The Sun.
London, England, 1859-09-16 00:00:00

GEOLOGY

UST.RALIA•

The Adelaide Observer says :—,, A preliminary
report, embodying the chief conclusions at which_
Mr. Selwyn arrived from his survey of a portion
the
this has ust been printed-by order of
House of Assembly. Wee regret that in Mr. Selwyn s.
opinion neither gold, coal, nor deep-seated natural
reservoirs of water are likely to be found in any
abundance in those petitions of South Australia
which he has visited. And although this is only
a preliminary report, it appears to contain all th.:
opinions which Mr. Selwyn has formed, and in,
further report will only amplify those opinions, ann
furnish us with the grounds on which they ar,e
based. For the present it will suffic commentsise
Mr. Selwyn's report, reserving any w
have to offer until we are in possession of his com-
plete report."
The following is the report :
" Adelaide, July 1,1859.—5ir,—I have the honour
to inform you that I returned to Adelaide last even-
ing, having completed a haEty geological
able
of as much of the colony as I have been able
to visit during the limited time I have had at my
disposal. The country visited and examined era '
:
braces portions of the counties of Hindmarsb, Stull
Adelaide, Eyre, Light, Gwaler, and Stanley, Pess:
ing north by ount Remarkable to a few. piles
west of Port Augusta ; thence through the Flni,ne,r4
Range as far north as the latitude of Mount 31n-`ll,
lay and Mount Serle ; thence east to the basin of
Lake Torrens, returning south by Mount Chain;
bers, the Passmore, the Siccus, Black Rock, 3.
the Burra. I regret that I shall be unable to report
favourably on either of the three very iraportan_v
points to which my attention has chiefly been
directed during this examination—name y, gs,
existence of profitably workable gold or coal fie,o
and the practicability of obtaining water in t'il
northern districts on the artesian principle. Thoug .
there are certain localities, chiefly within the settleti
districts, which I shall refer to in my report, Where
I think trials for gold might be made with a
Tett;
opinion that no great extent of gold
sonable hope of success, I am notwithstanding 0
country will ever be discovered in South Australia.
pre-
No indications whatever of coal, or even of the
sence of carboniferous rocks, is to be found in any
portion of the province that I have visited. If au.'
such exist, they must be sought either east of tell
Murray or west of Port Augusta. The artesian e
principle will not, i think, for reasons which 1 will,„
point out in my report, be found applicable, or to Du
producig
depended on as a means of procuring water in al
artificial pools and reservoirs will, I think,
of the districts I visited. Ordinary, wells, dams, a.,e,
be found to be a less costly and more certain in...e.e11.„..
of obtaining a sufficient supply of good water. nay
ing already somewhat exceeded the period of lq
leave from Victoria, I have the honour to requert"
tha:; you will exense my sending in a final reP°loo
before quitting the colony, as it will take some tl ,_
to prepare ; it shall, however, be forwarded as 00
as possible after my return to Melbourne.--I have,
&c., ALFRED R. C. saw-is,
generally;
Government Geologist,
Croce Lands, Adelaid .
The Hon. the Commissioner C
of re_......... Victoria:_e