Rocks and people in the story of geology in Tasmania

Tasmania has a remarkable geological history, beginning with a connection to North America on NUNA supercontinent when our oldest rocks were formed 1.4 billion years ago. A long period as part of Gondwana saw most of our old Palaeozoic rocks formed, after which we were dragged away attached to the underbelly of Australia as Gondwana was slowly pulled apart 40-100 million years ago. We have been moving slowly northwards at about 7 cm per year since then. My book, 'Child of Gondwana', tells this story. Charles Darwin visited Hobart on his Beagle voyage in 1836, and made some useful observations on the geology. Knowledge and understanding have grown steadily since then, with Professor Sam Carey one of the leading lights. Tasmania, with its great variety of rocks and ages, is an ideal place for field geology studies.

Dr Keith Corbett was born and raised on a NW Coast farm, gained a science degree and PhD from the University of Tasmania, and has been a field geologist for some 60 years. He is an expert on Western Tasmania, and particularly the mineral-rich Mt Read Volcanics. He is the author of 'Child of Gondwana', a popular book on Tasmania's geology.