25th and 26th March 2000
by Bob Kershaw
Present:
Dave Dicker, Anthony Pezzuto,
John and
Carol Redpath and Bob Kershaw
Our aims
for this weekend were to relax in fresh air in the Windellama area searching
the limestone for caves.
Comments
such as: The ground sounds hollow, There are fossils there and the dam was
drained, had a few interested persons wanting a break from suburbia to drive to
Windellama and meet 91 year young, Bess Williams the owner of the property
“Buburba” on which some of the limestone occurs.
Meeting at
0930 in Goulburn we headed of to meet a cousin of Bob’s who took us to meet
Bess. A sprightly 91 year old who warmly invited us into her home, having Bob’s
Cousin still with us helped, offered a typical country welcome with tea and
goodies. She then embarked on a tale of limestone, and fossils the likes we had
never seen before. A Dr Ruth Mawson had been to her property several times and
completed her fossil hunting trip on the property. The adjoining property had a mine of Black limestone/marble, and
when it was polished was laid in the Great Hall at Sydney University.
After a
quick walk around the homestead area we followed the limestone in the creek
area but did not find any caves. A quick bite to eat and we were off to the
neighbouring church for a look at the headstones then off over a surface
limestone area with a bit of chicken wire and rocks covering a few small holes
but nothing large. Around and around we went, wishing that we owned the area.
We then adjourned
to camp the night at a property that another cousin of Bob’s owned. A few beers
and nibbles and dinner etc and chat until about 10pm and we turned in.
Sunday
morning was lazy and hazy and after a late brekky, Dave left early and the rest
of us returned to Bess’s place to return the manuscripts of Dr Mawson and to
find the name of the adjacent property owner.
Having
located the property and owners that were only too happy to allow us to look
over their land for caves and the quarry where the marble came from for Sydney
uni and the fossils in it. Endless fruitless searching from about 11am until
1.30 pm!
Bob left to
meet John Kemister at Tarago at 2pm and the remainder had lunch and then left a
little disappointed.
We have an
invitation from Dr Ruth Mawson to tag along on one of her fossil hunting trips
in April with some uni students and it is likely that Bob, and John and Carol
Redpath will be attending.
Photo by
Anthony Pezzutto above is of the quarry where the marble for the Sydney
University Great Hall came from.
18th and 19th April 2000
Present:
Carol and John Redpath and Bob Kershaw
the aim of
these two days was to tag along to a Macquarie Unit Geology/Paleaontology
fieldwork to learn about fossils in the limestone of nearby karst areas
We met Dr
Ruth Mawson, Dr John Talent and the group at Bungonia and proceeded to the
Lookout for a talk on the area by Julia Bauer. Then to some fossil hunting at
the Cathedral Lookout area.
On to
Windellama and the Quarry that we had visited in March. While the students
started to examine the rocks close to the cars, we, with a touch of de ja vu,
headed for an area that we found last trip and immediately unearthed hidden
treasures. Julia was suitably impressed! Carol had to decide which piece she
could/was allowed to take home.
At 3.15
Carol and John headed for home while Bob headed on to Yass and a look for some
trilobites in the area in the setting sun.
On the
Wednesday, we headed for Wee Jasper and found some silicified gastropods on a
property that is usually covered by the waters of the Burrinjuck dam. Several
hours searching for all sorts of fossils certainly opened my eyes to minute
detail.
Lunch at
Carey’s cave followed by a tour which enabled us to see a 30cm long nautilus
fossil.
Andy Spate
was here to do some other business and asked if we had found Gin cave yet. I
invited him along on our next trip if we didn’t find it over Easter.
A
satisfying and inspiring two days that augured well for the next few days at
Bendethera