Book Reviews
Geology of the
Tallarook Plateau
by Neil Phillips FAusIMM(CP) and John Clemens
REVIEWED BY PROFESSOR IAN WILLIAMS, ANU COLLEGE OF PHYSICAL AND
MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES, THE AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY
M
any geological field guides are either
hastily assembled extracts from published
journal articles or densely written
volumes for geologists with a very specific
professional expertise. The guide recently
produced for the Granites2017@Benalla Symposium,
published by Outdoor Recreation in Australia, Geology of
the Tallarook Plateau by Neil Phillips and John Clemens – is a
refreshing exception.
Printed on high quality paper in a clear sans serif font,
beautifully formatted and illustrated by numerous colour
photographs and uncluttered maps and diagrams, this
conveniently-sized (A5) 58-page booklet is an excellent
introduction to Tallarook Plateau geology for geologists and
non-geologists alike.
The volume opens with a short introduction to the
location and geography of the plateau, followed by a
paragraph on, and illustration of, each of the major rock
types to be found in the region. Next comes a geological
history of the Devonian (~366 Ma) Tallarook Granite, the
major geological feature of the plateau, and a discussion
of the mineralogy of the granite, culminating in a section
on the mineral that makes the granite special – cordierite.
These sections of the guide are carefully structured, and
the language and terminology employed are consciously
designed in a way that will not exclude those who do not
have geological training.
On the other hand, the authors in no way talk down to their
readers, and there will be many a geologist, and particularly
geology student, who finds themselves learning new things,
particularly about cordierite, its occurrence, petrogenesis and
significance. For some, the most useful practical items will be
the descriptions of the various ways that cordierite appears
in granite and the field photo of cordierite in situ. For the
geochemists, there is a table of the major and trace
element compositions of the three main granite types,
76 AusIMM Bulletin February 2018
along with their O, Sr and Nd isotopic compositions.
The main part of the guide is a series of 15 stops designed
to introduce the field-tripper to the principal features of the
local geology that are accessible by a 2WD vehicle, in most
cases followed by a short walk. All stops are marked on a
clear, centre-fold road map in which roads and tracks are
classified according to their accessibility. The documentation
of each stop opens with a single sentence explaining the
feature(s) to be seen, followed by a paragraph on access
(including parking and any issues about private property)
and with the decimal latitudes and longitudes. Thereafter
the features at the stop are described in detail, in most
cases accompanied by a photograph. Of particular value to
those organising excursions for groups is a summary table
at the end which lists the vehicle access (small or large bus,
4WD), parking, walking distance and permissions required
for each stop.
The first eight stops are on the plateau, the remainder
are close nearby. Stop 14 is a geological traverse along the
Tallarook-Yea highway, with over 25 features of interest
identified and odometer readings from Tallarook provided.
Detailed highway guides, with features of interest and
odometer readings, are also provided for those travelling to
Tallarook from Melbourne or Benalla via the Hume Freeway.
The booklet ends with a short section on the sport of
rogaining, which was ‘born’ in the forests of the Tallarook
Plateau. An additional section deals briefly with the
vegetation on the plateau. For those wishing to bring
themselves up to speed on the basics of igneous petrology
the booklet ends with a nicely illustrated essay entitled
‘Geology 101’. Unusually for a field guide, there is also a
short but very useful index.
Geology of the Tallarook Plateau is a must-have for anyone
with even a remote interest in the beautiful Tallarook area
and/or cordierite granites and their occurrence in one of
Australia’s classic geological terranes.