SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE EARTH SCIENCES ? NUMBER 17
Occurrence, Distribution, and Age
of Australian Tektites
R. 0. Chalmers, E. P. Henderson,
and Brian Mason
1376
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION PRESS
City of Washington
1976
ABSTRACT
Chalmers, R. O., E. P. Henderson, and Brian Mason. Occurrence, Distribution,and Age of Australian Tektites. Smithsonian Contributions to the Earth Sciences,
number 17, 46 pages, 17 figures, 10 tables, 1976.?Extensive field work has shownthat the Australian strewnfield is less extensive than previously thought, being
essentially restricted to the region south of latitudes 24? to 25?S. The few aus-tralites found north of this region probably represent specimens transported by
man. Throughout much of the desert interior australites are weathering out of alate Pleistocene or early Recent horizon in a well-consolidated calcareous red
sandy aeolianite; field evidence indicates that in most places they are found es-sentially where they fell, or stream erosion and sheet wash has transported them
short distances and concentrated them in claypans and playas. Distribution withinthe strewnfield is irregular and can be ascribed to: (1) original nonuniform fall;
(2) burial by recent deposition; (3) removal by erosion. Australites (excluding thedoubtful HNa/K type) show a continuous range of composition from 80% to
66% SiO2 with related variations in other major constituents, which is reflectedin the range of specific gravities (2.36-2.52) and refractive indices (1.493-1.529).
The composition range is not uniform over the strewnfield, the high-silica aus-
tralites being concentrated along a northwest trending band extending fromwestern Victoria to the Lake Eyre region. Other noteworthy features are: (1) a
variation in the average size of australites from place to place, those on theNullarbor Plain being notably smaller (average <1 gram) than those of other
regions (average 3-5 grams); (2) the occurrence of many large australites (>100
grams) in the southwestern part of Western Australia.
Unsolved problems include: (1) the inconsistency between geological age (7000-20,000 years BP) and K-Ar and fission track ages (700,000-860,000 years); (2) the
relationship, if any, between australites and the "microtektites" in Indian Oceansediments; and (3) the source region of the australite material.
OFFICIAL PUBLICATION DATE is handstamped in a limited number of initial copies and is recordedin the Institution's annual report, Smithsonian Year. SERIES COVER DESIGN: Aerial view of Ulawun
Volcano, New Britain.
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication DataChalmers, Robert Oliver
Occurrence, distribution, and age of Australian tektites.(Smithsonian contributions to the earth sciences ; No. 17)
Supt. of Docs, no.: SI 1.26:17Bibliography: p.
1. Tektite?Australia. I. Henderson, Edward P., joint author. II. Mason, Brian Harold, 1917?joint author. III. Title. IV. Series: Smithsonian Institution. Smithsonian contributions to
the earth sciences ; no. 17.
no. \1 [QE399] 550'.8s [523.5'1] 75-619432
Contents
Page
Introduction 1
Geographical Distribution and Relative Abundance 4
Mode of Occurrence 9
The Extent of the Australite Strewnfield 11
Australites in Relation to the Indoaustralian Strewnfield 15
Physical Properties and Chemical Composition 16
Form 16
Form Analysis 25
Weight 25
Specific Gravity 31
Refractive Index 32
Chemical Composition 36
Chemical Composition and the Origin of Tektites 38
Age and Stratigraphical Relationships 39
Literature Cited 44
ui
Occurrence, Distribution, and Age
of Australian Tektites
R. 0. Chalmers, E. P. Henderson,
and Brian Mason
Introduction
Australian tektites were first made known to sci-
ence by Charles Darwin. In 1844, in his book
Geological Observations on the Volcanic Islands
Visited during the Voyage of H.M.S. Beagle, he de-
scribed and illustrated a specimen (Figure 1) he
received from Sir Thomas Mitchell in Sydney in
January 1836. Mitchell had collected it "on a great
sandy plain between the rivers Darling and Mur-
ray," presumably during his exploration of the
Darling River valley in 1835. (The location as-
cribed to this australite by Baker (1973)?approxi-
mately 34?20'S, 143?10'E?appears to be erroneous,
since Mitchell did not travel south of 32?30'S, near
the present site of Menindee, on his 1835 journey.)
Darwin compared this australite to obsidian, but
noted that it was found "several hundred miles
from any volcanic region," suggesting that it might
have been transported either by aborigines or by
natural means. The suggestion that it might have
been a transported specimen was a prescient one;
very few australites have been found along the Dar-
ling, and the exceptional quality of Darwin's speci-
men would attract an aboriginal. Additional
records of the occurrence of tektites in Australia
are scattered through nineteenth- and twentieth-
century literature from 1855 to the present. This
information is summarized in the classic mono-
graphs of Suess (1900) and Baker (1959a).
Suess introduced the terms "tektites," denning
R. O. Chalmers, Australian Museum, Sydney, Australia. E. P.
Henderson and Brian Mason, Smithsonian Institution, Wash-
ington, D.C. 20560.
FIGURE 1.?Front, back, and side view of the australite given
to Charles Darwin by Sir Thomas Mitchell in 1836; specimen
is 26 X 22 X 7 mm (Institute of Geological Sciences, London).
them essentially as glassy meteorites, and "austra-
lites" as those tektites found in Australia. Tektites
occur in four general regions of the world. The
first and largest is the Indoaustralian region (Von
Koenigswald, 1960), encompassing, besides Austra-
lia, Hainan Island and the adjacent mainland of
China in the extreme southern section of Kwang-
tung Province, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and
Thailand (indochinites), the Philippines (philippi-
nites), Malaysia (malaysianites), and Indonesia.
Barnes (1963) introduced the term "indomalaysian-
ites" to refer to tektites from Malaya, Java, Borneo,
SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE EARTH SCIENCES
and the adjacent small islands of Billiton and
Bunguran, and those few other Indonesian islands
on which an occasional specimen is found. Outside
the Indoaustralian region two more geographically
defined groups are moldavites (vltavines) from the
Moldau (Vltava) River valley and areas further to
the east in Czechoslovakia, and bediasites from
Texas. Finally, tektites are found on the Ivory
Coast, West Africa. Materials sometimes classed as
tektites, but distinct from them in appearance and
composition, are silica glass from the Libyan Desert
and Darwin Glass from Mt. Darwin in Tasmania.
The australites occupy a unique position among
the tektites. Their strewnfield is by far the most
extensive of any of the above-named groups. They
show a wider range of composition (e.g., 66%-80%
SiO2) than most tektite groups. Whereas practically
all other tektites have been found in alluvial de-
posits and have lost their original surface by abra-
sion or solution, many australites have been
recovered with their original surface well preserved,
showing delicate markings produced by aerody-
namic ablation. This enables significant deductions
to be made regarding their original form and its
modification during passage through the Earth's
atmosphere.
Interest in tektites as a group, and australites in
particular, has waxed and waned from time to time.
Comparatively little research on australites was
reported in the first thirty years of this century.
Then Dr. Charles Fenner, in a series of papers pub-
lished between 1933 and 1955, provided a large
amount of new information on numbers, forms,
and distribution. Commencing in 1937, Dr. George
Baker wrote a large number of papers on austra-
lites, especially those from localities in Victoria
and South Australia. In 1959 his comprehensive
monograph "Tektites" was published, with a very
full bibliography, although one early reference not
listed is Clarke (1869) He continued to expand
and interpret the data available on these enigmatic
objects until his death in 1975.
International interest in tektites greatly increased
after World War II as part of a general increase in
interest in meteorites. Suess originally had postu-
lated an extraterrestrial origin for tektites. The dis-
covery that tektites show no evidence of cosmic-ray
bombardment in outer space (Anders, 1960, and
Viste and Anders, 1962) indicates a relatively brief
flight while outside the Earth's atmosphere, and
thus supported the suggestion by Nininger (1943)
that a meteorite impact on the moon was the
mechanism that sent tektites to Earth. When plans
were being made for manned moon landings, sci-
entists at the National Aeronautics and Space Ad-
ministration began an intensive study of all things
connected with the moon, including tektites. Chap-
man and Larson (1963) further adduced a great
deal of aerodynamic evidence to substantiate the
theory of lunar origin. On the other hand, the work
of Taylor (1962, 1966) and Taylor and Kaye (1969)
showed that the composition of tektites was com-
parable to that of sedimentary rocks of the sub-
greywacke type. Bouska (1968) considered that all
tektites from the entire Indoaustralian region
might have been derived from impact on igneous
rocks, but that tektites from other regions were
derived from sedimentary rocks. These findings
suggested a possible origin by meteoritic impact on
Earth and not on the moon. This possibility was
strengthened by the discovery that moldavites had
the same K-Ar age as the Ries crater in southern
Germany and that the Ivory Coast tektites were the
same age as the glass in the Bosumtwi crater in
Ghana (Cohen, 1963, Gentner et al., 1963, Faul,
1966). As a result, the extraterrestrial origin once
widely accepted was seriously challenged, and an
origin due to large-scale impact on Earth gained
favor.
Because of this increased interest, the demand for
research material has steadily expanded, and the re-
quirements therefor have become more rigorous,
in terms of exact locality, mode of occurrence, and
quality of preservation. On this account, we or-
ganized in 1963 an expedition designed to provide
more and better documented material for our re-
spective institutions: the Australian Museum (Chal-
mers), the Smithsonian Institution (Henderson, and
Mason since 1964), and the American Museum of
Natural History (Mason, 1963 and 1964). The suc-
cess of the 1963 expedition, and the questions it
raised about the geological occurrence, distribution,
and age of australites led to further lengthy jour-
neys in 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, and 1969 (Figure 2),
which covered most of the strewnfield on the con-
tinent. (Australites have also been found on Tasma-
nia, but we have not investigated these occurrences).
Special efforts were made to investigate the more
remote regions in the arid interior, and to follow
up any promising leads. In addition, much time
NUMBER 17
.Brisbane
FIGURE 2.?Routes of field expeditions, 1963-1967.
was devoted to defining the northern margin of the
strewnfield, an arduous and, in terms of specimens,
a rather unproductive exercise.
Besides the support of our respective institutions,
we are greatly indebted to the National Geographic
Society for a grant financing the initial expedition
and continuing support for the later journeys. A
grant from the National Science Foundation sup-
ported Henderson in 1963, and one from the
Smithsonian Research Foundation aided Mason in
1967. In addition, the award of a fellowship by the
John Simon Guggenheim Foundation enabled Ma-
son to spend several months at the Australian Na-
tional University in Canberra in 1969 on laboratory
investigations and fruitful discussions with Aus-
tralian colleagues. During our travels we have been
given great assistance and enjoyed generous hospi-
tality through the sparsely populated interior of
Australia. It is not feasible to name everyone who
helped us in our work, but special mention is due
SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE EARTH SCIENCES
to the following: Mr. Frank Nicholls of Pindera,
N. S. W.; in one of our prime collecting regions
near Lake Torrens, Dr. and Mrs. G. C. Gregory,
Mr. Noel Smith, Mr. J. Moroney and Mr. R.
Craigie; in another prime collecting area in the re-
gion of the eastern edge of Lake Eyre and the Birds-
ville Track, the late Mr. G. Patterson of Farina,
Mr. K. Price of Muloorina, Mr. Kevin Oldfield of
Clayton, Mr. Brian Oldfield of Etadunna, and Mr.
G. Bell of Dulkaninna. Actual assistance in collect-
ing was given by Mr. H. S. St. J. Disney, Mr. H. O.
Fletcher, Mr. R. Lossin, Mr. D. Hamlyn, Mr. P.
Robinson, Dr. and Mrs. L. E. Weiss, the late Mr. A.
A. Walker, and Mr. D. F. Walker. On one field
trip Mr. D. F. Walker provided a second vehicle. In
other areas the cooperation of the following is ac-
knowledged: Mr. J. E. Johnson of Adelaide, Mr. P.
D. Boerner of Alice Springs, Mr. Barton Jones, Mr.
W. H. Cleverly, and Mr. K. Quartermaine of Kal-
goorlie, and Mr. and Mrs. C. Smith of Earaheedy
Station, northeast of Wiluna. We are indebted to
curators of major australite collections for much
useful information, especially Dr. A. W. Beasley of
the National Museum of Victoria, Dr. D. W. P. Cor-
bett and Miss J. M. Scrymgour of the South Aus-
tralian Museum, Dr. D. Merrilees of the Western
Australian Museum, and Mr. D. H. McColl of the
Bureau of Mineral Resources, Canberra. We also
thank Dr. Dean Chapman for many illuminating
discussions and for the use of some of his unpub-
lished information.
Geographical Distribution and Relative
Abundance
In Table 1 a large number of australite collec-
tions are listed giving the numbers, weights, and
geographic coordinates of each collection. The ma-
jority of these collections were made by us, and, for
these, exact localities and mode of occurrence are
recorded in our field notes. Some of the collections
listed were presented or loaned by individuals.
Others were purchased. The repositories for all
these collections are shown. The numbers in Table
1 are only a rough indication of the relative abun-
dance of australites at the different localities. Some
localities, for example Pine Dam in the Lake Tor-
rens region, have been collected intensively and re-
peatedly. Other localities represented one or two
man-hours of rapid reconnaissance. Nevertheless,
within the range of our journeys, the relative
abundance, as illustrated in Figure 3, has some basic
significance. It is apparent to us that australites did
not fall uniformly over the whole strewnfield. In
certain regions, for example that on the northeast
margin of Lake Torrens, australites are notably
abundant; other regions, situated no great distance
away and similar in geology, topography, and cli-
mate are much less productive or apparently quite
barren. Thus, on the western edge of Lake Torrens,
on Arcoona Station, near Woomera, only about 60
australites have been found in some 40 years of
collecting by Michael Mudie. Another example of a
relatively unproductive area is on Pindera in the
far northwestern corner of New South Wales. Here,
over a period of about 50 years, 155 specimens were
collected first by V. C. W. Nicholls and later by his
son Frank. Admittedly in these two instances the
australites have been found by graziers engaged in
their day-to-day duties and not specially searching
for them. Even within a productive region the
abundance varies greatly within comparatively
short distances.
Of course, the productivity of an area depends
not only upon the original density of fall of the
australites, but also on subsequent events, in par-
ticular (1) erosion, (2) deposition, (3) distribution
by animals or man, and (4) prior collecting.
Erosion may operate either to concentrate or to
disperse australites, depending upon local condi-
tions. On the Nullarbor Plain, which covers a large
area straddling the South Australia-Western Aus-
tralia border, australites appear to be randomly
and rather sparsely distributed over most of its
extent. However, small shallow circular depres-
sions (known locally as "dongas") frequently pro-
vided somewhat more productive collecting, the
australites presumably being concentrated by sheet
wash accompanying the rare heavy rains. Over
much of the arid interior, wind erosion (deflation)
is the principal agency for exposing australites. On
the other hand, in regions of moderate to strong
relief, stream erosion is likely to bury the rare
australites in the mass of alluvium, and rapidly de-
stroy all but the large specimens. Deposition of
recent alluvium and especially wind-blown sand
makes many large areas unrewarding to collect.
None were found in interdune areas where the
floors were silted up by the action of rivers such as
Cooper Creek, Strzelecki Creek, and Diamantina
NUMBER 17
TABLE 1.?Number, weight, and current location of australites acquired by Australian Meteorite
Expeditions, 1963-1967, ordered approximately from east to west (AM = Australian Museum,
AMNH = American Museum of Natural History, SI = Smithsonian Institution)
Locality
Pindera
(1963)
Pindera
(1966-7)
Pindera
Currawilla
Mooraberree
Durrie
Durrie
Cuddapan
Mutooroo
Oakvale
Frome Downs
Wilpena Creek
Yunta
Waukaringa
Mannahill
Motpena
(1964)
Motpena
(1967)
Motpena
Beltana
(1966)
Beltana
(1967)
Pine Dam
(1963)
Pine Dam
(1964)
Latitude/
Longitude
29?27'
142?29'
tt
II
25?09'
141?20'
25?16'
140?58'
25?53'
140?06'
25?48'
32?29'
140?50r
32?59'
140?47'
139?55'
31?04'
139?42'
32?27'
139?32'
32?14'
139?27'
32?25'
139?59'
138?15'
"
30?54'
138?12'
"
30?25'
138?02'
Number
3
3
6
36
3
2
1205
99
82
1
31
7
15
1
1
97
3
33
76
236
212
49
97
97
340
Total wt. (g)
12
15
13
154
6
13
2315
98
143
16
149
19
34
2
5
126
11
59
198
585
666
139
262
260
553
Where preserved
SI
AMNH
AM
AM
AMNH
AMNH
AM
SI
SI
AM
SI
SI
AM
AM
AM
SI
AM
SI
SI
AM
SI
SI
AMNH
AM
SI
Notes
gift F. Nicholls
gift V.C.W. Nicholls
gift G. Hume
bought from G. Hume
bought from G. Hume
gift W. Crack
gift N. Bartlett
gift R. Craigie
SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE EARTH SCIENCES
TABLE 1.?Continued
Locality
Pine Dam
(1965)
Pine Dam
(1967)
Mt. Victory Well
(1964)
Mt. Victory Well
(1966)
Mt. Victory Well
(1967)
Busheowie
Mulgaria
(1964)
Mulgaria
(1965)
Mulgaria
(1967)
Andamooka
Island
Finniss
Springs
Lake Arthur
Lake Eyre
South
Clayton River
Dulkaninna
(1964)
Dulkaninna
(1967)
East Peachawar-
inna (1964)
East Peachawar-
inna (1967)
East Peachawar-
inna (1967)
West
Peachawarinna
East
Tankamarinna
Latitude/
Longitude
30?25'
138?02f
"
30?25'
137?51'
ii
30?13'
137?53'
30?14'
137?38'
II
30?53'
137?40'
29?33'
137?16'
29?32'
138?46'
29?14'
137?43'
29?15'
138?08'
29?06'
138?20'
"
29?03'
138?19'
II
M
29?03'
138?17'
28?57'
138?27'
Number
19
76
4
202
6
18
218
95
12
1
5
9
14
6
54
59
72
47
8
7
5
Total wt. (g)
47
81
16
300
4
136
361
121
15
8
62
13
94
22
99
62
179
55
16
33
48
Where preserved
AM
SI
AM
AM
SI
AM
AM
SI
SI
AM
AMNH
AM
AMNH
AMNH
AMNH
AM
AMNH
SI
AM
AM
AMNH
Notes
gift G.C. Gregory
gift B. Murray
gift D. Hamlyn
gift G.C. Gregory
NUMBER 17
TABLE 1.?Continued
Locality
West
Tankamarinna
Mulka
N.W. of Mulka
Mungeranie
New Kalamurina
(1964)
New Kalamurina
(1967)
Alton Downs
Simpson
Desert
Charlotte Waters
Macumba
Ooldea
Near Watson
SE of Cook
N of Cook
Denman
S of Hughes
N of Hughes
(1965)
N of Hughes
(1967)
NE of Deakin
N of Deakin
Eucla
Latitude/
Longitude
28?58'
138?18'
28?18'
138?48f
28?12'
138?24'
28?10'
138?30'
27?44'
138?15'
"
26?08'
138?58'
26?24'
137?27'
25?55T
134?55'
27?15'
135?42'
30?38'
132?03'
30?31'
131?20'
30?58'
130?42'
30?10'
130?25'
30?40'
129?58'
30?55'
129?42'
30?30'
129?30'
ti
30?30'
129?05'
30?32'
128?59'
31?43'
128?55'
Number
299
11
15
38
1
1
1
13
38
19
58
21
24
14
170
66
28
894
452
91
50
93
2
Total wt. (g)
492
20
40
88
0.5
1
1.3
36
162
70
47
18
7
25
92
46
23
452
254
69
26
49
11
Where preserved
AM
AMNH
SI
SI
AMNH
AM
AMNH
AM
SI
SI
SI
SI
SI
SI
SI
AM
AM
SI
AM
SI
AM
AM
SI
Notes
gift J. Findley
coll. J. Dunn;
gift G.C. Gregory
gift R. Syme
bought from railwayman
SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE EARTH SCIENCES
TABLE 1.?Continued
Locality
N of Forrest
Mundrabilla
Loongana
N of Loongana
Lake Yin-
darlgooda
Lake Wilson
Mt. Davies
SE of Earaheedy
S of Earaheedy
Granite Peak
Millrose
Latitude/
Longitude
30?20'
128?05'
30?56'
127?31'
30?57'
127?02'
30?15'
127?02'
30?42'
121?54'
26?01'
129?36'
26?llf
129?07'
25?50'
121?58'
25?40'
121?34'
25?38'
121?20'
26?24'
120?57'
Number
4
14
2
8
79
72
28
21
112
36
100
1
Total wt. (g)
5
13
0.5
4
360
274
51
152
210
53
467
28
Where preserved Notes
AM
AM
AM
AM
SI
AMNH
SI
SI bought from natives
SI
SI
SI gift E. Juniper
SI
(Warburton) River. Many parts of the arid interior
are sandplains with the sand fairly well fixed by
the desert vegetation. Aeolian deposition, rather
than erosion, is dominant in the regions of these
sandplains. Australites may, however, be picked up
in local blow-outs or found in the debris around the
holes made by such animals as wombats and rab-
bits.
Prior collecting strongly affects the return from
any locality. Johnson (1964) records collecting 1451
australites in 15 man-hours from the floor of Lake
Wilson, a playa about IV2 x 1 mile in extent in the
far northwest of South Australia; our visit in 1965
produced 28 australites in 18 man-hours. Johnson's
party evidently harvested a crop which had ac-
cumulated probably over a period of hundreds or
perhaps thousands of years; our collection repre-
sents a gleaning of the few they had overlooked.
Our experience with some of the claypans in the
Pine Dam area which have been re-collected at a
later date suggests that a systematic search over a
limited area will net a major fraction of the aus-
tralites present (perhaps 75%-95%), and few will
be recovered on later visits to the same area. This
indicates that, even in localities where australites
are relatively abundant, the slow rate of natural
erosion (mainly deflation in the arid interior) re-
sults in a very slow release of australites from the
matrix in which they are buried. Of course, in
humid regions such as the Port Campbell area of
Victoria, where Baker and others have collected
successfully over many years, the abundant rain-
fall and accelerated erosion caused by roadmaking
and other human activities have provided a con-
tinually prolific source of australites.
It may be of interest to sum up our experiences
NUMBER 17
QUEEN SLAND
AUSTRALITE LOCALITIES COLLECTED
Numbers-
Locality not
1 ?10
10-100
>IOO
collected
o
X
V
2.41
V2.45
'** o ? .?
OXril' Broken Hill NEW SOUTH
WALES
FIGURE 3.?Australite localities collected during the Australian Meteorite Expeditions, 1963-1967;
the symbols indicate the numbers of individual specimens examined, and are not indicative of
the total number of specimens found at any locality. The figures give the peak specific gravities
for the larger collections, along with some data from published papers (Table 7).
in regard to productivity. We have found that, in
areas where australites are relatively abundant and
have not been intensively collected, a return of 3-4
per man-hour is about normal, although even
within such areas the recovery rate will vary quite
widely. A record collection of 81 in one man-hour
was made in 1965 in a shallow depression in the
Nullarbor Plain north of Hughes; a return visit to
the same locality in 1967 netted 9 in one man-hour.
MODE OF OCCURRENCE
Over much of the area in which we have col-
lected (excluding for the moment the Nullarbor
Plain), the topographic, geologic, and climatic
conditions are extremely similar throughout.
Most of the country is extremely flat, an inte-
grated drainage pattern is practically absent (except
close to large intermittent rivers such as the Frome
and the Cooper), and the topography is longitudi-
nal sand dunes (seif dunes), usually 30-60 feet
high, separated by interdune corridors occupied by
claypans at their lowest spots. Wind erosion is
dominant, and the runoff from rare heavy rains
produces only local erosion and deposition around
the individual claypans. The claypan surfaces are
the natural collecting grounds for australites.
The geological setting is remarkably uniform
over vast areas, and is illustrated in Figure 4 by
sections through dunes and claypans at Motpena
and Myrtle Springs (Pine Dam) in the Lake Tor-
rens region of South Australia. There are es-
sentially three formations represented:
1. Unconsolidated sand forming the crests of
the dunes and veneering large areas of the inter-
dune corridors.
10 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE EARTH SCIENCES
concentration of australitcs
modern sand
MOTPENA H227900t500|ANU-127
concentration of australites
I
MYRTLE SPRINGS i20.310t360|ANU-127
MID-HOLOCENE SANDS MIHII'I MflTPFNA PAIFQ<5Ol
Alluvial at Motpena. aeolian at |W?il|) M0TPENA PALEOSOL
Myrtle Springs.
LAKE TORRENS FORMATION
POORAKA FORMATIONt equiv. aeolian sand at
Myrtle Springs.
|ll{(|| WILKATANA PALEOSOL
600Q+100 C14 DATE. CHARCOAL
|i2,050t160] CK DATE. CARBONATE
FIGURE 4.?Schematic sections through the late Quaternary
sediments and paleosols at Motpena and Pine Dam, Myrtle
Springs, showing the areas within interdune corridors where
australites are commonly found (Lovering et al., 1972).
2. A well-consolidated calcareous red sandy for-
mation, almost- certainly an aeolianite, which is
widespread in every area we visited.
3. A calcareous red-brown formation containing
abundant carbonate nodules that forms the floor
of the claypans in the interdune corridors.
These three formations in the Pine Dam area
have also been noted by Corbett (1967).
Williams and Polach (1971) have suggested a late
Quaternary chronology for the events that have
occurred over the last 38,000 years in the Lake
Torrens plain, including the deposition or ac-
cumulation of the above three formations. They
have named formation 2 the Lake Torrens Forma-
tion (deposited ca. 20,000-16,000 BP) capped by
the Motpena paleosol (formed ca. 16,000-12,000
years BP); formation 3 has been named the
Pooraka Formation (deposited 30,000 BP and
earlier) capped by the Wilkatana paleosol (formed
on the Pooraka Formation prior to the deposition
of the Lake Torrens Formation). The Wilkatana
paleosol is covered by mid-Holocene sands in many
of the interdune corridors.
Williams and Polach (1971) noted that in the
Lake Torrens plain, as in all arid and semi-arid
regions of the world, accumulations of carbonate
nodules form well-developed horizons in soils and
paleosols of both alluvial and aeolian origin. They
determined the ages cited above by carbon 14 dating
of carbonate nodules from these horizons. Car-
bonate nodules are invariably thickly scattered on
the surfaces of both the Motpena and Wilkatana
paleosols.
At Pine Dam a total thickness of about 12 feet
of the Motpena paleosol is exposed. Within this
thickness two layers of carbonate nodules occur,
one about two feet from the top and the second
some six feet lower. The carbonate nodules in the
upper layer are small (fingertip size and smaller);
those in the lower layer are larger (up to fist size)
and much less friable.
Our experience indicates that in the Pirte Dam
area the australites occurred originally in a horizon
at or near the top of the Motpena paleosol. One
australite has been found partly embedded in the
Motpena paleosol at Motpena (Lovering et al.,
1972) and another in the Motpena paleosol near
Pine Dam by R. O. Chalmers in 1969. Several have
been found partly embedded in mid-Holocene al-
luvial and aeolian deposits at Motpena (Lovering
et al., 1972) and the Pine Dam area (Corbett,
1967).
Some 8 miles southwest of Beltana railway sta-
tion and about 10 miles north of the Motpena
locality there is an isolated area measuring about
5 by 4 miles of Lake Torrens Formation lying on
a surface of rocks of Proterozoic age. The area is
low and eroded, revealing areas of Motpena paleo-
sol, dated by Lovering et al. (1972) at 12,540 years
BP (their Nilpena locality). Dunes of uncon-
solidated sand lie on this paleosol (Figure 5). In-
terdune corridors run between the low dunes, but
erosion has not proceeded far enough to produce
the bare claypan floors characteristic of the Pine
Dam area. Australites occur both on the eroded
paleosol and in the shallow interdune corridors; a
group of them, of larger than average size, is shown
in Figure 6.
In deeply deflated interdune corridors, as in the
Pine Dam area, the claypan floors consist of the
Wilkatana paleosol and many australites are found
lying on this surface. Sheet wash during heavy rain
has no doubt moved them from the margins of
the claypan where they have been shed from the
Motpena paleosol.
NUMBER 17 11
'1 - . "MTB/P-I ?":???? ??**,? i.''-1' ? ? ???^ T  - *
FIGURE 5.?Erosion remnants of Motpena paleosol partly covered by unconsolidated sand, south-
west of Beltana Station, South Australia; australites were found on the bare surface in the fore-
ground.
Australites are not found everywhere the
Motpena paleosol is exposed in the Lake Tor-
rens region, nor where formations resembling the
Motpena paleosol outside the Lake Torrens region
are exposed. The principal reason for their ab-
sence in what might be regarded as a favorable
environment is that they presumably fell within a
very short time interval while this formation was
being deposited, and thus mark a thin strati-
graphic horizon. If the australite horizon is not
yet exposed, no australites will be found. If the
australite horizon has been eroded away, austra-
lites may survive, but will be subjected to rather
rapid destruction by sandblasting and transpor-
tation. Hence recovery of well-preserved australites
near outcrops of this formation is prima facie evi-
dence for the presence of the australite horizon
therein.
Of course it is unlikely that the australite
strewnfield coincides with the geographical extent
of these formations resembling the Motpena paleo-
sol, so the absence of australites at any locality is
no evidence that the time interval of australite ar-
rival is not represented therein. For example, we
noted typical exposures in western Queensland be-
tween Birdsville and Bedourie but our search there
failed to find any australites. However, subsequent
to our field work in this area Gordon Hume has
found between 1000 and 1500 on a large claypan
46 miles east of Birdsville (25?53', 140?06'), and a
considerable number at nearby Cuddapan (25?48',
141?15)
THE EXTENT OF THE AUSTRALITE STREWNFIELD
Figure 3 shows localities where we collected be-
tween 1963 and 1967. Localities collected by other
investigators, notably Fenner (1940), Chapman
12 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE EARTH SCIENCES
r
FIGURE 6.?A group of larger than average australites collected from the area of Figure 5; the
central specimen is 54 mm long.
et al. (1964), and Baker (1956, 1959a, 1969b), are
shown by dots. Distinctive symbols indicating the
numbers we collected at each locality are shown.
As will be discussed later, peak values for specific
gravities are also shown. It is impossible to show
complete data for all localities on a single map
of Australia. The reader is referred to the follow-
ing publications containing maps showing austra-
lite localities and/or data on numbers recorded:
Baker (1956, 1959a, 1959b, 1961a, 1964a), Barnes
(1963), Chapman (1964, 1971), McColl and Wil-
liams (1970), and Cleverly (1973, 1974). Although
not shown on Figure 3, australites have been
found on islands in Bass Strait, and in Tasmania,
mainly in the northeast in cassiterite-bearing al-
luvial deposits.
To some extent, of course, the distribution indi-
cated in Figure 3 and in maps in the above-men-
tioned publications is an imperfect representation
of the strewnfield as a whole. To be estab-
lished, a locality has to be visited by someone
sufficiently observant to recognize australites. How-
NUMBER 17 13
ever, comparatively little of Australia has not yet
been subjected to fairly careful reconnaissance,
either by pastoralists, station hands, surveyors, or
prospectors, most of whom are excellent observers
and unlikely to pass over exotic material like aus-
tralites. Moreover, we know of instances where
pastoralists, having no prior knowledge of austra-
lites, were stimulated by the interest we aroused to
search intensively and with considerable success in
the course of their work on their stations. Most
areas where 1000 or more australites have been col-
lected are in arid or semi-arid regions where it is
easier to find them than in well-vegetated areas of
higher rainfall. Also a locality cannot be established
unless the finders pass on the information to persons
interested in recording it. Density of population
and pastoral or mining activities are other factors
that favor the finding of australites. The large
number of productive areas around Kalgoorlie and
adjacent sites in Western Australia can certainly
be ascribed to intensive prospecting for gold as
well as to the relative aridity of this region. On
the other hand, Broken Hill in western New South
Wales has about the same population as Kalgoor-
lie, the same semi-arid climate, and the surround-
ing districts have been prospected equally as
thoroughly, but relatively small numbers of austra-
lites have been found, which again reinforces our
belief that the australites did not fall uniformly
over the whole strewnfield. Factors that partly ex-
plain the concentration of localities in Victoria are
that it is the most densely populated state in
Australia and that there has been extensive agri-
culture and mining. McColl and Williams (1970)
state that, out of the dozens of australite localities
in Victoria, there is only one where more than
1000 have been collected, two where between 100
and 1000 have been collected, and three where be-
tween 10 and 100 have been collected. These lie
on a southeast-northwest line extending from Vic-
toria through South Australia to the Charlotte
Waters region on the South Australian-Northern
Territory border. The concentrations are dis-
tributed unevenly, and they regard this as being
due in the main to the irregular nature of the
fall. One major fact supporting this hypothesis is
the absence of australites in Eyre Peninsula in
South Australia or in its extension to the north-
west, to beyond the Trans-Australian Railway.
This area is bounded to the west by the Nullarbor
Plain and to the east by Spencer's Gulf. Much
of the Eyre Peninsula is blanketed by recent sand,
but along the railway from Port Augusta to be-
yond Tarcoola, a distance of some 300 miles, the
relief and erosion would surely have been sufficient
to have exposed an australite horizon. We regard
this apparent absence as significant.
The farthest north we have collected australites
is on Currawilla Station in southwestern Queens-
land (25?09', 141?20/). At Mooraberree Station,
about 30 miles further west, some 40 have been
collected over 30 years, which is an indication of
how sparsely they are distributed in this region.
About 70 miles to the southwest, as already men-
tioned, abundant australites have been collected
on claypans in the vicinity of Durrie station by Mr.
Gordon Hume. Further west along the Birdsville-
Bedourie road conditions are favorable for finding
australites, but we had no success and local people
had found none. In our travels along the Birdsville
Track from Marree to Birdsville, collecting was
good until north of Cooper Creek. We were suc-
cessful in only three localities between here and
Birdsville, viz., in an area of big sandhills east of
Ooroowilanie towards the Cooper, at Alton Downs
at latitude 26?06' on the eastern border of the
Simpson Desert where only one was found, and at
Kalamurina, latitude 27?50', where only two were
found. A few miles north of where the Cooper
crosses the Birdsville Track many hundreds have
been found near Mulka (Tables 1 and 7). A
collection from Mungeranie is also listed in Table 1.
We have not investigated the region of the Simp-
son Desert, one of the largest uninhabited regions
remaining in Australia (latitude 23?30' to 27?30'
and longitude 132?50' to 139?00'). But Mr. R. C.
Sprigg, who has traveled extensively there, in-
forms us that while australites are common
throughout the southern part they become progres-
sively less abundant the further north one goes,
until north of latitude 25? few if any are found.
This statement is supported by the absence of any
reference to australites in Madigan's (1946) ac-
count of the 1939 Simpson Desert Expedition.
Madigan would have been familiar with austra-
lites because Fenner (1935) records a collection in
his possession. The main desert area crossed by the
expedition from east to west lay between latitudes
24? and 25?. From latitude 25? to Birdsville in
latitude 25?54' the route went southeast. In about
14 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE EARTH SCIENCES
1967 Mr. Robin Syme, a member of a geophysical
exploration team working in the Simpson Desert,
made a small collection which he presented to the
Australian Museum. He stated that larger collec-
tions were made by other members of the ex-
ploration team. The locality was about 125 miles
south-southwest of Birdsville at latitude 26?23' and
longitude 137?27'. The nearest named locality is
Peelicanna Native Well.
The Charlotte Waters strewnfield covers quite a
large area extending from Finke to about 50 miles
south into South Australia, and 70 miles east into
the western fringes of the Simpson Desert. About
seven or eight thousand have been collected here
(Fenner, 1940). Beyond Finke in the Northern Ter-
ritory they are rare or absent. Specimens in the
South Australian Museum are stated to have come
from Henbury (latitude 24?35'), and specimens in
the Australian Museum collection from 5 miles
north of Alice Springs (latitude 23?37'), but noth-
ing is known in either case of the circumstances
in which they were found. Fenner (1935) quotes
Charles Chewings, a geologist with intimate knowl-
edge of the Northern Territory, as having neither
heard of nor seen a single specimen north of the
MacDonnell Ranges. Our experience confirms this,
and enquiries of .the aboriginals from Alice Springs
northwest to the Western Australian border and
beyond to Halls Creek were also negative. Jensen
(1915) states: "Mr. William Laurie informs me
that obsidian buttons are common about Bullock's
Head about 40 miles from Tanami on the Granite
Road." The latitude of this place is 20?25', which
is well north of the apparent northern border of
the australite strewnfield. However, the original re-
port is hearsay unsupported by specimens and no
confirmation has been forthcoming in the 60 years
since the report was made (Cleverly, pers. comm.).
Australites are abundant near the South Aus-
tralian-Northern Territory corner (26?00', 129?
00'), where many thousands have been collected
by the aboriginals and traded through the Depart-
ment of Aboriginal Affairs in South Australia. In
Western Australia, just over the border west of this
corner, Baker (1961a) records australites at Win-
gellina. We found a few near the Cavenagh Range,
60 miles to the west of Wingellina. We found
none on a traverse 100 miles north from Mt.
Davies towards the Rawlinson Range. Mr. R. C.
Sprigg informs us that none were found during
his travels in the region of the Northern Ter-
ritory-Western Australia border. Our northern-
most collecting locality in Western Australia was
Earaheedy Station (25?40'5 121 ?00'). North of here
the country is uninhabited for several hundred
miles although most of it has been traversed dur-
ing geological explorations. Mr. D. McColl of the
Bureau of Mineral Resources, Canberra, has in-
formed us that he has reports of australites north
and east of Earaheedy at 24?32', 125?03' and 22?
15', 125? 13'. If the latter is correct the known
strewnfield would be extended considerably to the
north. Unfortunately we have been unable to con-
firm this. Talbot (1910), who made an extensive
geological survey along the Canning Stock Route
from Wiluna to Halls Creek, records "obsidian-
ites" near No. 14 Well and notes, "I did not see
one anywhere else, although a careful look out was
kept for them. One would not expect to find them
among the sand ridges as they would be covered
by drifting sand, but there were several areas along
the stock route whose conditions were just as favor-
able for their preservation and exposure as in this
locality." Apart from this record (which may, how-
ever, have been transported specimens) there are
few australite localities north of the 25th parallel
of latitude.
Distribution by man probably explains the oc-
casional discovery of one or a few australites in
regions north of the apparent border of the strewn-
field. They have been reported from Wodgina
(21?11/, 118?40'), but this is an old mining district
and prospectors would have come from many parts
of Australia and could have brought them with
them. The presence of australites in gold-bearing
gravels in New South Wales and Victoria gave rise
to the idea of australites as being talismans in the
search for gold, and many prospectors valued them
as such. There are specimens in the Australian
Museum collection from Halls Creek, but since
this is the northern terminus of the Canning Stock
Route they may have been picked up by drovers
traveling the route and discarded in Halls Creek.
Transport by man is also indicated by the recovery
of australites in mining camps in New Zealand and
California. These were undoubtedly carried by
prospectors from Australia. Also, australites are
attractive as crop stones for large birds such as the
emu (Dromaius novae-hollandiae) and the bustard
or plain turkey (Eupodotis australis). Fenner
NUMBER 17 15
(1949) records a plain turkey shot in South Aus-
tralia which had 49 australites and two other black
stones in its crop. But large birds range much less
widely than man so probably do not distribute
australites over long distances.
There are a number of references to the utiliza-
tion by aboriginals of australites as agents of heal-
ing and magic and ceremonial objects, and also
records of complete and broken specimens (some
of which are definitely artefacts) in aboriginal
campsites. It is therefore certain that aboriginals
have transported australites. Baker (1957), John-
son (1963, 1964) and Edwards (1966) deal with
the significance with which aborigines regard
australites, and record occurrences in campsites in
Victoria, South Australia, and in Western Aus-
tralia adjacent to the Northern Territory-South
Australian border. Edwards comments: "The Aus-
tralian aboriginal used australites in mythology
and for the manufacture of implements. The latter
use appears to be of minor importance and mainly
confined to areas where suitable stone materials
are in short supply." Our own experience confirms
this; we found aborigine-worked australites com-
mon only on the Nullarbor Plain and on Eara-
heedy Station, areas where the silicified rocks
preferred for implements are totally lacking. In
the far north of Western Australia, C. E. Dortch
(Cleverly and Dortch, 1975) found six australite
specimens in prehistoric rock-shelter occupation
sites within the area now largely inundated by
Lake Argyle in the Ord Valley. Five of these were
flaked artefacts. The authors concluded that this
occurrence probably resulted from long-range
trade, dating to the late Pleistocene, between the
prehistoric inhabitants of the Ord Valley and more
southern regions where australites occur naturally.
Some years ago the owner of Marion Downs, a
station 35 miles south of Bouila in northwest
Queensland (23?20', 139?40'), reported that an
aboriginal there had a large round australite core,
chipped at the edges; he stated that he had carried
it for long distances over many years and obviously
treasured it. Another example of aboriginal in-
terest in australites is afforded by the discovery of a
77.5-gram oval at Pindera, in the far northwest of
New South Wales. The finder, Frank Nicholls, an
experienced anthropological observer and collector
of australites, stated that it was in an old aborig-
inal campsite on the edge of a gibber plain.
We devoted considerable time and effort to es-
tablishing a northern boundary for the strewnfield.
Naturally this is a difficult task, and absolute cer-
tainty in delineating such a boundary is not to be
expected. The difficulties can be seen from our dis-
cussion on the mode of occurrence of australites.
Nevertheless, the map shows a remarkable dearth
of localities north of latitude 25?. We have
checked as many of these localities as possible and
have made careful enquiries regarding australites
throughout our journey in this region. If the local
people, especially aboriginals, have never seen
australites in their regions, it is a reasonable con-
clusion that they have not fallen there. On the
basis of all the evidence we have been able to
gather, an east-west zone along 24?-25? latitude
appears to mark the northern limit of the austra-
lite strewnfield.
AUSTRALITES IN RELATION TO
THE INDOAUSTRALIAN STREWNFIELD
The australites are usually grouped with the
tektites found in southeast Asia, the Philippines,
and Indonesia in a single strewnfield, the Indo-
australian (von Koenigswald, 1960) or Australasian
(Chapman, 1964) strewnfield (Figure 7). This group-
ing is based not only on geography, but also on
(1) chemical similarity?the range of australite
compositions is duplicated by analyses of tektites
from other parts of the strewnfield; and (2) similar
potassium-argon ages?tektites from throughout
the strewnfield give approximately the same age of
750,000-950,000 years, within margin of error.
However, there are significant differences be-
tween tektites within this vast region. The char-
acteristic aerodynamically shaped, flanged forms of
the australites are unknown in other parts of the
strewnfield, except perhaps in a few specimens
from central Java. Australites are much smaller
than tektites from the Philippines and Indochina.
They usually weigh less than 10 grams (the largest
australite ever found was 437.5 grams) whereas
tektites from the Philippines and Indochina may
weigh more than 1 kilogram. On the basis of mor-
phological differences von Koenigswald (1960) di-
vided the strewnfield into three zones?northern,
central, and southern?as indicated in Figure 7.
The continuity of the Indoaustralian strewnfield
is not entirely convincing. Tektites appear to be
16
FIGURE 7.?Distribution of Indoaustralian tektites, according
to Von Koenigswald (1960); our data indicate that the few
occurrences shown near the northwestern crest of Australia
probably represent transported specimens.
absent from .the northern half of Australia, and
none are known from New Guinea. In Indonesia
tektites are common only in central Java and on
Billiton Island; a few have been recorded from
Borneo and the island of Bunguran, two from the
Island of Flores, but none from Sumatra, Celebes,
Timor, or the smaller islands. In the Philippines
most of the tektite localities are on the island of
Luzon. If the whole strewnfield was produced by a
single shower, it was remarkably unevenly distrib-
uted.
The extent of the Indoaustralian strewnfield,
however, is considerably increased if the micro-
tektites discovered by Glass (1967) in thirteen deep-
sea sediment cores from the Indian and western
Pacific Oceans are accepted as belonging to the
same event that produced the tektites. Glass (1972)
summarizes his conclusions as follows:
These glassy particles, called microtektites, represent a por-
tion of the Australasian tektite-strewnfield as indicated by
their appearance, geographical occurrence, age of deposition,
age of formation (fission track age), petrography, physical
properties, and chemical compositions. Present theories of
tektite origin suggest that tektites were formed by impact
and thus deposited over the entire strewnfield instantane-
SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE EARTH SCIENCES
ously (geologically speaking). Thus the Australasian microtek-
tite layer provides a chronostratigraphic horizon throughout
much of the Indian Ocean including the area south of
Australia.
The age of this horizon, according to Glass, is
700,000 years BP, coincident with the Brunhes-
Matuyama magnetic reversal. However, this age is
inconsistent with the stratigraphic age of austra-
lites established by Gill (1970) and Lovering
et al. (1972). Not all tektite researchers accept
the identity of microtektites with tektites. Von
Koenigswald (1968) and others have suggested that
microtektites might be volcanic glass, and Baker
(1968a) has suggested that they are beads of plant-
silica glass produced by forest fires. Baker and Cap-
padona (1972) point out that all well-preserved
australites, even the smallest, have their primary
forms modified by aerodynamic ablation, whereas
none of the microtektites show this feature. Micro-
tektites have not been recorded from the Aus-
tralian landmass; we searched for them in the
sedimentary horizon of the Pine Dam australites,
but found none.
Physical Properties and Chemical Composition
FORM
Australites are distinguished from other tektites
by their variety of well-defined forms, and unique
surface features produced by ablation during pas-
sage through the Earth's atmosphere. These fea-
tures may be preserved in pristine perfection in
specimens recovered soon after exposure in humid
regions like the southwest coast of Victoria. In
arid areas in the Lake Torrens-Lake Eyre region
where we have collected, preservation is never so
perfect, even in freshly exposed specimens which
have not undergone transportation. They probably
suffered some sandblasting during burial, and sub-
sequent exposure by recent deflation has further
affected them. Nevertheless, we have found some
remarkably fine specimens in these areas (Figure
8). In many localities transportation subsequent to
exposure has caused severe abrasion and removed
all or a large part of the original surface. However,
even these eroded specimens can be readily classi-
fied as to form.
Grant (1909) noted that the various shapes of
australites could all be derived from the five pri-
NUMBER 17 17
FIGURE 8.?Well-preserved australites showing a variety of forms from the Pine Dam area, South
Australia; the largest button is 25 mm in diameter.
mary forms which a mass of liquid is capable of
assuming. These primary forms are: (1) the sphere
(possible only with no rotation); (2) the oblate
spheroid (stable at low speeds of rotation); (3) the
prolate spheroid (stable, if at all, only at high
speeds of rotation); (4) the dumbbell (hourglass);
and (5) the apioid (pear- or tear-shaped). Fenner
(1938) recognized the sphere as the primary form
from which the secondary round forms, cores, but-
tons (sometimes flanged), and lenses, were derived.
Baker (1963b) has established the three principal
phases of shaping and sculpturing of tektites as pri-
mary, secondary and tertiary. The primary phase
was the generation of original shapes as described
by Grant (1909); the secondary phase that pro-
duced by ablational modification during passage
through the Earth's atmosphere; the third phase
that due to terrestrial weathering. He states that
"only in the australites and perhaps a few javanites
are all three phases distinctly evident. The sec-
ondary phase is so far unrecognized among other
tektites. In most tektite strewnfields the tertiary
phase has been especially dominant, tending to de-
stroy the features of the other phases."
Baker (1959a, 1963b) has provided an extensive
discussion of the secondary forms of australites,
18 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE EARTH SCIENCES
TABLE 2.?Form analysis (expressed in percent unless noted otherwise) of australite collections
arranged by location (1, Pindera; 2, Motpena; 3, Beltana; 4, Pine Dam; 5, Mulgaria; 6, Peach-
awarinna; 7, Mulka; 8, Lake Yindarlgooda; 9, Hughes; 10, Nullarbor Plain [Fenner, 1934]; 11,
Charlotte Waters [Fenner, 1940]; 12, Port Campbell [Baker, 1956]; 13, Florieton [Mawson, 1958];
* = included with lenses; ** = included with ovals)
Forms
Buttons
Lenses
Round cores
Ovals
Oval cores
Boats
Canoes
Dumbbells
Teardrops
Correlation of Data
Total number of
whole forms
% of whole forms ...
Average weight (g) .
% of round forms ...
Number of fragments
% of fragments
1
20.7
10.3
17.2
6.9
10.3
20.7
3.5
3.5
6.9
29
67.4
4.7
48.2
14
32.6
19
9
6
1?
n
4
7
2
4
Q
,7
5
8
1
S
.9
190
42.0
3.6
59.0
262
58.0
3
18.7
6.0
34.6
3.0
4.0
19.7
2.0
5.0
7.0
101
47.6
5.0
59.3
111
52.4
?7
99
8
9
8
8
5
4
1
1
3
8
8
.0
121
39.2
3.2
57.7
188
60.8
5
28.2
19.7
11.3
9.9
8.5
4.2
2.8
8 4
7.0
71
34.8
2.3
59.2
133
65.2
6
5.1
12.8
12.8
18.0
20.5
18.0
0.0
5.1
7.7
39
55.7
3.2
30.7
31
44.3
7
19.0
26.9
12.7
3.2
1.6
19.0
3.2
8.0
6.4
126
49.2
2.8
58.6
130
50.8
8
1.0
13.8
35.7
11.0
10.1
17.4
1.0
7.3
2.7
109
83.2
5.1
50.5
22
16.8
9
18.0
56.0
2.0
2.0
0.0
8.0
4.0
0.0
10.0
50
40.0
0.8
76.0
75
60.0
10
13.8
54.9
*
8.4
8.6
4.1
3.5
6.7
1993
50.8
0.9
68.7
1927
49.2
11
13.3
63.4
*
14.4
A*
6.2
0.2
1.3
1.2
5137
72.6
6.5
76.5
1943
27.4
12
46.9
10.9
3.8
19.1
2.3
7.6
2.3
3.1
4.0
523
37.3
2.7
61.6
879
62.7
13
1.1
27.3
37.5
2.8
6.2
13.6
2.1
3.1
6.3
797
54.9
3.7
66.0
654
45.1
how they developed from the primary forms and
how they have been modified by processes of ero-
sion and abrasion after they fell. Fenner (1934)
developed a comprehensive classification of austra-
lite secondary forms which has been used with
minor modifications by subsequent investigators.
In classifying our collections we have adopted
Fenner's system with a few alterations (Table 2).
Before setting out our classification it should be
mentioned that earlier investigators such as Suess,
Lacroix, and others listed by Baker (1959a, pp. 149
et seq.) envisaged the secondary shapes as being
derived from glass objects that were molten and
viscous as they traveled through the Earth's at-
mosphere with a rotary motion. This is incorrect.
It has been clearly shown by Baker (1959a) and
Chapman (1964) that all tektites from the Indo-
australian region descended through the Earth's at-
mosphere as rigid, nonrotating glass objects. The
secondary forms of australites, particularly the
unique flange, originated by the melting of surface
layers by heat generated through friction during
flight. The only time complete fusion of tektite
glass took place was in the primary forms at the
moment of formation.
The classification of forms used is as follows:
Buttons: round forms, when well preserved showing a
partial or complete flange and flow ridges on the forward
surface. Data on 17 well-preserved australite buttons from
Motpena, South Australia, giving weights, radius of curva-
ture and other dimensions, and nature of flow ridges are
set out in Table 3, and the specimens are shown in
Figure 9.
Lenses: biconvex round forms with a sharp rim. It may be
difficult to distinguish a button which has completely lost
its flange from a lens. Lenses are smaller than buttons
because they represent a further stage of development
#
II
16
12
17
13 14
10
16 17
13
10
15
FIGURE 9.?Anterior and posterior views of seventeen australite buttons from Motpena, South
Australia; dimensions, weights, and other data are given in Table 3.
20 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE EARTH SCIENCES
TABLE 3.?Data on 17 well-preserved australite buttons from Motpena Station, South Australia
(weights in grams; radius of curvature and other dimensions in millimeters; C = concentric;
S.C. = spiral clockwise; S.A. = spiral anticlockwise)
Specimen
number
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
Average
Range
Weight
5.482
4.853
3.918
4.155
4.107
4.249
4.735
3.948
3.975
5.100
4.234
5.461
2.469
2.980
4.322
2.302
3.004
4.078
3.044-
5.482
Radius of
Front
face
11.2
12.0
11.6
12.0
11.4
12.0
11.0
11.0
11.0
11.4
11.0
11.2
11.2
11.2
10.6
11.1
11.4
11.3
10.6-
12.0
curvature
Rear
face
13.8
11.4
13.2
13.6
10.8
11.0
10.8
10.4
10.2
9.6
11.8
9.6
10.4
10.2
9.6
9.8
9.8
10.9
9.6
13.8
Overall
diameter
23
22
22
22
23
22
23
22
20
24
23
23
20
20
21
20
22
22
20-
24
Diameter
of core
16
17
16
18
15
17
17
15
15
17
15
18
15
15
15
14
15
16
14-
18
Width of
flange
3.2
2.5
3.2
2.1
4.0
2.5
3.0
4.0
2.5
3.5
4.0
2.5
2.5
2.9
3.0
4.0
3.5
3.0
2.1-
4.0
Specific
gravity
2.449
2.455
2.455
2.471
2.456
2.449
2.472
2.468
2.477
2.456
2.449
2.460
2.460
2.455
2.445
2.468
2.455
2.458
2.445-
2.477
Nature of
flow ridges
C
C
C
S.C.
S.C.
C
S.A.
S.C.
S.A.
C
C
S.A.
S.A.
S.A.
S.C.
S.C.
S.C.
Average
Range
5.
1.
9.
24 australite
337
916-
342
12.
8.
13.
buttons
16
48-
69
from
10.
6.
13.
Port
19
39-
55
Campbell
22.5
16.5-
26
(Baker,
-
-
1967b)
3.5
3.0-
4.5
2
2
2
.400
.373-
.429
through extreme ablation causing the complete loss of the
flange during flight. There is a way in which lenses can
be distinguished from flangeless buttons; Baker (1956)
has introduced the term "flange band." This refers to
vestiges of smooth areas that are sometimes seen at the
edge of the posterior surface of round forms. Baker re-
gards "flange bands" as representing the original surfaces
of union between the body of the australite and the flange
(now completely removed).
Round cores or "bungs": the term "bung" is an indefinite
one and applies to large round cores. Cores are thicker
and heavier than buttons and originate in two ways:
NUMBER 17 21
The first is the flaking away of unstable portions of
equatorial regions of primary spheres in process of abla-
tion during atmospheric flight. Baker (1956) considers that
these spheres were twice as large as those that gave rise
to buttons and lenses. The flaking occurred in the area of
greatest frictional drag. The best of such cores shows
striking markings on the equatorial zone as though caused
by chipping, with no sign of weathering. In general the
larger cores ("bungs") form in this way (Baker, 1959a,
pi. X, and 1969a, pi. 7). The second way that cores
are formed was suggested by Chapman (1964), who intro-
duced the concept of an aerothermal stress shell. This
develops during the latter stages of flight of any of the
primary forms as the front face is rapidly cooled to tem-
peratures below the strain temperature of the tektite
glass. Under certain conditions depending on size, entry
trajectory, and tektite composition, and aided by weather-
ing and abrasive processes, the "shell" may partly spall
off revealing the original stress profile with flange intact
and the inner core-shaped mass (Figure 10 and Chap-
man, 1964, fig. 4). On further weathering the two parts
may become completely detached. Fenner (1935) illustrates
this method of formation of a core. In general, smaller
cores originate in this way.
(Buttons, lenses, and round cores are derived from primary
spheres.)
Ovals: similar to buttons, but oval instead of round; the
australite given by Sir Thomas Mitchell to Charles Darwin
is a well-preserved flanged oval (Figure 1).
Oval cores: These form in exactly the same way as round
cores.
Boats: more elongate than ovals, with straight parallel
sides and rounded ends.
Canoes: similar to boats, but smaller, narrower, and pointed
at both ends.
Dumbbells: a self-explanatory term used by some observers
even when the constriction at the "waist" is barely per-
ceptible; derived from the primary dumbbell form.
Teardrops: a self-explanatory term. According to Chapman
(1964) these shapes result when a primary mass of molten
glass of very high viscosity is disrupted into many com-
ponent blobs on cooling soon after initial formation. These
component blobs would tend to assume the primary
apioid shape. Chapman (1964) has pointed out the tear-
FIGURE 10.?Photographs illustrating the formation of round and elongate cores by spallation of
the outer flanged aerothermal stress shell. The specimens are from Mt. Victory Well, Lake Tor-
rens region, South Australia.
22 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE EARTH SCIENCES
drop shapes are much more common in the northern
region of Indoaustralian strewnfield than in Australia.
Chapman, in this paper, has postulated that the tempera-
ture of formation must have become progressively lower
as one proceeds from southeast Australia, through south-
west Australia, to the northwestern, i.e., the Indoma-
laysian, region of the strewnfield. Under the heading of
teardrops Baker (1959a, 1963b) includes forms such as
pear shapes, stopper shapes and aerial bombs.
(All of the above forms, excepting cores of all shapes, and
lenses, may have flanges, although cores may show "flange
stumps," the very last remnants of a complete flange.)
Bowl-, disc-, and plate-forms: These are very small, thin,
and fragile forms (Baker, 1963a) and are so rare that we
do not regard them as statistically significant. They are
not included in Table 2 (Form analyses of australite
collections). Data on small fragile forms collected by us
are given in Table 4 and the specimens are shown in
Figure 11. These may be the very last remnants of almost
completely ablated australites that entered the atmosphere
as smaller than average-sized primary spheres (Baker 1958).
Baker (1940) has also suggested that these fragile forms
may have originated as the flakes detached, through fric-
tional drag in the equatorial zones, from large round and
elongate primary forms. Baker suggests that these flakes
TABLE 4.?Data on 20 small australites from the Pine Dam area (weight in grams; dimensions in
millimeters)
Specimen
Number
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
Type
oval bowl
round bowl
oval bowl
elongate bowl
lens
oval bowl
(chipped)
oval bowl
lens
oval bowl
(infolded)
canoe
round bowl
flanged button
canoe
teardrop
teardrop
lens
flanged oval
flanged button
(chipped)
teardrop
lens
Weight
0.0408
0.0675
0.0896
0.0997
0.1186
0.1315
0.1344
0.1373
0.1382
0.1397
0.1436
0.1496
0.1501
0.1536
0.1920
0.2285
0.2486
0.2512
0.2858
0.3265
Specific
Gravity
2.403
2.431
2.449
2.449
2.460
2.450
2.449
2.439
2.448
2.468
2.465
2.458
2.455
2.447
2.469
2.439
2.459
2.458
2.461
2.460
Length
6
6
8
9
7
9
9
7
9
11
6
9
14
11
10
8
11
13
11
10
Width
5
6
5
4
7
7
7
5
5
5
6
9
5
7
6
8
9
13
Depth
NUMBER 17
#
8
10 11 12
13 14 15 16
17 18
19 20
FIGURE 11.?Twenty bowl-, disc-, and plate-form australites from the Pine Dam area, South
Australia; dimensions, weights, and specific gravities are given in Table 4.
24 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE EARTH SCIENCES
may still have been travelling with sufficient velocity to
have suffered further ablation and thus have assumed
regular shapes.
All complete collections such as those made by
us in different areas and by Baker in southwestern
Victoria contain many fragments, usually exceed-
ing in number the well-preserved complete forms.
There was a lack of fragments in some large collec-
tions made in earlier periods. Untrained personnel
collecting australites would tend to concentrate on
well-preserved, relatively large forms, rather than
these smaller examples.
Fragmentation occurred after the australites
landed on the ground. Australite glass is quite
tough and the force of impact would have been
quite gentle, since they would have lost their
initial high velocity and would be falling under
the influence of gravity. Even on hard ground it is
unlikely that impact would have caused fracturing.
The aerothermal stress shell and other stresses re-
sult from the australite being in a state of strain.
Such factors as the extreme diurnal temperature
variations in semi-arid interior Australia, and the
abrasive action of wind-blown sand, and water in
times of infrequent but nonetheless violent flash
floods, would cause splitting and spalling along
lines of weakness created by the stresses.
Pronounced channel-like lines of parting ex-
tending deep into many australites are known as
"saw-cuts" and in all collections there are many
examples of complete forms on the verge of break-
ing up into numerous fragments due to pro-
nounced development of this feature (Figure 12).
Fenner (1934) first suggested the term "saw-cuts"
so that no possible implication as to their origin
would be conveyed. Baker (1959a) considers that
they often form along flow-line structures and most
likely represent lines of easiest etching.
FIGURE 12.?Australites showing "saw-cuts"; the largest specimen (25 mm long) is from Mul-
garia, the other two from near Beltana, in the Lake Torrens region of South Australia.
NUMBER 17 25
FORM ANALYSIS
For those of our collections which were numer-
ous enough to be statistically significant we analyzed
the form distribution. The results are summarized
in Table 2, along with comparable data from other
investigators. Round types (buttons, lenses, and
round cores) predominate in all the collections
analyzed. This substantiates the findings of Chap-
man (1964) who, as already mentioned, noted this
fact in contrast to the predominance of teardrop
shapes toward the northwest of the entire Indo-
australian strewnfield. Round types in collections
from the Lake Torrens localities and Mulka range
from 57.7% to 59.3%; percentages for Pindera and
Peachawarinna, respectively, are 48.2% and 30.7%.
The latter two collections are probably too small
for this statistical analysis. The figures for Port
Campbell deserve comment. There is a high 61.6%
for total round forms, which comprise a high
46.9% of buttons and a low 10.9% for lenses and
3.8% for round cores. These figures, particularly
the high percentage of buttons, may reflect the ex-
cellent state of preservation in this region or the
close and meticulous examination carried out by
Baker (1956) who, for example, distinguishes but-
tons from lenses and small round cores by the
presence of "flange bands," a feature that might
escape investigators of collections from other lo-
calities. As one would expect, high percentages of
round cores ("bungs"), the larger forms, are
present in collections with high average weight
(Beltana, Lake Yindarlgooda, and Charlotte Wa-
ters).
It is particularly interesting to note the close cor-
respondence between the form analyses of the
Hughes and Nullarbor Plain collections. Hughes
is on the Nullarbor Plain, and we made the col-
lection in 1965; the Nullarbor Plain collection
described by Fenner (1934) was made by Mr.
W. H. C. Shaw, an officer of the Commonwealth
Post and Telegraph Department stationed in this
area in the period 1910-1930.* The distribution of
forms is similar and the average weight is essen-
tially identical. This confirms the small size of
*Fenner (1934) quotes Shaw as stating that the majority
of these tektites were found in the vicinity of Israelite Bay,
near the western margin of the Nullarbor Plain.
australites on the Nullarbor Plain compared to
those of other regions. Of the elongate forms, ovals
and boats are fairly common, whereas dumbbells,
teardrops and canoes are present in lesser numbers.
Canoes are smaller and more fragile than the other
forms and therefore are destroyed more readily by
natural forces.
WEIGHT
The high average weight of the forms from Lake
Yindarlgooda, Charlotte Waters, the hitherto un-
mentioned Mt. Davies area, and Beltana is due to
an unusually high percentage of round cores. From
the Lake Yindarlgooda collection this may result
from geological conditions. There the australites
are washed on to the lake floor from lag gravels on
higher ground and transportation has probably de-
stroyed many of the smaller forms. The same may
apply to the Mt. Davies area in the far north-
west of South Australia, which is an area of high
relief. We have inspected a large collection (about
2,000) obtained by the South Australian Depart-
ment of Aboriginal Affairs from aborigines in this
area. These are notably large and average about
the same as those from Charlotte Waters. The
Charlotte Waters collection examined by Fenner
(1940) was made by John W. Kennett when he
was in charge of the police station there, and many
of the specimens were collected by aboriginals. Un-
fortunately there is no detailed description of the
occurrence of australites in this locality. As noted
in Table 2 australites from the Beltana area are
larger than usual (average weight 5 grams). There
is a concentration of large specimens on the eroded
surface of the Motpena paleosol. The large round
core (33.3 grams) and the large dumbbell (16.1
grams) listed in Table 5 came from here. When
one compares the weights of different forms (Table
5) some interesting features are seen. The largest
specimens, as might be expected, are the cores. The
36-gram oval core from Lake Yindarlgooda is the
largest specimen we have ever found. Australites
weighing more than 60 grams are quite rare. A
list of those known to us (numbering 121) is given
in Table 6, and their distribution shown in Figure
13. Data from Fenner (1955), Baker (1969a and
1972), and Cleverly (1974) are incorporated in this
table. Figure 13 further confirms the evidence of
Cleverly (based on australites of mass greater than
26 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE EARTH SCIENCES
TABLE 5.?Maximum and minimum weights in grams for all
australites collected, arranged by form
Form
Buttons
Lenses
Round cores
Ovals
Oval cores
Boats
Dumbbells
Teardrops
Canoes
Maximum
5.7
4.6
33.3
13.4
36.0
16.9
16.1
9.4
1.5
Minimum
0.5
0.1
1.0
0.7
1.5
0.9
0.5
0.7
0.5
100 grams) of a remarkable concentration of large
australites in the southwestern corner of Western
Australia, extending as a belt towards the north-
northeast. A minor concentration of large austra-
lites is evident in western Victoria, extending
northwest to Finke in the Northern Territory (al-
though no australites weighing more than 40 grams
are known to us from the central part of this streak
in the Lake Torrens region). Cleverly (1974) inter-
preted the distribution of large australites as indi-
cating a concentration in areas distant from the
northern boundary of the strewnfield, suggesting
the possibility of a mass gradient away from this
boundary. Cleverly considers this to imply a di-
rection of flight southwards from the northern
boundary of the strewnfield, at variance with the
conclusion of Chapman (1971), who deduced a gen-
erally south-north direction for australite flight
paths.
The large australites whose locations are plotted
in Figure 13 define two linear belts which intersect
at approximately 19?S,129?E. This is a remote area
about 100 miles southeast of Halls Creek. The
Halls Creek 1:1 million map sheet shows an oval
ring of hills with a major east-west axis about 30
miles long in this area; geological maps show a
rim of upturned Proterozoic quartzites surround-
ing a core of highly disturbed Archean rocks, sug-
gesting an impact structure. The significance, if
any, of this feature to the australite problem re-
mains to be investigated.
The fragile disc-, plate-, and bowl-shaped forms
have been described in detail and illustrated by
Baker (1963a, 1964b) from the Port Campbell re-
gion. The smallest one was an oval shallow bowl
weighing 0.065 grams. Baker and Cappadona
(1972) have described the smallest complete austra-
lite ever found. It is from 6 miles north-northeast
'zs\
\
'30
?35
,
j
IIS
?
?
.?.i\ ? ?.
120
#
?
m
? ?
#
?
k
? = >200 grams
? = 100-200 graras
? = 60-100 grams
125 130
?
\/
%/
133
Q
?
V
%
a ?
?
?'/?A&^ X
140
?
?
\ s
?
? \
? ?? ?
?
?
143 '*S'
\
Jyf
i
i1Iti
k
ISO
i-
\
FIGURE 13.?Geographical distribution of large australites listed in Table 6.
TABLE 6.?Weight, form, and present location of large australites (over 60 grams), listed in order
of decreasing weight (AM = Australian Museum, Sydney; BM = British Museum (Natural His-
tory), London; BMR = Bureau of Mineral Resources, Canberra; GCLWA = Government
Chemical Laboratories of Western Australia, Perth; GMM = Geological and Mining Museum,
Sydney; GSWA = Geological Survey of Western Australia, Perth; NMV = National Museum of
Victoria, Melbourne; SAM = South Australian Museum, Adelaide; WAM = Western Australian
Museum, Perth; WASM = Western Australian School of Mines, Kalgoorlie; UA = University of
Adelaide, Department of Geology; UM = University of Melbourne, Department of Geology:
references without a date are personal communications; WHC = W. H. Cleverly; WHC & JMS
= W. H. Cleverly & J. M. Scrymgour)
Locality
Notting, W.A.
Newdegate, W.A.
near Warralakin, W.A.
near Kondinin, W.A.
Lake Yealering, W.A.
Karoonda, S.A.
Lake Ballard, W.A.
near Babakin, W.A.
Narrogin or
Narembeen, W.A.
near Notting, W.A.
near Ongerup, W.A.
Cuballing, W.A.
near Toolondo, Vic.
Graball, W.A.
Corrigin, W.A.
near Chillilup, W.A.
Western Victoria or
Teetulpa, S.A.
between Narrogin and
Merredin, W.A.
near Ongerup, W.A.
near Charlotte Waters
near Corrigin, W.A.
near Eucla, W.A.
Port Campbell, Vic.
near Balaklava, S.A.
near Goroke, Vic.
Lake Grace, W.A.
Lake Grace, W.A.
near Kulin, W.A.
Coordinates
32?27\
33?06\
31?08',
32?30',
32?36\
35?09',
29?21',
32?10\
- -
32?27',
33?48\
32?49',
36?58',
32?02\
32?22',
34?29',
-
-
33?52',
26?10\
32?21',
31?40',
38?37',
34?02\
36?45',
33?06',
33?06',
32?40',
118?14'
119?02'
118?41'
118?07'
117?37'
139?54'
120?36f
118?06'
-
118?05'
118?28'
117?11'
142?05'
118?34'
117?54'
118?25f
-
-
118?21'
134?50'
117?52'
128?51'
143?02'
138?20'
141?36'
118?28'
118?28'
118?26'
Weight
(grams)
437.5
243.1
238.0
233.9
218.6
207.9
200.3
197.2
194.8
194.4
184.1
176.0
173.6
168.3
168.0
167.3
154.0
152.0
151.3
149.3
147.0
142.0
141.6
141.0
135.1
134.5
132.7
131.5
Core
shape
broad oval
round
broad oval
broad oval
round
narrow oval
broad oval
round
broad oval
round
round
dumbbell
boat
round
round
round
round
round
dumbbell
round
round
round
boat
broad oval
(frag.)
oval
round
round
narrow oval
Where
preserved
WAM 13238
(cast)
WAM 12318
WASM 8925
H. Biggin
WAM 4455
SAM T1159
L.P. Berryman
WAM 13364
WAM 12992
WAM 12884
WAM 12293
GSWA R2024
NMV E4753
WAM 12843
GCLWA 1678
WAM 13237
(cast)
K. Blackham
WAM G8978
GSWA
G. Latz
WAM 3491
lost
NMV 11402
SAM G1391
NMV 11401
AM DR 7533
AM Clarke
WAM 12264
Reference
Cleverly, 1974
ii
ii
ti
II
Fenner, 1955
Cleverly, 1974
WHC
Cleverly, 1974
it
Baker, 1972
Cleverly, 1974
II
WHC
Cleverly, 1974
WHC & JMS
Cleverly, 1974
Fenner, 1934
Baker, 1969a
WHC & JMS
Baker, 1969a
Cleverly, 1974
WHC
Cleverly, 1974
28 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE EARTH SCIENCES
TABLE 6.?Continued
Locality
Penwortham, S.A.
Kalgarin, W.A.
Hamilton Station, S.A.
Koralta Station, NSW
Wickepin East, W.A.
Lake Buchanan, W.A.
Lower Norton, Vic.
Laing, Vic.
Narembeen, W.A.
Babakin, W.A.
near Karoonda, S.A.
Lake Wallace, Vic.
Moulyinning, W.A.
Norseman, W.A.
Central Australia
Brookton, W.A.
E. Goldfields, W.A.
Narembeen, W.A.
Charlotte Waters, N.T.
Salmon Gums, W.A.
near Kurnalpi, W.A.
Karonie, W.A.
William Creek, S.A.
Muloorina, S.A.
near Kalgoorlie, W.A.
Nullarbor Plain
Rosanna, Vic.
Lowaldie, S.A.
Kulin, W.A.
Kaniva, Vic.
Lake King, W.A.
Coordinates
33?55',
32?30\
26?40\
31?27',
32?45',
25?30',
36?47',
38?22',
32?04',
32?07',
35?04',
37?02',
33?14',
32?12',
-
32?22',
-
32?04',
25?55',
33?03',
30?28',
30?59\
28?55?,
29?10',
30?49',
-
37?45\
35?04\
32?42',
36?33',
33?05',
138?38'
118?42'
135?05'
142?18'
117?44'
123?00'
142?04'
142?49'
118?23'
118?01'
139?57'
141?18'
117?56'
121?47'
-
117?02'
-
118?50'
134?55'
121?44'
122?09'
122?39'
136?21'
137?51'
121?29'
-
144?58'
139?59'
118?08'
141?17'
119?33'
Weight
(grams)
132.0
126.8
121.2
118.0
116.9
116.1
115.9
115.8
114.6
113.1
113.0
111.3
111.2
110.6
110.1
109.8
108.3
107.5
103.0
102.4
101.1
100.8
100.7
99.6
98.1
98.0
97.1
96.0
95.7
95.9
95.7
Core
shape
round
broad oval
broad oval
round
broad oval
round
round
dumbbell
broad oval
broad oval
round
round
round
round
boat
round
round
narrow oval
round
round
broad oval
broad oval
broad oval
(frag.)
oval
-
oval
dumbbell
dumbbell
round
boat
round
Where
preserved
L. French
R. Pugh
SAM T1392
BMR R18277
F. Davis
WAM 12960
NMV E273O
A. Halford
GSWA 1/5327
SAM T191
-
NMV E1986
WAM 10613
SAM T427
GMM 17408
WAM 12090
WASM 10199
WASM 8950
?
WASM 9421
C.B. Jones
SAM T509
G. Hume
SAM T1287
BM 1916, 372
SAM T520
NMV 11365
SAM T1296
WAM 12316
UM 3045
A.J. Thompson
Reference
WHC & JMS
Cleverly, 1974
WHC & JMS
WHC & JMS
Cleverly, 1974
?
Baker, 1969a
Cleverly, 1974
?
Fenner, 1955
Baker, 1969a
Cleverly, 1974
it
WHC & JMS
Cleverly, 1974
ii
WHC & JMS
Cleverly, 1974
II
WHC & JMS
D.W.P. Corbett
J. Hall
Fenner, 1955
A.W. Beasley
D.W.P. Corbett
D. Merrilees
Baker, 1959a
WHC
NUMBER 17 29
TABLE 6.?Continued
Locality
Warrnambool, Vic.
Edjudina Station, W.A.
Horsham, Vic.
Wellington, S.A.
Hexham Station, Vic.
Charlotte Waters, N.T.
near Cockburn, S.A.
near Edenhope, Vic.
Todmorden, S.A.
Victoria
Finniss Springs, S.A.
Corop, Vic.
Jubuk, W.A.
Baandee, W.A.
near Corrigin, W.A.
Lorquon, Vic.
near Renmark, S.A.
E. Goldfields, W.A.
Ernabella area, S.A.
near Corrigin, W.A.
Laverton, W.A.
Diamantina R., S.A.
Pindera N.S.W.
Cheyne Beach, W.A.
Leonora, W.A.
near Muntagin, W.A.
near Merredin, W.A.
Frances, S.A.
near Boorabbin, W.A.
Maroona, Vic.
Wongawol, W.A.
Nungarin, W.A.
Coordinates
38?23',
29?
36?45T,
-
-
25?55\
32?10',
37?04\
27?04',
-
29?35',
36?28\
32?20',
31?35',
32?
36?10',
34?10',
-
26?
32?
28?49\
-
29?27',
34?21',
28?54',
31?
31?31f,
36?41',
31?14',
37?25\
26?07',
31?11',
142?03'
122?
142?15'
-
-
134?55?
140?58T
141?20'
134?49'
-
137?28'
144?48'
117?38'
117?58'
117?
141?45'
140?45'
-
132?
117?
122?25'
-
142?29'
118?57'
121?20'
118?
118?07'
140?59'
120?21'
142?52'
121?56'
118?06?
Weight
(grams)
94.0
92.6
90.8
90.5
90.3
90.0
89.8
89.6
89.0
88.9
88.8
88.5
86.8
86.7
85.7
83.7
83.5
83.4
80.0
79.5
78.1
78.0
77.5
76.7
75.3
75.1
75.0
74.5
74.5
74.3
74.2
73.6
Core
shape
dumbbell
round
round
- -
- -
- -
oval
round
dumbbell
- -
boat
boat
broad oval
round
round
boat
teardrop
round
oval
round
oval
teardrop
oval
round
round
round
round
round
-
boat
teardrop
round
Where
preserved
SAM T1158
I.R. Williams
NMV 5204
BM 1935, 252
BM 1926, 393
G. Hume
D.H. McColl
NMV 16869
SAM .T638
BM 1927, 1167
SAM T579
UM 3046
WAM G7566
WAM 12176
N. Rendall
NMV E336
SAM T91
WASM 10306
C. Collyer
N. Rendall
WAM 12167
SAM T92
F. Nicholls
WAM 12972
SAM T508
WASM 10545
WAM 12935
SAM T28
M. Alexander
NMV E1270
WAM ESS22
WAM 12145
Reference
Fenner, 1955
WHC
Baker, 1961c
J. Hall
"
D. H. McColl
II
A.W. Beasley
Fenner, 1955
J. Hall
Fenner, 1955
Baker, 1959a
Cleverly, 1974
it
WHC
A.W. Beasley
Fenner, 1955
W.H. Cleverly
D.H. McColl
WHC
D. Merrilees
Fenner, 1955
R.O. Chalmers
D. Merrilees
D.W.P. Corbett
WHC
D. Merilees
D.W.P. Corbett
WHC
A.W. Beasley
Cleverly, 1974
D. Merilees
30 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE EARTH SCIENCES
TABLE 6.?Continued
Locality
Wooganellup, W.A.
Nullarbor Plain ?
near Morgan, S.A.
Merino, Vic.
Kurnalpi, W.A.
Mount Barker, W.A.
Lake Yindarlgooda, W.A.
Nyabing, W.A.
Crown Point, N.T.
Gindalbie, W.A.
Coonana, W.A.
near Narembeen, W.A.
near Esperance, W.A.
near Lameroo, S.A.
near Yunta, S.A.
near Kalgoorlie, W.A.
Kalgoorlie, W.A.
near Maitland, S.A.
near Boorabbin, W.A.
near Florieton, S.A.
Lake Grace, W.A.
Balaklava, S.A.
near Agnew, W.A.
Charlotte Waters, N.T.
Balaklava, S.A.
Central Australia
Eucla, W.A.
Bullaring, W.A.
Babakin, W.A.
near Gnowangerup, W.A.
Coordinates
34?
-
33?50',
37?45',
30?32',
34?36\
30?38',
33?31\
25?40',
30?
31?
32?33',
33?
35?28',
32?21',
30?
30?49\
34?26',
31?
33?49',
33?06',
34?08',
28?00',
25?55',
34?08',
-
31?40',
32?30',
32?11',
33?52',
117?
-
139?50'
141?35'
122?14'
117?37f
121?57'
118?10'
134?40'
121?
123?
118?13'
121?
140?26'
139?20'
121?
121?29'
137?40'
120?
139?25'
118?23?
138?24'
121?10'
134?55'
138?24'
-
128?51
117?44'
117?58'
117?53'
Weight
(grams)
73.1
72.5
72.3
71.8
71.3
70.7
69.5
69.1
68.7
68.2
67.6
66.7
66.2
66.0
65.0
64.9
64.7
64.3
64.1
63.6
63.5
63.0
62.9
62.5
62.2
62.0
62.0
61.0
60.8
60.6
Core
shape
round
oval
oval
dumbbell
round
round
-
round
boat
-
-
dumbbell
-
oval
round
round
boat
dumbbell
-
oval
round
round
boat
oval
round (frag.)
round
boat
round
round
round
Where
preserved
WAM ESS 86
SAM T1O77
NMV E3965
NMV El236
WASM 2215
WAM 10643
CBC Jones
WAM 12885
SAM T129
R.L. Jones
CBC Jones
WAM 12321
WAM ESS 1
R.G. Kimber
UA 18361
(missing)
UA 18357
SAM T547
G. Young
WAM 12802
UA
WAM 10549
SAM T128
WAM 12110
SAM T232
SAM
SAM T1070
SAM T332
WAM 10671
WAM 12942
WAM 12163
Reference
WHC
D.W.P. Corbett
Baker, 1968b
A.W. Beasley
W.A. Cleverly
D. Merrilees
WHC
D. Merrilees
Fenner, 1955
WHC
WHC
D. Merrilees
WHC
D.H. McColl
D.W.P. Corbett
D.H. McColl
WHC
D.H. McColl
D. Merrilees
D.W.P. Corbett
D. Merrilees
D.W.P. Corbett
D.H. McColl
D.W.P. Corbett
?
D. Merrilees
??
ii
NUMBER 17 31
of Princetown on the south coast of Victoria. It is
an oval bowl and weighs 0.025 grams. Since these
forms are extremely fragile few survive lengthy
exposure to the elements, but we have collected
some in the Lake Torrens region at Mulgaria, Mt.
Victory Well, and Pine Dam. A few have been
found in the Lake Eyre region at Peachawarinna.
A particularly productive spot was a small area in
one of the claypans near Pine Dam. We were
somewhat puzzled by a remarkable concentration
of small australites and australite fragments over a
limited area near the middle of the pan. We noted
that this area was a few inches higher than the
surrounding pan floor, but the significance was not
realized until later, when during laboratory experi-
ments it was found that these thin fragile forms
actually float in water because of the surface ten-
sion. Occasional rains flooding the pans with a few
inches of water presumably concentrated these
fragile forms by floating them on to the dry areas
slightly higher than the rest of the pan floor. The
smallest was an oval bowl weighing 0.0408 grams
and the largest was a lens weighing 0.3265 grams.
In Table 4 the weights and dimensions of twenty
of these fragile forms from this area are listed, and
they are illustrated in Figure 11. In these fragile
forms the central core is always much reduced in
volume relative to the secondarily developed cir-
cumferential flange.
SPECIFIC GRAVITY
Summers (1913), on the basis of rather sparse
data, recognized a significant regional trend in the
specific gravities of australites. He wrote:
I have stated elsewhere that there seemed to be a somewhat
provincial distribution of the australites in respect to com-
position and specific gravity. As one would naturally expect,
the specific gravity of a specimen, except where modified by
the occurrence of occluded vesicles, gives a good indication
of the composition of the australite. My present impression
is that the less acid forms are concentrated along the borders
of the belt and that the acid ones are commoner along the
central line running from Melbourne towards the Lake Eyre
district.
This prescient suggestion apparently fell into
limbo. Some thirty years later, Baker and Forster
(1943) published an extensive study of the specific
gravities of 1,086 australites. From their results
they decided that the specific gravity values show
a definite gradient from east to west. They wrote:
"In graph 19, the silica percentage in australites is
seen to be highest in those forms with the lower
specific gravities. From this, and the specific gravity
values set out in Table 5, it is concluded that less
acid forms occurring in the western portions of
Australia give way to more acid varieties in the
eastern parts of the australite strewnfield." And
in a later section they used their data to deduce
the manner of formation of the strewnfield: "Since
the specific gravities of australites show a signifi-
cant decrease from north of west to south of east
across Australia, the extraterrestrial body from
which the australites were shed traversed the island
continent from north of west to south of east."
However, despite these categorical statements, it
now appears that Summers' suggestion of a central
low-density belt is more nearly correct, and this has
been confirmed by McColl and Williams (1970).
Figure 14 presents the specific gravity distribu-
tion recorded by Baker and Forster. They found
specific gravities varying from 2.30 to 2.50, with
most of the values (94.5%) occurring between 2.36
and 2.47. The values show a single sharp peak at
2.40. Later work has shown that these data present
a distorted picture of specific gravity distribution
over the whole strewnfield, since the great majority
of the specimens they measured came from the belt
of low specific gravity extending from western Vic-
toria through eastern South Australia to Lake Eyre
and beyond. Chapman et al. (1964) measured spe-
cific gravities of large numbers of specimens from
individual localities in Australia, and their results
are summarized in Table 7, along with data for
our collections, and those for some of the larger
localized collections measured by Baker, and Baker
and Forster. (For the latter the figure in the
"Peaks" column is the mean value because they
did not plot the individual data.)
The data in Table 7 show that the specific
gravity range at any one locality is not particularly
distinctive, but the specific gravity distribution, as
established by the peak or peaks, is. Three distinc-
tive geographical groupings appear (Figure 3):
1. A single peak at 2.45-2.47, which charac-
terizes all the Western Australian localities, plus
their extension on the Nullarbor Plain into South
Australia, and at Lake Wilson in the extreme
northwest of South Australia; this peak also char-
acterizes collections from northeast South Australia
32 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE EARTH SCIENCES
150-
140-
130
2-30
FIGURE 14.?Specific gravity distribution for 1086 australites
from different parts of Australia (Baker and Forster, 1943).
and adjoining localities in Queensland and New
South Wales.
2. A single peak at 2.40-2.42, characteristic of
Port Campbell and other localities in western Vic-
toria; similar populations are present in south-
eastern South Australia (e.g., Oakvale, Morgan,
Mannahill).
3. Two peaks, one at 2.40-2.41 and one at
2.45-2.46, characteristic of localities in the Lake
Torrens-Lake Eyre region. This region of two-
component populations does not seem to extend
north beyond Macumba to Charlotte Waters, nor
northeast beyond Cooper Creek to Mulka and
Mungeranie. The 2.40 peak is not present in the
Motpena collection, although this belongs geo-
graphically with the other localities in the Lake
Torrens area.
The simplest explanation of this geographical
distribution is clearly the early suggestion of Sum-
mers that a band of tektites of low specific gravity
extends from western Victoria to the Lake Eyre
district, this band being apparently superimposed
on a widely distributed population of significantly
higher specific gravity. The two-population nature
of the australites from the Lake Torrens-Lake
Eyre region is well shown in the specific gravity
distribution plot for 761 australites which we col-
lected in this region in 1964 (Figure 15). We are
indebted to Dr. Dean Chapman for the specific
gravity determinations incorporated in this plot.
It is difficult to obtain meaningful data for the
northeastern part of the strewnfield, comprising
localities in eastern New South Wales and south-
eastern Queensland. Our searches in these regions
have been unproductive, and specimens are rare in
collections. However, Chapman and Scheiber
(1969) analyzed two specimens from Liverpool and
Uralla, in eastern New South Wales; these have
high specific gravities (2.489, 2.482) and low SiO2
contents (66.9%, 68.1%).
REFRACTIVE INDEX
Numerous measurements of the refractive index
of australites have been reported in the literature,
and we have made several during the course of
this investigation. Within any australite some vari-
ability of refractive index is usually found; this
variability can readily be detected in thin sections
(Figure 16), which show complex flow patterns
marked by schlieren with slightly differing refrac-
tive indices. The variability within a single austra-
lite can be of the order of 0.003; however, in
making refractive index determinations by the im-
NUMBER 17
TABLE 7.?Specific gravities and peak(s) for localized collections of australites (* = mean value,
not peak)
Locality
Granite Peak
Earaheedy
Kalgoorlie area
Nullarbor Plain
Hughes
Ooldea
Wingellina
Lake Wilson
Charlotte Waters
Macumba
William Creek
Mulka
?
Mungeranie
Peachawarinna
Mulgaria
Pine Dam
Beltana
Motpena
Mannahill
Oakvale
Morgan
Port Campbell
Pindera
Durrie
Cuddapan
Number of
Specimens
46
85
420
634
240
56
135 ...
986
28
420
29 ...
19
96
259
275
99
38
45
87
75
67
123
97
31
148
78
555
155
99
82
Specific Gravity
Range
2.402-2.458
2.420-2.459
2.385-2.485
2.390-2.475
2.413-2.476
2.428-2.475
2.391-2.491
2.395-2.505
2.415-2.498
2.385-2.495
2.392-2.484
2.380-2.466
2.367-2.472
2.355-2.485
2.365-2.557
2.398-2.465
2.402-2.481
2.380-2.468
2.376-2.474
2.368-2.476
2.388-2.470
2,395-2.481
2.370-2.459
2.386-2.450
2.348-2.437
2.355-2.465
2.305-2.465
2.270-2.470
2.385-2.487
2.390-2.488
CSl
2
2
CSl
2
Peak(s)
2.452
2.453
2.455
2.445
2.459
2.457
2.470
2.465
2.475
2.445
2.439*
.395, 2.440
2.426*
2.435
2.440
2.440
2.445
.408, 2.453
.401, 2.458
.395, 2.462
405, 2.445
2.445
2.419
2.409
2.405*
2.405
2.397*
2.450
2.440
2.459
Reference
Mason, unpublished
?
Chapman et aL, 1964
??
Mason, unpublished
"
Baker, 1961a
Chapman et al., 1964
Mason, unpublished
Chapman et al., 1964
Baker and Forster, 1943
Mason, unpublished
Baker and Forster, 1943
Chapman et al., 1964
Baker, 1969b
Mason, unpublished
?
Baker, 1968b
Chapman et al., 1964
Baker and Forster, 1943
Chapman, unpublished
Mason, unpublished
??
34 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE EARTH SCIENCES
2.42 2.43 2.44
SPECIFIC GRAVITY
FIGURE i5.?Specific gravity distribution for 761 australites from the Lake Torrens-Lake Eyre
region; specific gravity determinations by Dr. Dean Chapman.
mersion method it is usually possible to arrive at
a reasonable mean value.
Extensive series of measurements of refractive
index and specific gravity on australites have been
reported by Baker (1959a), Chao (1963), and Chap-
man and Scheiber (1969). The data of Chapman
and Scheiber are plotted on Figure 17 along with
two determinations on specimens from our own
collections selected at the ends of our observed
specific gravity range. As has been noted by pre-
vious investigators, an essentially straight-line re-
lationship exists between refractive index and
specific gravity for the australites, and indeed for
all tektites (Barnes, 1940). In Figure 17a the line
plotted by Barnes on the basis of data for all
groups of tektites lies slightly above the line pro-
FIGURE 16.?Thin section of flanged australite button from Motpena, South Australia, showing
flow structure and schlieren of differing refractive index.
NUMBER 17
viding the most satisfactory fit with the australite
data, but the difference is small and statistically in-
significant.
The data in Figure 17a shows a range in specific
gravity for australites from 2.36 to 2.52, and of
refractive index from 1.493 to 1.529, except for the
aberrant HNa/K group described by Chapman
and Scheiber (1969), which will be discussed in the
next section. The specific gravity range is es-
sentially that indicated by the figures in Table 7,
although a few lower specific gravities have been
recorded from Port Campbell and Pindera. Lower
specific gravities may, of course, be due to bubbles
within the australite glass.
The plot of refractive index against SiO2 per-
centage (Figure 176) also shows a straight-line re-
Key to
A "
? --
m =
o =
? =
? =
Chemical Gro
Norma 1
HCa
Hug
HAI
HNa/K
Extreme vaI
study
jpings
es for
(Chapmar
austraI
and Scheiber, 1969):
ites in present
a
2.46 248
SPECIFIC GRAVITY
1.54
1.53
INDEX
ui l52
?>
iCTI'
E
lj 1.51
1.50
1.49
*
? b
\
o
?
o \ ?
\
A
\
A ^S.
A
\
A
68 70 72 74
SiO2, WEIGHT PERCENT
FIGURE 17.?Refractive index/specific gravity (a) and refractive index/SiO2 percentage (b) plots for
australites. The broken line in the refractive index-specific gravity plot is that determined by
Barnes (1940) as a mean for all tektites.
36 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE EARTH SCIENCES
lationship, although the scatter of individual points
is somewhat greater than for the refractive index-
specific gravity plot. This is presumably due largely
to the influence of varying amounts of other com-
ponents besides SiO2 on the refractive index.
Nevertheless, a measurement of refractive index
(or specific gravity) provides a useful approxima-
tion (within about ?1%) of the silica content of
an australite.
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
A large amount of data on the chemical compo-
sition of australites has been published in recent
years, mainly by Taylor (1962), Taylor and Sachs
(1964), and Chapman and Scheiber (1969). On this
account we have limited our analyses to two speci-
mens selected from the extreme values of specific
gravity found in our total collections. These analy-
ses are given in Table 8.
Taylor and Sachs (1964) noted that the percent-
ages of all the major elements except calcium
diminshed as SiO2 percentage increased. Calcium
showed some degree of negative correlation when
graphed, but this was not statistically significant.
Significant negative correlation with SiO2 was also
established for the minor and trace elements Cr,
Li, Ti, Ni, V, Sc, Ba, Rb, and Cs.
One of the aims of this extensive study of aus-
tralite composition was to establish whether re-
gional differences in composition existed. Earlier
results (Taylor, 1960; Taylor and Sachs, 1961) for
the alkali elements suggested a regional variation
in composition from east to west across Australia.
However, the much larger amount of data as-
sembled by Taylor and Sachs (1964) showed that
autralites of widely different composition exist at
any one locality, as is also apparent from the spe-
cific gravity data (Table 7). The specimens ana-
lyzed by Taylor and his co-workers were evidently
selected to cover as wide a range of composition
as possible, and this procedure did not take into
account the marked quantization of composition
indicated by the specific gravity data (the signifi-
cance of which was not apparent when they made
their investigations). The only marked regional
feature of their analyses is the large number of
specimens from Western Australia in the 70%-
72% SiO2 range. Correlating their analytical data
with the specific gravity data, however, one can
TABLE 8.?Chemical analyses of two australites. E. Jarose-
wich, analyst (C-8 = Pine Dam Area, Lake Torrens; 43-3 =
Lake Eyre South)
Oxide
SiO2
TiO2
M2?3
Fe2?3
FeO
MnO
MgO
CaO
Na2O
K20
Total Fe as FeO
s.g
n
C-8 43-3
77.23
0.61
10.73
0.57
3.68
0.08
1.46
1.61
1.23
2.56
99.76
4.19
2.368
1.495
68.35
0.77
14.19
0.95
4.37
0.09
2.41
4.98
1.46
2.71
100.28
5.23
2.489
1.522
establish two distinct regional populations: (1)
that of Western Australia and the Nullarbor Plain,
with a density peak of 2.45 corresponding to an
SiO2 content of about 71%, and (2) that of Victoria
with a density peak of 2.40 corresponding to an
SiO2 content of about 76%. The Lake Torrens-
Lake Eyre region between Beltana and Cooper
Creek carries a mixture of these two populations.
The specific gravity data for Lake Wilson and
Wingellina specimens, and the single analysis of
a Lake Wilson specimen (Taylor and Sachs, 1964)
suggest that australites from this region, centered
on the South Australia-Western Australia-
Northern Territory corner, may have a distinctive
composition. Their peak specific gravity is signifi-
cantly higher than that for any other area, and
Taylor and Sachs commented on the analytical
data for the Lake Wilson specimen as follows:
"[This specimen] is unusual in possessing, in addi-
tion to the high value for nickel, the highest
NUMBER 17 37
amounts of Mg, Fe, Co, and Cr. The concentra-
tions of the other elements are normal for the silica
content (69.8 per cent) (1960:250).
Chapman and Scheiber (1969) studied the com-
positional variations in tektites from the whole
Australasian (Southeast Asia and Australia) strewn-
field. They comment: "These data are collected
herein with little attention to geographic distribu-
tion pattern but with emphasis on the information
provided as to the chemical nature of the parent
rock from which the tektites derived." With this
in view they selected 530 specimens for chemical
analysis from approximately 47,000 whose specific
gravity they had measured. In their 1969 paper
they report 60 analyses, of which 22 are Australian
specimens. The analyses were classified into a num-
ber of chemical groups, and in a later paper
Chapman (1971) provided a map showing the geo-
graphical distribution of these chemical groups.
Australite analyses were assigned to the follow-
ing chemical groups:
Normal: The term "normal" is evidently used in the sense
"very common." The only chemical criteria listed are
CaO>MgO, Na2O>1.25%, and Ni<41 ppm. Practically
all the analysed australites from Western Australia and
the extension of the Nullarbor Plain into South Australia
are in this group, and specimens are also present in collec-
tions from eastern South Australia and the adjacent area
of New South Wales.
HCa: H denotes "high"; for the HCa australites CaO
ranges from 1.83% to 5.62%, FeO 3.57%-4.75%, Ni 17
ppm-26 ppm, and Cr 57 ppm-98 ppm. The HCa aus-
tralites occur only within the low specific gravity "streak"
from Victoria through the Lake Torrens-Lake Eyre region,
but not all HCa australites have low specific gravity;
analysed specimens have specific gravities ranging from
2.361 to 2.501. "HCa" may be something of a misnomer
for this group, since some specimens have lower Ca than
specimens in other group.
HMg: The chemical criteria are MgO>3.4%, Ni>210 ppm,
and Cr>210 ppm. This is a relatively rare type among
australites, only six analyses being recorded. These aus-
tralites were collected in central Western Australia and
adjacent areas in South Australia and Northern Territory
(Lake Margareta, Serpentine Lakes, Lake Wilson).
HA1: A12O3>14.9%,; found only in N.S.W. (Pindera, Liver-
pool, and Uralla), except for one specimen in Tasmania.
HNa/K: Nine specimens, all from northwest South Aus-
tralia, comprise this group; they are characterized by an
exceptionally high Na/K ratio. Na2O/K2O ranges from 2.7
to 3.6, whereas in all other australites and most other
tektites this ratio is always less than unity.
The only chemical group that can be readily
distinguished on the basis of physical properties
(refractive index and specific gravity) is the
HNa/K, and as will be seen from subsequent dis-
cussion, the identification of this group as tektites
is questionable. The HCa group shows practically
the full range of refractive index and specific
gravity (Figure 17a), whereas the remaining groups
show a narrower range; however, this restriction
in range may simply reflect the limited compo-
sition range of the specimens selected for analysis.
The specific gravity range for the Kalgoorlie-
Nullarbor Plain region (where all specimens are
apparently "normal" australites) is 2.385-2.485,
practically the complete range for australites. The
separate character of the HA1 group can be ques-
tioned; the three analysed specimens all have low
SiO2 (66.9%-68.5%) and the high A12O3 may simply
reflect the low SiO2, since Taylor and Sachs (1964)
have demonstrated the highly significant negative
correlation of A12O3 with SiO2 for all australite
analyses.
The HNa/K specimens present a perplexing
problem. Chapman and Scheiber found nine
through the specific gravity screening of approxi-
mately 47,000 specimens of australites and South-
east Asian tektites; we have found none in a similar
screening of over 1300 australites. Their composi-
tion is distinctly different from all other tektites;
Chapman and Scheiber consider them related to
the Ivory Coast tektites, but a glance at their
CaO/MgO plot (Chapman and Scheiber, 1969,
fig. 2) shows that this is hardly tenable, because
Ivory Coast tektites cluster at 1% CaO, 3% MgO,
whereas the HNa/K specimens cluster at 5% CaO,
4% MgO. The 87Sr/86Sr ratio for the HNa/K
specimens is 0.704 (Compston and Chapman, 1969),
quite different from other australites (0.713-0.718)
and Ivory Coast tektites (0.724). In addition, they
give a fission-track age of approximately 4 million
years (Fleischer et al. 1969). Fleischer et al. conclude
that HNa/K specimens represent a unique tek-
tite fall, preceding that of the Australasian strewn-
field, which they place at 0.7 million years ago.
They comment: "To many observers it may seem
odd that a newly identified fall should exist in
the very region where a previously known fall had
occurred."
In view of the remarkable differences between
the HNa/K australites from all other tektites (in-
cluding the Ivory Coast tektites), the evidence for
their identity as tektites requires careful scrutiny.
38 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE EARTH SCIENCES
This evidence is somewhat tenuous, resting as it
does on the following statement (Chapman and
Scheiber, 1969:6756-6757):
It might be questioned whether the HNa/K specimens
are really tektites. They were found by three different col-
lectors at four different localities in Australia and were
intermingled in all cases with numerous australites of
ordinary composition. Their shapes include elongates, cores,
and fragments not visually distinguishable from the shapes
of normal tektites with which they were found. Specific
gravity measurements served to cull them from the majority.
A meridianal section from AN245, a typical aerodynamic
core shape (Figure 14a) revealed the same quantitative
distribution of residual tensile and compressive stress as in
normal australite cores. This attests to rapid cooling. Wafers
cut from all but two (AN245 and AN87) of nine analyzed
HNa/K australites exhibit glassy inclusions, both bubbly
and compact, that are indistinguishable from the lechatelier-
ite of normal tektites. All nine show flow structure. Pieces
from three (AN87, AN245, and AN325) were subjected to
our standard test of heating to about 175O?C at low pressure
(?0.1 atm); each melted without frothing or noticeable
vesiculation. They are true tektites.
The illustration (fig. 14a), described as "a typi-
cal aerodynamic core shape," could equally well be
described as a rounded pebble; the material ap-
pears to be a homogeneous glass, completely
lacking the schlieren so prominent in the accom-
panying photograph of an australite section. No
mention is made of flange remnants on any of the
specimens, which would clearly identify them as
australites. The chemical composition, as Chapman
and Scheiber point out, is closely similar to that
of a terrestrial andesite, although their Cr and Ni
contents are anomalously high.
So the question arises, if these are not tektites,
what are they? They were all found in northwest-
ern South Australia, six of them from a location
"south of Lake Wilson, 26?20/S, 129?20'E." To our
knowledge no volcanic rocks that might contain
obsidian of the composition of the HNa/K speci-
mens are known in that region. However, the
mountains to the north, the Mann Range, are
high-grade metamorphic rocks of granitic to more
basic compositions, and are extensively veined by
pseudotachylite, evidently formed along zones of
intense shearing. These pseudotachylites are black
and glassy, and pebbles resemble eroded australites.
Chapman and Scheiber comment that the Rb-Sr
data for the HNa/K specimens can be interpreted
as indicating parent material representing very
ancient times of crystallization, of the order of
2500 million years ago, an age consistent with the
Mann Range rocks.
Chemical Composition and the Origin of Tektites
It is ironic that the two scientists who have con-
tributed most to our knowledge of the chemical
composition of australites arrived at diametrically
opposed opinions as to their origin, Taylor ascrib-
ing a terrestrial source and Chapman a lunar one.
At the Third International Tektite Symposium
held in Corning, New York, in April 1969, where
much of this chemical evidence was presented, an
informal vote of the conferees revealed an essen-
tially even split between adherents of the lunar and
of the terrestrial origin. The issue was soon to be
decisively resolved. The Apollo 11 moon landing
on 20 July 1969 and subsequent missions brought
back material whose geochemistry almost certainly
negates the possibility of a lunar origin for the
tektites. The evidence has been summarized by
Taylor (1973), as follows:
The Apollo lunar missions provide critical evidence which
refutes the hypothesis of lunar origin of tektites. Tektite
chemistry is totally distinct from that observed in lunar
maria basalts. These possess Cr contents which are two
orders of magnitude higher than tektites, distinctive REE
patterns with large Eu depletions, high Fe and low SiO2
contents, low K/U ratios and many other diagnostic features,
none of which are observed in the chemistry of tektites.
The lunar uplands compositions, as shown by Apollo 14, 15
and 16 samples and the y-ray and XRF orbiter data, are
high-Al, low-SiO2 compositions totally dissimilar to those
of tektites. The composition of lunar rock 12013 shows
typical lunar features and is distinct from that of tektites.
The small amounts of lunar K-rich granitic material found
in the soils have K/Mg and K/Na ratios 10-50 times those
of tektites. The ages of the lunar maria (3.2-3.8 aeons) and
uplands (>4.0 aeons) are an order of magnitude older than
the parent material of the Southeast Asian and Australian
tektites, which yield Rb-Sr isochrons indicating ages on the
order of 100-300 m.y. The lunar lead isotopic compositions
are highly radiogenic whereas tektites have terrestrial Pb
isotopic rations. Lunar ?18O values are low (<^7 per mil)
compared with values of +9J6 to +11.5 per mil for tektites.
In summary, a lunar impact origin for tektites is not com-
patible with the chemistry, age, or isotopic composition of
the lunar samples. A lunar volcanic origin, recently revived
by O'Keefe (1970) encounters most of the same problems.
Recent lunar volcanism (<50 m.y.), if the source of tektites,
should contribute tektite glass to the upper layers of the
regolith. None has been found.
The disproof of a lunar origin for australites re-
inforces the quest for a terrestrial source of the
NUMBER 17 39
parent material. Taylor and Kaye (1969) demon-
strated the close match between the average com-
position of australites, for both major and trace
elements, and that of greywacke. They therefore
suggested an origin by cometary impact on terres-
trial rocks of appropriate composition without
specifying potential source locations. Schmidt
(1962) postulated a meteorite crater in the Wilkes
Land region of Antarctica (approximately 71?S,
140?E) on the basis of striking gravity minima
similar to those observed for Canadian meteorite
craters, and suggested this would be an appropriate
source for the australites. On the other hand Lieske
and Shirer (1964), using a digital computer, calcu-
lated the trajectories of tektite-like bodies with
high initial velocities, with a view to determining
whether the debris from an explosive meteorite im-
pact could have attained intercontinental ranges.
They regard it as improbable that the small tek-
tites forming the australite strewnfield could have
been distributed in their present form by a meteor-
ite impact in Antarctica. Taylor (1969) pointed
out that both number and mass of tektites increase
towards the northwest corner of the entire Indo-
australian strewnfield, the largest recorded speci-
mens being of the Muong-Nong type from Laos,
Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand; this would
suggest a primary source in the region. Kaysing
(1970) extrapolated from the data of McColl and
Williams (1970) to suggest that Lake Toba in
Sumatra was a possible source area for the Austra-
lian group of tektites. Taylor (1970) pointed out
the consensus of opinion that Lake Toba was a
volcano-tectonic depression surrounded by vast
quantities of ignimbrite. Analyses of australites are
dissimilar to Lake Toba ignimbrite, particularly
for the critical elements magnesium, sodium, and
potassium, and also for silica. Taylor considers that
on these grounds there is no a priori case for con-
sidering Lake Toba as a potential source area. It
is puzzling that a catastrophic event that sprayed
glass over the southern half of Australia and by
extension to the Philippines and southern China
left no other geological evidences?especially if it
occurred as recently as the stratigraphic age of the
australites (7000-20,000 years BP) would indicate.
Age and Stratigraphical Relationships
It is perhaps misleading to talk about the age
of australites in any general sense. Different pro-
cedures devised to "date" australites may in fact
be determining the time of a specific event in a
lengthy history. Some possible events that may be
dated in this context are:
1. The formation of the glass and its cooling
to the argon retention temperature, thereby en-
abling the determination of a potassium-argon age.
This assumes no subsequent reheating of sufficient
intensity to "reset" the potassium-argon "clock."
Fission-track dating is analogous, in that fission
tracks accumulate in the glass after solidification
and cooling, but may be erased by subsequent re-
heating.
2. The passage of the australite through the
Earth's atmosphere, presumably dated by age de-
terminations on flange material.
3. The time of incorporation in the geological
formation where the australite is found, dated by
stratigraphy or by radiochemical determinations on
associated material. If the australite is found where
it fell, the age of the enclosing formation presuma-
bly gives the time of fall, which should be identi-
cal with event 2; transportation may result in the
australite being incorporated in a younger forma-
tion, or even apparently in an older formation
(e.g., if washed into a cleft in older rocks).
Potassium-argon dating has been applied to aus-
tralites by a number of researchers. The most com-
prehensive data are those of McDougall and
Lovering (1969), which are reproduced in Table 9:
they confirm and extend the earlier work of Reyn-
olds (1960) and Zahringer (1963). McDougall and
Lovering comment:
The apparent K-Ar dates average 0.86 ? 0.06 m.y. (standard
deviation), approximately 0.15 m.y. older than found by
previous workers. The internal consistency of the K-Ar
dates on the australite cores, which have potassium contents
ranging from 1.61 to 2.18 per cent suggests that the dates
are geologically meaningful, and probably record the time
of primary melting. Studies of flanged australites confirm
that potassium is depleted in the flanges relative to the
associated cores, and show that the flanges have considerably
older apparent K-Ar dates than the cores. Because it is
agreed that the flanges were formed by subsequent ablation
of the primary australite cores, it must be concluded that
the flanges contain excess radiogenic argon.
McDougall and Lovering also measured the
K-Ar age of a philippinite and found 0.78 ? 0.05
m.y., slightly higher than the ages of 0.68 to 0.73
m.y. given by Zahringer (1963) for five philippin-
ites. Zahringer found that all the tektites he ana-
40 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE EARTH SCIENCES
TABLE 9.?Potassium-argon ages of australites (McDougall
and Lovering, 1969)
Locality
Kalgoorlie, WA
Leonora, WA
Musgrave Ranges, SA
Florieton, SA
Charlotte Waters, NT
Myrtle Springs, SA
" composite
Port Campbell, Vic.
Stanhope Bay, Vic.
core
core
core
core
flange
core
flange
core
core
flange
core
flange
flange
core
flange
core
flange
% K
2.05
2.19
1.61
1.79
1.71
1.64
1.71
1.66
1.99
1.92
1.97
1.83
1.90
1.85
1.89
1.81
1.66
1.83
1.82
1.72
Age
0.88
0.79
0.86
0.92
0.87
0.94
0.75
1.05
0.81
0.79
0.91
1.16
0.94
1.79
1.11
0.86
1.12
0.95
0.85
1.09
, m.y.
? 0.03
+ 0.09
? 0.07
? 0.18
? 0.09
+ 0.12
? 0.07
? 0.08
? 0.04
? 0.03
+ 0.09
? 0.04
? 0.21
+ 0.04
? 0.03
? 0.02
? 0.03
? 0.05
? 0.11
+ 0.03
lyzed from different localities in the Indoaustralian
region (Indochina, Thailand, Philippines, Billiton,
Java, Borneo, and Australia gave the same K-Ar
ratio (within experimental uncertainty) and hence
showed the same age.
This apparent consistency in age for tektites
throughout the vast Indoaustralian region has
been cited as important evidence for a common
and contemporaneous origin. Nevertheless, nagging
uncertainties in the interpretation of the K-Ar
ages remain, especially in view of the apparent
older ages for flanges. In this connection, the work
of Clarke et al. (1966) is significant. They point out
that the calculation of the K-Ar ages of tektites
rests on the assumption that all 40Ar is expelled
from the melt at the time of formation, so that
the measured 40Ar is entirely the product of the
decay of 40K since the melting event. To test this
assumption they made glasses of tektite composi-
tion from geologically old materials under care-
fully controlled conditions to promote complete
outgassing. The apparent K-Ar ages of these glasses
were measured, and ranged from zero to over 1 m.y.
They concluded: "The data indicates that the as-
sumption of complete loss of 40Ar may not be
completely valid, and the interpretation of K-Ar
dating as applied to tektites may need reevalua-
tion."
The results suggest an alternative explanation
of the consistent K-Ar ages of tektites throughout
the Indoaustralian region?that they may not be
true ages, but represent a limit to the outgassing
of preexisting 40Ar in the source materials. If tek-
tites were formed in a catastrophic impact, as
envisaged by most researchers, then insufficient
time for complete degassing of radiogenic Ar from
the source materials is a distinct possibility. How-
ever, this interpretation appears to be negated by
the fission-track ages (Table 10) of Fleischer and
Price (1964), which support the K-Ar ages, al-
though they show a considerable spread. Later
work by Gentner et al. (1969) gives fission-track
ages for australites of 0.11-0.71 m.y., in agreement
with the data of Fleischer and Price.
Fleischer and Price comment as follows:
The nine australites have four distinct and separate
fission track ages which lead to two alternative conclusions
as to the true solidification ages: (1) There were at least four
different solidification events, or (2) track numbers have
been altered over time in such a way as to change at least
three ages from their true values. Although we cannot rigor-
ously decide between these two possibilities, we conclude
that the second alternative is the more reasonable one, the
true age then being 0.70 (?0.04) m.y. There are three reasons
for believing this. First is the very good agreement between
this value and the ages found for australites by Zahringer
(1963) using K-Ar dating. Secondly, we know that simple
thermal conditions can give rise to fading (and hence too
young ages), while conditions for arriving at too large an age
are rare. For samples with as high a uranium content as
tektites the only possibility we know of would be the close
proximity of a deposit of uranium, which would be a neu-
tron source and hence induce fission. Thirdly, in the 0.13
m.y. old Port Campbell australite there were tracks which
showed effects of exposure to elevated temperature. Such
tracks have a somewhat blurry and less crisp appearance
than do unheated tracks, and are easily distinguished from
them. We conclude that the solidification age is 0.70 ? 0.04
m.y., and the other samples were probably heated sufficiently
to produce track fading (one sample recently, two about
0.12 m.y. ago and one about 0.34 m.y. ago).
As noted in Table 10, Fleischer and Price ex-
amined some flanged australites from Port Camp-
bell, and found that fission-track densities were
NUMBER 17 41
TABLE 10.?Fission track ages of australites (Fleischer and
Price, 1964) arranged by age (* = flanged specimens; flange
and core gave the same age)
Locality
Kalgoorlie, WA
Port Campbell, Vic
*Port Campbell, Vic
Kalgoorlie, WA
Kalgoorlie, WA
Charlotte Waters, NT
*Port Campbell, Vic
*Port Campbell, Vic
*Port Campbell, Vic
Age, m.y.
<0.03
0.11 ? 0.04
0.13 + 0.02
0.34 + 0.01
0.66 ? 0.01
0.64 + 0.16
0.69 + 0.05
0.69 ? 0.07
0.8 + 0.2
essentially identical in flange and core. They com-
ment:
The track density in the flange, which results from abla-
tion by the atmosphere, should measure the time of entry
into the Earth's atmosphere; the track density in the core
should measure the time of formation of the original tektite,
which reached the Earth's atmosphere as a rigid, cold sphere
(Chapman and Larson, 1963). The total densities found (303
? 22/cm2 for the core and 292 ? 25/cm2 for the flange) in
the three oldest samples are statistically indistinguishable.
Therefore the descent onto Earth must have occurred 0.70
m.y. ago, i.e. much longer ago than the 0.005 m.y. deduced
from geological evidence (Baker, 1960).
These results imply that the formation of the
glass and its passage through the atmosphere were
not separated by a detectable time interval. This
is consistent with evidence of a rapid flight time.
Australites (and other tektites) appear not to have
been exposed to appreciable cosmic-ray irradiation.
Reynolds (1960) has shown that australites do not
contain detectable 21Ne. From the measured neon
diffusion rate, the measured cross-section for pro-
duction of neon from other elements, and from
the limit of detectability of 21Ne Reynolds con-
cluded that the australite he measured had a maxi-
mum flight time of 28,000 years. Anders (1960)
did not find any 26A1 in an australite. The sensi-
tivity of the measurement of 26A1 (Viste and An-
ders, 1962) does not, however, preclude a 90,000-
year flight time.
The geological data, however, are completely in-
compatible with the australites having fallen ap-
proximately 700,000 years ago. Experienced field
investigators agree that australites are found in
late Pleistocene or post-Pleistocene formations and
not in older deposits. Fenner (1935), on the basis
of the extensive evidence collected by him, con-
cluded that they fell in early post-Pleistocene times.
Baker (1962), who carefully investigated the austra-
lite occurrences near Port Campbell for over thirty
years, and who was also familiar with other local-
ities, wrote as follows: "The evidence from the geo-
logical occurrence of australites, supported by
ethnological and pedological evidence, leads to the
conclusion that the age-on-earth of the tektite fall
in Australia is about 5,000 years. It is probably not
under 3,000 years, nor over 6,000 years." Johnson
(1965), discussing specifically the australite occur-
rence at Lake Wilson, but also drawing on many
years of field experience, wrote: "It appears that
the australites fell soon after the end of the Pleisto-
cene."
Our own observations are in agreement with
these statements. Over most of the vast area we
have prospected, australites are associated with a
readily recognizable geological formation, a well-
consolidated red sand, which is undoubtedly an
aeolian deposit. It contains layers of calcareous
nodules, some of which are moulds of former tree
roots; those layers may represent the B horizons
of ancient soils. This geological formation is gen-
erally overlain by unconsolidated red sand, usually
in the form of seif dunes, the sand derived from
the deflation of the underlying formation. Where
stream channels exist, they may have cut down
into this formation some tens of feet, as on Mul-
garia Station. The geological evidence suggests that
the red sand formation with which the australites
are associated was deposited under semi-arid con-
ditions?arid enough for extensive wind transpor-
tation of the constituent sand, but also humid
enough for the growth of sand-fixing vegetation
and the development of soil horizons. Increasing
aridity apparently brought this depositional period
to a close, and it was succeeded by an extremely
arid period with strong deflation and the develop-
ment of extensive series of seif dunes. In more re-
cent time the aridity has evidently diminished,
42 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE EARTH SCIENCES
since the seif dunes are now essentially fixed by
vegetation. The australites are always near the top
of the consolidated red sand formation, indicating
that they fell shortly before a change to extremely
arid conditions. In South Australia this red sand
formation containing the australite horizon has
been named the Lake Torrens Formation (Wil-
liams and Polach, 1971), and its date of deposit
set at about 16,000-20,000 years BP. Lovering et
al. (1972), therefore, concluded that the australite
fall occurred within this time period, although
it may have occurred during the development of
the Motpena paleosol (12,000-16,000 years BP).
During all our field work we have searched for
wood or charcoal associated with australite occur-
rences, in the expectation of thereby obtaining
carbon-14 dating of the australite fall. This search
has been unsuccessful. For obvious reasons, wood,
even if originally present, is unlikely to survive
in an arid or semi-arid environment. That woody
shrubs were probably present is indicated by the
calcareous moulds of tree roots found in the
australite-bearing formation. Better success has
been obtained in the Port Campbell area as re-
ported by Gill (1965, 1970). A carefully selected
site was excavated using archeological methods, in
which the sandy soil was removed inch by inch.
Fourteen australite specimens were discovered in
situ, at depths of 11 to 14 inches, along with ma-
terials for radiocarbon dating. All the australites
were found on or up to three inches above a hard-
pan layer. Seven radiocarbon datings were made of
fossil hardpan material, of charcoal at various
levels above the hardpan, and of grass tree resin
in situ above the hardpan. The oldest date was
7,300 years for carbonized wood fragments in the
hardpan. Gill concludes that australites fell prior
to the comparatively arid postglacial thermal maxi-
mum, which began about 6500 years ago; this is
consistent with our deductions from the strati-
graphic relations at interior sites.
We are thus faced with what seem to be irrecon-
cilable "facts" regarding the time of fall of aus-
tralites. Geological evidence shows the fall of
australites took place some time during the period
7000-20,000 years BP, whereas K-Ar and fission-
track figures show the age of formation to be ap-
proximately 700,000-860,000 years BP. There seem
to be three possibilities: (1) the figures are wrong,
(2) the geology is wrong, or (3) something else is
wrong.
It is probably presumptuous to suggest that the
700,000-860,000-year figure is "wrong." It is the
result obtained by several independent and ex-
perienced investigators, and its significance is ap-
parently strengthened by the fact that tektites
throughout the Indoaustralian region, from the
Philippines through Indochina, Thailand, and
Indonesia to Australia all give this same potassium-
argon age. However, it may be permissible to sug-
gest that the interpretation of this figure may be
wrong, i.e., that it does not measure the time of
solidification of the glass. We do not know what
material was melted to form the tektite glass, but
it is conceivable that this material contained argon
which was not completely expelled during the melt-
ing process. Inherited argon would thereby give
a spurious and too great age for the time of forma-
tion of the glass. On this interpretation the uni-
formity of tektite age throughout the Indoaustralian
region?the youngest age measured for any tektites
?may not strengthen the argument of consan-
guinity, but may instead reflect the limit for argon
degassing under conditions of formation of tektite
glass. The fact that K-Ar dating for the flange and
core of australites has given a greater age for the
flange than the core adds to the uncertainty of
the K-Ar dating of these objects.
However, this interpretation of the potassium-
argon age appears to be vitiated by the fission-track
investigation, which supports the 700,000 year age,
and, in addition, shows that flange and core have
identical fission-track density. This would seem
to demonstrate that the australite glass was formed
about 700,000 years ago, and that the australites
descended through the Earth's atmosphere shortly
thereafter.
On the basis of these arguments, therefore, it
has been suggested that the geology is wrong. As
Schaeffer (1966) states the case: "The geological age
does not measure the arrival of these tektites on the
Earth as the tektites are detrital to the deposits and
were originally deposited in other older forma-
tions." While this is certainly true for many, if
not most, of the tektite occurrences in other parts
of the world, a large number of australite occur-
rences are certainly not of detrital origin. No one
who has seen the Port Campbell localities and ex-
amined the many perfectly preserved australites
therefrom is likely to argue that these specimens
NUMBER 17 43
are not being found essentially where they fell.
The complete lack of solution etching, even on
thin plates weighing as little as 0.03 gram, is a
powerful argument against the australites having
been subjected to terrestrial weathering, even in
situ, for more than a few thousand years. Our own
experience in the arid interior indicates that at
many locations we were collecting australites es-
sentially where they fell. Delicate surface markings
and flanges, which would certainly have been de-
stroyed in a few years exposure to present surface
conditions, let alone transportation, are still pres-
ent on many of the specimens. Their distribution
is completely unrelated to stream channels; they
are often found on higher ground which is being
actively deflated; no detrital material in the same
size range, such as stream pebbles, is present. As
Lovering et al. (1972) commented, if the australites
fell 700,000 years ago they would not be found in
the Lake Torrens region, since this area has been
aggrading throughout the Pleistocene, and a
700,000-year horizon would be deeply buried.
Having reached an apparently irreconcilable
impasse between the physical dating and the geo-
graphical dating of the australite fall, one can
only turn to the third proposition?something else
is wrong. Perhaps this can better be stated as
something?some unsuspected factor?has been
overlooked. We have no plausible suggestions for
this unsuspected factor or factors. It may not be
inappropriate, however, to recall other conflicts
of this kind, such as that between Lord Kelvin and
many geologists as to the age of the Earth, before
the discovery of radioactivity completely altered
the situation.
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