Structural fabric evidence for indentation tectonics in the Nambucca Block,southern New England Fold Belt,New South Wales

Structural studies of Lower Permian sequences exposed on wave‐cut platforms within the Nambucca Block, indicate that one to two ductile and two to three brittle — ductile/brittle events are recorded in the lower grade (sub‐greenschist facies) rocks; evidence for four, possibly five, ductile and at least three brittle — ductile/brittle events occurs in the higher grade (greenschist facies) rocks. Veins formed prior to the second ductile event are present in some outcrops. Further, the studies reveal a change in fold style from west‐southwest‐trending, open, south‐southeast‐verging, inclined folds (F₁ ⁰) at Grassy Head in the south, to east‐northeast‐trending, recumbent, isoclinal folds (F₁ ⁰; F₂ ⁰) at Nambucca Heads to the north, suggesting that strain increases towards the Coffs Harbour Block. A solution cleavage formed during D₁ in the lower grade rocks and cleavages defined by neocrystalline white mica developed during D₁ and D₂ in the higher grade rocks. South‐ to south‐southwest‐directed tectonic transport and north‐south shortening operated during these earlier events. Subsequently, north‐northeast‐trending, open, upright F₃ ² folds and inclined, northwest‐verging, northeast‐trending F₄ ² folds developed with poorly to moderately developed axial planar, crenulation cleavage (S₃ and S₄) formed by solution transfer processes. These folds formed heterogeneously in S₂ throughout the higher grade areas. Later northeast‐southwest shortening resulted in the formation of en échelon vein arrays and kink bands in both the lower and higher grade rocks. Shortening changed to east‐northeast‐west‐southwest during later north‐northeast to northeast, dextral, strike‐slip faulting and then to approximately northwest‐southeast during the formation of east‐southeast to southeast‐trending, strike‐slip faults. Cessation of faulting occurred prior to the emplacement of Triassic (229 Ma) granitoids. On a regional scale, S₁ trends east‐west and dips moderately to the north in areas unaffected by later events. S₂ has a similar trend to S₁ in less‐deformed areas, but is refolded about east‐west axes during D₃. S₃ is folded about east‐west axes in the highest grade, multiply deformed central part of the Nambucca Block. The deformation and regional metamorphism in the Nambucca Block is believed to be the result of indenter tectonics, whereby south‐directed movement of the Coffs Harbour Block during oroclinal bending, sequentially produced the east‐west‐trending structures. The effects of the Coffs Harbour Block were greatest during D₁ and D₂.     

Ophiolitic and metamorphic rocks in the Percy Isles and Shoalwater Bay region,New England Fold Belt,central Queensland

Ophiolitic and metamorphic rocks of the eastern part of the New England Fold Belt in the Shoalwater Bay region and the Percy Isles are grouped in the Marlborough and Shoalwater terranes, respectively. Marlborough terrane units occur on South Island (Percy Isles) and comprise the Northumberland Serpentinite, antigorite serpentinite with rodingite and more silicic dykes and mafic inclusions, the Chase Point Metabasalt, some 800+ metres of pillow lava, and the intervening South Island Shear Zone containing fault‐bounded slices of mafic and ultramafic igneous rocks, schist, and volcaniclastic sedimentary rocks, and zones of mélange. The Shoalwater terrane, an ancient subduction complex, consists of the Shoalwater Formation greenschist facies metamorphosed quartz sandstone and mudstone on North East Island and on the mainland at Arthur Point, the Townshend Formation, amphibolite‐grade quartzite, schist and metabasalt on Townshend Island, and the Broome Head Metamorphics on the western side of Shoalwater Bay, upper amphibolite facies quartz‐rich gneiss. With the exception of a sliver emplaced onto the western Yarrol terrane, possibly by gravity sliding, Shoalwater terrane rocks show the effects of Late Permian polyphase deformation. The Shacks Mylonite Zone along the northwest edge of the Broome Head Metamorphics marks a zone of oblique thrusting and is part of the major Stanage Fault Zone. The latter is a northeast‐striking oblique‐slip dextral tear fault active during Late Permian west‐directed thrusting that emplaced large ultramafic sheets farther south. Marlborough terrane rocks were emplaced along the Stanage Fault Zone, probably from the arc basement on which rocks of the Yarrol terrane were deposited. Structural trends and the distribution of rock units in the Shoalwater Bay‐Percy Isles region are oblique to the overall structural trend of the northern New England Fold Belt, probably due to the presence of a promontory in the convergent margin active in this region in Devonian and Carboniferous time.     

Petrological,geochemical and geochronological evidence for a Neoproterozoic ocean basin recorded in the Marlborough terrane of the northern New England Fold Belt

Petrological, geochemical and radiogenic isotopic data on ophiolitic‐type rocks from the Marlborough terrane, the largest (～700 km²) ultramafic‐mafic rock association in eastern Australia, argue strongly for a sea‐floor spreading centre origin. Chromium spinel from partially serpentinised mantle harzburgite record average Cr/(Cr + Al) = 0.4 with associated mafic rocks displaying depleted MORB‐like trace‐element characteristics. A Sm/Nd isochron defined by whole‐rock mafic samples yields a crystallisation age of 562 ± 22 Ma (2σ). These rocks are thus amongst the oldest rocks so far identified in the New England Fold Belt and suggest the presence of a late Neoproterozoic ocean basin to the east of the Tasman Line. The next oldest ultramafic rock association dated from the New England Fold Belt is ca530 Ma and is interpreted as backarc in origin. These data suggest that the New England Fold Belt may have developed on oceanic crust, following an oceanward migration of the subduction zone at ca540 Ma as recorded by deformation and metamorphism in the Anakie Inlier. Fragments of late Neoproterozoic oceanic lithosphere were accreted during progressive cratonisation of the east Australian margin.     

Structure and metamorphism of the Calliope Volcanic Assemblage: Implications for middle to Late Devonian orogeny in the northern New England Fold Belt

The Late Silurian to Middle Devonian Calliope Volcanic Assemblage in the Rockhampton region is deformed into a set of northwest‐trending gently plunging folds with steep axial plane cleavage. Folds become tighter and cleavage intensifies towards the bounding Yarrol Fault to the east. These folds and associated cleavage also deformed Carboniferous and Permian rocks, and the age of this deformation is Middle to Late Permian (Hunter‐Bowen Orogeny). In the Stanage Bay area, both the Calliope Volcanic Assemblage and younger strata generally have one cleavage, although here it strikes north to northeast. This cleavage is also considered to be of Hunter‐Bowen age. Metamorphic grade in the Calliope Volcanic Assemblage ranges from prehnite‐pumpellyite to greenschist facies, with higher grades in the more strongly cleaved rocks. In the Rockhampton region the Calliope Volcanic Assemblage is part of a west‐vergent fold and thrust belt, the Yarrol Fault representing a major thrust within this system.

A Late Devonian unconformity followed minor folding of the Calliope Volcanic Assemblage, but no cleavage was formed. The unconformity does not represent a collision between an exotic island arc and continental Australia as previously suggested.     

Structural and metamorphic evolution of the Moornambool Metamorphic Complex,western Lachlan Fold Belt,southeastern Australia

The wedge‐shaped Moornambool Metamorphic Complex is bounded by the Coongee Fault to the east and the Moyston Fault to the west. This complex was juxtaposed between stable Delamerian crust to the west and the eastward migrating deformation that occurred in the western Lachlan Fold Belt during the Ordovician and Silurian. The complex comprises Cambrian turbidites and mafic volcanics and is subdivided into a lower greenschist eastern zone and a higher grade amphibolite facies western zone, with sub‐greenschist rocks occurring on either side of the complex. The boundary between the two zones is defined by steeply dipping L‐S tectonites of the Mt Ararat ductile high‐strain zone. Deformation reflects marked structural thickening that produced garnet‐bearing amphibolites followed by exhumation via ductile shearing and brittle faulting. Pressure‐temperature estimates on garnet‐bearing amphibolites in the western zone suggest metamorphic pressures of ～0.7–0.8 GPa and temperatures of ～540–590°C. Metamorphic grade variations suggest that between 15 and 20 km of vertical offset occurs across the east‐dipping Moyston Fault. Bounding fault structures show evidence for early ductile deformation followed by later brittle deformation/reactivation. Ductile deformation within the complex is initially marked by early bedding‐parallel cleavages. Later deformation produced tight to isoclinal D₂ folds and steeply dipping ductile high‐strain zones. The S₂ foliation is the dominant fabric in the complex and is shallowly west‐dipping to flat‐lying in the western zone and steeply west‐dipping in the eastern zone. Peak metamorphism is pre‐ to syn‐D₂. Later ductile deformation reoriented the S₂ foliation, produced S₃ crenulation cleavages across both zones and localised S₄ fabrics. The transition to brittle deformation is defined by the development of east‐ and west‐dipping reverse faults that produce a neutral vergence and not the predominant east‐vergent transport observed throughout the rest of the western Lachlan Fold Belt. Later north‐dipping thrusts overprint these fault structures. The majority of fault transport along ductile and brittle structures occurred prior to the intrusion of the Early Devonian Ararat Granodiorite. Late west‐ and east‐dipping faults represent the final stages of major brittle deformation: these are post plutonism.     

The geological development of the southern part of the New England Fold Belt

Two major divisions of the New England Fold Belt, Zone A and Zone B, are separated by the Peel Fault. Deposition in these two zones was probably contemporaneous (Lower Palaeozoic ‐ Lower Permian). Terminal orogenesis in both zones was also contemporaneous (Middle Permian) but whereas in Zone A deformation was only moderate, metamorphism was of burial type, and granitic emplacement was uncommon, in Zone B many rocks were severely deformed and regionally metamorphosed, and both syn‐tectonic and post‐tectonic granites are widespread.

Pre‐orogenic palaeogeography is envisaged in terms of an evolving volcanic chain ‐ fore‐chain basin ‐ trench system, with an outer non‐volcanic arc developed in the Carboniferous. Cessation of movement on a subduction zone dipping westward beneath the volcanic chain is believed to have caused the Middle Permian deformation, but neither metamorphism nor the granitic rocks are directly related to subduction.     

Accretion and post-accretion metamorphism in subduction complex terranes of the New England Fold Belt, eastern Australia

Abstract Regional metamorphic rocks that form Late Palaeozoic subduction complexes in central Queensland, Australia, are products of two metamorphic episodes. Synaccretion metamorphism (M1) gave rise to prehnite-pumpellyite and greenschist facies rocks, whereas a subsequent episode (M2) at about 250 Ma formed upper greenschist to upper amphibolite facies rocks of both intermediate- and low-pressure type, probably in a compressive arc or back-arc setting. A similar pattern can be recognized for 1000 km along the New England Fold Belt, although at several localities, where higher grade rocks are exposed, metamorphism was essentially continuous over the M1-M2 interval, with a rapid rise in geothermal gradient at the end of accretion. Where out-stepping of tectonic elements has occurred at long-lived convergent margins elsewhere, similar overprinting of high- by lower-pressure facies series is anticipated, complicating the tectonic interpretation of metamorphism. The discrete character of metamorphic events may be blurred where conditions giving rise to a major episode of accretion and out-stepping are followed by the subduction of a major heat source.     

Deformation and possible origins of the Cooma Complex,southeastern Lachlan Fold Belt,New South Wales

The western half of the Cooma Complex, New South Wales, consists of three thrust‐bound blocks that contain the same structural fabrics, but with different orientations and intensities, owing largely to heterogeneous strain late in the deformation history. Correlation of these fabrics with those found regionally outside the complex shows that a well‐developed, gently dipping crenulation cleavage (S₄) apparently has no regional counterpart. This cleavage may have formed by vertical shortening that was restricted to the complex and its development may have been assisted by the higher temperatures there. The Cooma Complex is one of five metamorphic complexes in what is known as the Eastern Metamorphic Belt, which stretches several hundred kilometres through the southeastern Lachlan Fold Belt. The complexes may have formed as local hot spots, possibly related to underplating of mafic magma or intrusion of hot tonalites at or near the base of the Ordovician metasediments (or both). Whether or not these complexes are exhumed portions of an extensive layer in the mid‐crust of the fold belt can be tested by evaluating Late Ordovician/Early Silurian thermal gradients in the ubiquitous Ordovician metasediments.     

Upper crustal structure of the Tamworth Belt,New South Wales: constraints from new gravity data

New gravity data along five profiles across the western side of the southern New England Fold Belt and the adjoining Gunnedah Basin show the Namoi Gravity High over the Tamworth Belt and the Meandarra Gravity Ridge over the Gunnedah Basin. Forward modelling of gravity anomalies, combined with previous geological mapping and a seismic-reflection transect acquired by Geoscience Australia, has led to iterative testing of models of the crustal structure of the southern New England Fold Belt, which indicates that the gravity anomalies can generally be explained using the densities of the presently exposed rock units. The Namoi Gravity High over the Tamworth Belt results from the high density of the rocks of this belt that reflects the mafic volcanic source of the older sedimentary rocks in the Tamworth Belt, the burial metamorphism of the pre-Permian units and the presence of some mafic volcanic units. Modelling shows that the Woolomin Association, present immediately east of the Peel Fault and constituting the most western part of the Tablelands Complex, also has a relatively high density of 2.72 – 2.75 t/m³, and this unit also contributes to the Namoi Gravity High. The Tamworth Belt can be modelled with a configuration where the Tablelands Complex has been thrust over the Tamworth Belt along the Peel Fault that dips steeply to the east. The Tamworth Belt is thrust westward over the Sydney – Gunnedah Basin for 15 – 30 km on the Mooki Fault, which has a shallow dip (～25°) to the east. The Meandarra Gravity Ridge in the Gunnedah Basin was modelled as a high-density volcanic rock unit with a density contrast of 0.25 t/m³ relative to the underlying rocks of the Lachlan Fold Belt. The modelled volcanic rock unit has a steep western margin, a gently tapering eastern margin and a thickness range of 4.5 – 6 km. These volcanic rocks are assumed to be Lower Permian and to be the western extension of the Permian Werrie Basalts that outcrop on the western edge of the Tamworth Belt and which have been argued to have formed in an extensional basin. Blind granitic plutons are inferred to occur near the Peel Fault along the central and the southern profiles.     

Isostatic constraints on the central Victorian lower crust: Implications for the tectonic evolution of the Lachlan Fold Belt

Interpretation and 2‐D forward modelling of aeromagnetic datasets from the Olary Domain to the north of the outcropping Kalabity Inlier, South Australia, is consistent with a buried structural architecture characterised by isolated anticlines (also referred to as growth anticlines) bounded by steeply dipping reverse faults. The isolated anticlines are interpreted to have formed by half‐graben inversion during crustal shortening associated with the ca 1600–1580 Ma Olarian Orogeny. We interpret the bounding reverse faults as reactivated high‐angle normal faults, originating from a listric extensional fault architecture. As shortening increased, ‘break‐back bypass’ and ‘short‐cut‘ thrusts developed because of buttressing of the hangingwall successions against the footwall. The resulting architecture resembles a combination of a thrust‐related imbricate fan and an accumulation of inverted basins. Using this structural architecture, synrift sediments proximal to interpreted normal faults were identified as prospective for sediment‐hosted massive sulfide Pb–Zn–Ag mineralisation.     

Tectonothermal history of the western Lachlan Fold Belt, Australia: insights from white mica studies

Detailed b lattice parameter and illite crystallinity (IC) studies of K-white micas in slates from the Stawell and Ballarat-Bendigo Zones (SZ, BBZ) in the western Lachlan Fold Belt of Victoria, Australia, reveal a metamorphic pattern characterized by regional metamorphism associated with crustal thickening and younger contact metamorphism accompanied by deformation. The IC data indicate that rocks regionally metamorphosed prior to the intrusion of the Early and Late Devonian granitoids, vary in grade from epizonal (greenschist facies) to diagenetic (zeolite facies) and that most are of epizonal to anchizonal (prehnite–pumpellyite facies) grade. In the BBZ, a decrease in grade from west to east occurs. Across fault zones, IC values show little change, indicating that limited vertical displacement has occurred. This is in accord with the thin skinned deformation model proposed for the western Lachlan Fold Belt. The b lattice parameters (x=9.022 Å; n=137; σ_n=0.009) indicate baric conditions intermediate between those of New Hampshire (P=Al₂SiO₅ triple point) and Otago (intermediate P ). Thus, a moderately low geothermal gradient existed 450–430 Ma ago, when these rocks were deformed. K_D Fe/Mg (actinolite)/Fe/Mg (chlorite) values (0.52–0.70) obtained from coexisting actinolite and chlorite in metabasites from fault zones support the moderately high-P (c. 4 kbar) metamorphism suggested by the b cell parameter values. The metamorphic conditions indicated by these data are contrary to the low-P/high-T conditions proposed by previous authors, who inferred an intimate association between deformation, granitoid intrusion and gold mineralization. The b lattice parameter of white micas in slates adjacent to Early Devonian (c. 400 Ma) granitoids with schist bearing aureoles in the north-eastern part of the BBZ (x=9.002 Å; n=27; σ_n=0.007), indicate pressures in the order of c. 2.5 kbar which are in accord with those obtained from andalusite–cordierite and zoisite–garnet bearing assemblages observed in the higher grade metapelitic and calcareous rocks. This contrasts with the higher pressure (c. 4 kbar) existing during regional metamorphism and implies that c. 6.5–8 km of metasedimentary rocks in the BBZ were removed before the emplacement of the Early Devonian granitoids. Metamorphic assemblages in hornfelses associated with Late Devonian granitoids indicate a further 5–6 km of metasediment were removed in the next 40 Ma prior to their emplacement. This study shows the value of white mica studies in elucidating the tectonothermal history of a low-grade metamorphic terrane dominated by metapelitic rocks.     

Carboniferous palaeomagnetism of the Rocky Creek Block,northern Tamworth Belt,and the New England pole path

Palaeomagnetic, rock magnetic and magnetic fabric results are presented for a Carboniferous (Visean to Westphalian) succession of felsic, mainly ignimbritic, volcanic and volcaniclastic rocks from the Rocky Creek Block of the northern Tamworth Belt, southern New England Orogen. Detailed thermal demagnetisation of 734 samples from 64 sites show three groups of magnetic components with low (<300°C), intermediate (300–600°C) and high (500–680°C) unblocking temperature ranges. Well‐defined primary magnetisations have been determined for 28 sites with evidence of four overprint phases. The overprints arise from a mid‐Tertiary weathering event (or possibly recent viscous origin), and from fluid movements associated with the Late Cretaceous opening of the Tasman Sea, thrusting during the Middle Triassic main phase of the Hunter‐Bowen Orogeny, and latest Carboniferous — Early Permian formation of the Bowen‐Gunnedah‐Sydney Basin system. Rock magnetic tests establish that the primary magnetisation carriers in the volcanic rocks are mainly magnetite (predominantly single domain, or pseudo‐single domain, and little or no multidomain) and hematite. Optimal magnetic cleaning is achieved at high to very high temperatures, with subtle, but systematic, directional and statistical differences between primary components derived from the mainly hematite fraction and pseudo‐components derived from the mainly magnetite fraction. The 28 primary magnetisation results are presented as six mean‐site results, summarised below and representing 25 sites, and three single‐site results. Fold tests could be applied to five mean‐site results. These are all positive, but one of these results may represent a secondary magnetisation. The primary magnetisation results define a Visean to Westphalian pole path. This long pole path indi cates extensive latitudinal and rotational movement for the Rocky Creek Block, and potentially for the New England Orogen, as follows: (i) Yuendoo Rhyolite Member (Caroda Formation, Visean) pole 235.8°E, 27.7°S, ED₉₅ = 9.0°, n = 3; (ii) Peri Rhyolite Member/Boomi Rhyolite Member (Clifden Formation, Namurian, 318.0 ± 3.4 Ma) pole 177.4°E, 63.4°S, ED₉₅ = 5.2°, n = 3; (iii) tuffaceous beds above Boomi Rhyolite Member (Clifden Formation?, Namurian) pole 162.2°E, 59.1°S, ED₉₅ = 10.2°, n = 3; ((iv) upper Clifden Formation/lower Rocky Creek Conglomerate (Namurian/Westphalian) pole 95.3°E, 49.6°S, ED₉₅ = 8.1°, n = 3 (possible overprint)); (v) Rocky Creek Conglomerate (Westphalian) pole 136.5°E, 57.6°S, ED₉₅ = 5.3°, n = 5; (vi) Lark Hill Formation (Westphalian) pole 127.0°E, 50.4°S, ED₉₅ = 4.8°, n = 8.     

Early Permian strike-slip basin formation and felsic volcanism in the Manning Group,southern New England Orogen,eastern Australia

The Manning Group is characterised by rapidly filled strike-slip basins that developed during the early Permian along the Peel--Manning Fault System in the southern New England Orogen. Typically, the Manning Group has been difficult to date owing to the lack of fossiliferous units or igneous rocks. Thus, the timing of transition from an accretionary convergent margin in the late Carboniferous to dominantly strike-slip tectonic regimes that involved development and emplacement of the Great Serpentinite Belt (Weraerai terrane) is not well constrained. One exception are rhyolites of the Ramleh Volcanics that were erupted into the Echo Hills Formation. These developed along the dextral Monkey Creek Fault splay east of the Peel--Manning Fault System. Zircons extracted from the Ramleh Volcanics yield a U–Pb (SHRIMP) age of 295.6?±?4.6?Ma that constrains the minimum age of deposition in this basin to earliest Permian. Whole-rock geochemistry indicates these are peraluminous felsic melts enriched in LREE and incompatible elements with strong depletions in U, Nb, Sr and Ti. These are similar in age and composition to the nearby S-type Bundarra and Hillgrove plutonic supersuites. We suggest that extensive movement along the east-dipping Peel--Manning Fault System was responsible, not only for strike-slip basin development at the surface (Manning Group), but was also the locus for crustal melting that was responsible for generating S-type felsic melts that utilised hanging-wall fault splays as conduits to the surface or to coalesce in the crust as batholiths exclusively to the east of the Peel--Manning Fault System.     

Magmatic changes during the stabilisation of a cordilleran fold belt: the Late Carboniferous–Triassic igneous history of eastern New South Wales, Australia

In a 60 Ma interval between the Late Carboniferous and the Late Permian, the magmatic arc associated with the cordilleran-type New England Fold Belt in northeast New South Wales shifted eastward and changed in trend from north–northwest to north. The eastern margin of the earlier (Devonian–Late Carboniferous) arc is marked by a sequence of calcalkaline lava flows, tuffs and coarse volcaniclastic sedimentary rocks preserved in the west of the Fold Belt. The younger arc (Late Permian–Triassic) is marked by I-type calcalkaline granitoids and comagmatic volcanic rocks emplaced mostly in the earlier forearc, but extending into the southern Sydney Basin, in the former backarc region. The growth of the younger arc was accompanied by widespread compressional deformation that stabilised the New England Fold Belt. During the transitional interval, two suites of S-type granitoids were emplaced, the Hillgrove Suite at about 305 Ma during an episode of compressive deformation and regional metamorphism, and the Bundarra Suite at about 280 Ma, during the later stages of an extensional episode. Isotopic and REE data indicate that both suites resulted from the partial melting of young silicic sedimentary rocks, probably part of the Carboniferous accretionary subduction complex, with heat supplied by the rise of asthenospheric material. Both mafic and silicic volcanic activity were widespread within and behind the Fold Belt from the onset of rifting (ca. 295 Ma) until the reestablishment of the arc. These volcanic rocks range in composition from MORB-like to calcalkaline and alkaline. The termination of the earlier arc, and the subsequent widespread and diverse igneous activity are considered to have resulted from the shallow breakoff of the downgoing plate, which allowed the rise of asthenosphere through a widening lithospheric gap. In this setting, division of the igneous rocks into pre-, syn-, and post-collisional groups is of limited value.     

Paleomagnetism of the Carboniferous Gresford Block,Tamworth Belt,southern New England Orogen: minor counter-clockwise rotation of a primary arc segment

Abstract

Four oroclinal structures have been identified from structural, magnetic and gravity trends across a Carboniferous continental arc, forearc basin [Tamworth Belt (TB)] and conjugate accretionary complex in the southern New England Orogen (SNEO) of eastern Australia. None of the structures has yet been confirmed conclusively by paleomagnetism as oroclinal. Ignimbrites are common within the forearc basin and have been demonstrated to retain primary magnetisations despite prevalent overprinting. They are well exposed across six major tectono-stratigraphic blocks with partly interlinked stratigraphies, making the forearc basin highly prospective to oroclinal testing by comparing pole path segments for individual blocks across curved structures. Paleomagnetic studies have shown no noticeable rotation across the western/southwestern TB (Rocky Creek, Werrie and Rouchel blocks), but documented herein is a minor counter-clockwise rotation of the Gresford Block of the southern TB. This study details paleomagnetic, rock magnetic and magnetic fabric results for 87 sites (969 samples) across the southern Gresford Block. Predominantly thermal, also alternating field and liquid nitrogen, demagnetisations show a widely present low-temperature overprint, attributed to regional late Oligocene weathering, and high-temperature primary and overprint components residing in both mainly magnetite and mainly hematite carriers. Subtle, but systematic, directional differences between magnetite and hematite subcomponents show the latter as the better cleaned, better-defined, preferred results, detailing nine primary poles of middle and late Carboniferous ages and Permian and Permo-Triassic overprints as observed elsewhere in the western/southwestern TB. The primary poles update a poorly defined mid-Carboniferous section of the SNEO pole path and demonstrate counter-clockwise rotation, quantified at about 15° ± 13° from comparison of mid-Carboniferous Martins Creek Ignimbrite Member poles for the Rouchel and Gresford blocks, that may not necessarily have been completed prior to the Hunter–Bowen phase of the Gondwanide Orogeny. This minor counter-clockwise rotation of the Gresford Block accentuates a primary curvature of the southwestern/southern TB and heralds further, more complex, rotations of the Myall Block of the southeastern TB.     

Geochronology and geochemistry of Palaeozoic intrusive rocks in the Rockvale region,southern New England Orogen,New South Wales

Palaeozoic intrusive rocks of the New England Batholith from the Rockvale district in the southern New England Orogen form three distinct associations: (i) the Carboniferous Rockvale Adamellite, a member of the Hillgrove Suite of deformed S‐type granitoids; (ii) a small I‐type igneous complex on the northwestern margin of the Rockvale Adamellite: several members of this complex have similar chemical compositions to the most mafic members of the Moonbi Suite of New England Batholith I‐types; and (iii) a suite of dyke rocks ranging in composition from calc‐alkaline lamprophyre through hornblende and biotite porphyrite to aplite. Ion‐microprobe U‐Pb zircon analysis indicates intrusion of the Rockvale Adamellite at 303 ±3 Ma (weighted mean ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U age; 95% confidence limits). Preliminary investigation of zircon inheritance within the Rockvale Adamellite is consistent with chemical and isotopic indications of derivation of New England Batholith S‐type granitoids from a relatively juvenile protolith. Deformation of the Rockvale Adamellite occurred after complete crystallization of the pluton and prior to emplacement of dykes and I‐type intrusives. K‐Ar biotite and hornblende ages show broadly synchronous intrusion of I‐type magmas and lamprophyre dykes at ca 255 Ma, indicating that mantle magmatism associated with lamprophyres was contemporaneous with the crustal production of I‐type melts. Chemical similarities between the most mafic Moonbi Suite members and calc‐alkaline lamprophyres may also indicate a direct mantle contribution to some I‐type magmas.     

Mafic rocks spatially associated with Devonian felsic intrusions of the southern Lachlan Fold Belt: A possible mantle contribution to crustal evolution processes

Devonian basaltic to andesitic dykes and compositionally similar plutons of the southern Lachlan Fold Belt are often temporally and spatially closely associated with large granitic complexes. Mafic intrusions play a major role in the transfer of heat into the continental crust, providing a thermal ‘engine’ which leads to crustal melting, and geochemical/isotopic evidence indicates that they contribute chemical constituents to the products of this melting. Studied mafic‐intermediate dykes in the southern Lachlan Fold Belt have tholeiitic to alkaline affinities and include groups with both high and low Ti and K. Several dyke generations may be associated with a single felsic complex. Primitive mantle‐normalised trace‐element abundance patterns with negative Nb and Ti anomalies for basaltic/andesitic and gabbroic/dioritic rocks as young as Early Devonian most resemble those of modern island arcs and suggest an influence of subduction on mantle magma sources. However, some Middle and Late Devonian mafic rocks are enriched in light rare‐earth elements and other incompatible elements, lack significant Nb anomalies, and confirm the change to continental‐rift extensional settings clearly indicated by Lachlan Fold Belt geology.     

Oxygen isotope geochemistry of the Omeo Metamorphic Complex,Victoria: Implications for metamorphic fluid flow,mineralisation and anatexis

Metamorphosed turbidites from the Omeo Metamorphic Complex show only minor changes in δ¹⁸O values with increasing metamorphic grade from 13.4 ± 1.7% in the chlorite and biotite zones to 12.3 ± 1.0% in the sillimanite + K‐feldspar zone. Rocks within 5 km of the S‐type granite at Hume Dam have δ¹⁸O values of 6.8–8.1% that probably reflect interaction with heated meteoric‐igneous fluids. Interaction with igneous fluids has also occurred close to other I‐ and S‐type granites in this region. However, pervasive metamorphic fluid‐rock interaction in this terrain did not occur, which limits the region's potential for hydrothermal mineralisation. Anatexis at high grades was probably via dehydration‐melting reactions that consumed muscovite and biotite, which is consistent with there being little fluid present during metamorphism. Small (kilometre scale or less) S‐type granites in the sillimanite + K‐feldspar zone have δ¹⁸O values similar to those of the surrounding metasediments and probably formed by melting of those rocks. By contrast, larger (tens of kilometres scale) Ca‐rich, peraluminous, S‐type granites have lower δ¹⁸O values than the surrounding metasediments, and may represent melts of underlying middle to lower crust.     

Structural inversion of the Tamworth Belt: Insights into the development of orogenic curvature in the southern New England Orogen,Australia

The middle to late Permian Hunter Bowen Event is credited with the development of orogenic curvature in the southern New England Orogen, yet contention surrounds the structural dynamics responsible for the development of this curvature. Debate is largely centred on the roles of orogen parallel strike-slip and orogen normal extension and contraction to explain the development of curvature. To evaluate the dynamic history of the Hunter Bowen Event, we present new kinematic reconstructions of the Tamworth Belt. The Tamworth Belt formed as a Carboniferous forearc basin and was subsequently inverted during the Hunter Bowen Event. Kinematic reconstructions of the Tamworth Belt are based on new maps and cross-sections built from a synthesis of best-available mapping, chronostratigraphic data and new interpretations of depth-converted seismic data. The following conclusions are made from our study: (i) the Hunter Bowen Event was dominantly driven by margin normal contraction (east–west shortening; present-day coordinates), and; (ii) variations in structural style along the strike of the Tamworth Belt can be explained by orthogonal vs. oblique inversion, which reflects the angular relationship between the principal shortening vector and continental-arc margin. Given these conclusions, we suggest that curvature around the controversial Manning Bend was influenced by the presence of primary curvature in the continental margin, and that the Hastings Block was translated along a sinistral strike-slip fault system that formed along this oblique (with respect to the regional east–west extension and convergence direction) part of the margin. Given the available temporal data, the translation of the Hastings Block took place in the Early Permian (Asselian) and therefore preceded the Hunter Bowen Event. Accordingly, we suggest that the Hunter Bowen Event was dominantly associated with enhancing curvature that was either primary in origin, or associated with fault block translation during the Early Permian. This model differs to previously proposed reconstructions where curvature largely formed by orogen parallel strike-slip transportation during the Hunter Bowen Event.     

Stratigraphy and correlation of Carboniferous ignimbrites,Rocky Creek region,Tamworth Belt,Southern New England Orogen,New South Wales

Carboniferous (Visean to Westphalian) pyroclastics and lava flows in the Rocky Creek region, used to redefine the base of the Kiaman reversal, are formally defined or redefined and the status of the main formations clarified. These units include the Caroda Formation, containing the Kooringal Dacite, Boomi Rhyolite and Barney Springs Andesite Members; the Clifden Formation with the Wanganui Andesite, Glen Idle Rhyolite, Appleogue Dacite, Bexley Rhyolite, Pine Cliffs Rhyolite and Downs Rhyodacite Members; Rocky Creek Conglomerate with the Hazelvale Rhyodacite, Mt Hook Rhyolite, Darthula Rhyodacite and Pound Rock Rhyodacite Members; and Lark Hill Formation with the Eulowrie Pyroclastic, Tycannah Rhyodacite and The Tops Rhyolite Members; a number of informal units are also described. The restriction of most volcanic units to one of the three thrust blocks (Boomi, Kathrose and Darthula blocks) of the Rocky Creek region, suggests their current relationships reflect either shortening due to overthrusting or an original distribution affected by depositional or erosional processes. A westerly increase in the proportion of ignimbrites indicates nearness to sources in that direction. Intermediate volcanism, largely confined to southern and central parts of the Boomi block in the east, began in the Visean and ended in the early Namurian. Acid volcanism also began in the Visean in the northern Boomi block but, with the exception of the Peri Rhyolite Member of the Clifden Formation, did not become widespread until later in the Namurian and Westphalian. In contrast, only acid volcanism took place during the early Namurian to Westphalian in the Kathrose and Darthula blocks. Correlations based on AS3 and SL13 SHRIMP dates illustrate a discordance of about 3% when compared with the most likely location for the base of the Kiaman reversal. The bases of both the Rocky Creek Conglomerate and Lark Hill Formation appear to be slightly diachronous.