CAINOZOIC HERITAGE IN THE MODERN LANDSCAPE NEAR BUNGONIA, SOUTHERN NEW-SOUTH-WALES

The regional topography of much of the New South Wales Southern Highla nds was long attributed to Quaternary erosion, but it has been recentl y demonstrated that the region was, in fact, well developed by the Eoc ene. The hillsides at Inverary Park are mantled by the Late-Eocene Ree vesdale Basalt, thus indicating the extent of landscape development by the mid-Tertiary. Pre-, intra-, and post-basaltic alluvial and lacust rine sediments are compared with the current extent of the basalt, cle arly demonstrating the age of this landscape and the paucity of modifi cation since the Late Eocene. Stratigraphic techniques, U/Th, TL and C -14 dating aid reconstruction of much of the Cainozoic history of Inve rary Park. Major changes in sediment type and source have long been co mmon, but Late Quaternary changes do not correlate well with similar o bservations elsewhere, suggesting that changes in hydrologic regime, n otably climate change, are not necessarily responsible for changes in the stratigraphic record. This landscape development and preservation is also at odds with most models of landscape development.