference. More information, including the eligibility criteria and application form, is available at http://www.gsavic.org/scholarship.html.
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Contributions to The Victorian Geologist
If there are any events, happenings, news, or views that would be of interest to the membership, please send your details and information to Secretary at gsavictoria@gmail.com
Newsletter deadline: First Friday of the month, except for December and January.
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Contribute to TAG
It is member contributions which make TAG (The Australian Geologist) a member magazine – please keep the contributions coming and assist with informing all of the membership (not just your Division) about your activities.
Please send your news to: tag@gsa.org.au
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About the GSA Victoria Division
General information about the Geological Society of Australia and GSA Victoria Division can be found at www.gsa.org.au and www.gsavic.org.
Contact details for the GSAV Committee can be found at www.gsavic.org/committee.html.
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