Lake Macquarie Petrified Forest

The Lake Macquarie Petrified Forest is a petrified pine tree forest at Fennell Bay, Lake Macquarie, New South Wales, Australia. Geologically it is located in the Permo-Carboniferous strata.^[1] The nearest town is Swansea.^[2]

The petrified forest was first referred to in print (as Kurrur Kurran) within a grammar of the local Aboriginal people published in Sydney in 1834 by missionary minister Lancelot Threlkeld.^[3][4] The scientific aspects of the site were first addressed in detail by the geologist priest William Clarke, who visited the area in 1842 and prepared a detailed report which was subsequently presented to the Geological Society of London and published in its proceedings for 1843.^[3]

The fossil forest (Kurrur Kurran) was in 2009 nominated to the State Government as being State significant heritage, but has not been listed as such yet.^{[citation needed]} In the meantime the best available scientific collection of silicified wood from the fossil forest (itself listed as local heritage) passed to the care of the City of Lake Macquarie which after keeping it for some time disposed of it (into the Lake) without notifying any of the geologists interested in or studying the fossil tree horizon.^{[citation needed]}

The fossil tree horizon extends at least as far as the coast, where it can be found a little to the south of Catherine Hill Bay.^{[citation needed]} Work continues trying to trace if this might be a very extensive horizon traceable right across the preserved Sydney Basin (e.g. to Marrangaroo in the west).^{[citation needed]}

It has been generally accepted^{[by whom?]} that the trees were both killed and buried (preserved) by ash from a volcanic eruption,^[2] likely occurring somewhere well off the present eastern coastline.^{[citation needed]}

References

1. David, T.W. Edgeworth (1907). "The Geology of the Hunter River Coal Measures, New South Wales". Memoirs of the Geological Survey of New South Wales (4).
2. "Swansea Headland Petrified Forest". Geological sites of NSW. Cartoscope. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
3. Organ, Michael; Byrnes, John (14 April 2009). "Fossil Pine Forest, Lake Macquarie". Michael Organ – Research Collection. Archived from the original on 4 April 2019. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
4. Threlkeld, L.E. (1834). An Australian Grammar: comprehending the principles and natural rules of the language, as spoken by the Aborigines in the vicinity of Hunter's River, Lake Macquarie, &c., New South Wales. Sydney: Stephens & Stokes.

33.087838°S 151.665144°E / -33.087838; 151.665144