Windellema Trip Reports

 

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

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