Shoalhaven District Geology

  FIELD GEOLOGY OF THE SHOALHAVEN DISTRICT (PART 12) CHAPTER 6 (CONTINUED) Excursion 6c   Yalwal  (40 miles return)  This excursion covers the most interesting area of basement rocks in the Shoalhaven district. It has the added interest of being mineralised and of having been the source of $500,000 worth of gold. The new dam on Danjera Creek is included in this excursion.   Proceed as in Excursions 6a and 6b. Take the Yalwal road 0.3 miles past Saltwater Creek. The road climbs steadily, reaching the base of the Nowra Sandstone 400 feet above sea level, or approximately the same height as The Pulpit. This illustrates the gradual dip of the strata to the east. Stop where gravel has been obtained on the right, 1.7 miles from the Burrier road.  Stop 1. The Nowra Sandstone cliff is a short distance away to the right, from where there is a sharp drop of 600 feet to Barringella Creek, a small tributary of the Shoalhaven.  The road gradually rises and in ...

  FIELD GEOLOGY OF THE SHOALHAVEN DISTRICT (PART 11) Chapter 6  The Yalwal and Burrier Districts   Scattered throughout Australia are numerous ghost towns. Yalwal is such a place, but time has removed all but a trace of the town itself and left only the mines which once brought prosperity.  That famous cleric-cum-geologist, the Rev. WB Clarke, noted the existence of gold here as early as 1852. He reported that fine gold was to be found in Danjera and Yalwal Creeks, recommending further prospecting to the local settlers. The ‘golden era’ began in 1872 and lasted into the present century, with minor revivals ever since.  The Permian strata rise gradually to the west, exposing the basement rocks in all valleys west of Grassy Gully. The oldest strata are comparable to those known to be of Ordovician age and consist of altered clastic sediments. These are exposed only in parts of Danjera and Yarramunmun Creeks. They are overlain by sandstones and conglomerate, contai...