1. New South Wales and Victorian Politics

Ernie Chaples and Helen Nelson (eds), Case Studies in New South Wales Electoral Politics, Sydney, Department of Government and Public Administration, University of Sydney, 1985, pp. 109. $8.50 ($9.50 posted) (paper)

Ernie Chaples, Helen Nelson and Ken Turner (eds), The Wran Model: Electoral Politics in New South Wales 1981 and 1984, Melbourne, Oxford University Press, 1985, pp.289. $14.99 (paper)

Brian J. Costar and Colin A. Hughes (eds), Labor to Office: The Victorian State Election 1982, Melbourne, Drummond, 1983, pp.293. $17.95 (paper)

P.R. Hay, J. Halligan, J. Warhurst and B. Costar (eds), Essays on Victorian Politics, War‐mambool, Warrnambool Institute Press, 1985, pp.210. $9.00 (paper)     

Webbygnathus,a new Late Ordovician conodont genus from New South Wales

The new conodont Webbygnathus munusculum gen. et sp. nov. is described from Eastonian (early Late Ordovician) strata from the central part of the Parkes Zone of the Lachlan Fold Belt and the New England Fold Belt in New South Wales. In the type area south of Gunningbland, central New South Wales, the genus occurs associated with macrofossils of the coral/stromatoporoid assemblage Fauna II (early Eastonian or Ea2); in the New England region it has been obtained from strata on both sides of a major structural feature, the Peel Fault, the associated conodont assemblages indicating an age equivalent to that of coral/stromatoporoid assemblage Fauna III or late Eastonian (Ea3). The apparatus of this species, as presently known, comprises two pectiniform elements, one stellate with a four-rayed basal cavity, the other fundamentally pastinate, with a three-rayed basal cavity.     

A new athyridacean brachiopod from the Carboniferous of Rawdon Vale,New South Wales

Rawdonia nasharae gen. et sp. nov. is described from the Carboniferous Carsonville and Berrico Creek Formations at Rawdon Vale, N.S.W. Rawdonia is distinguished from other athyridaceans by: the possession of a smooth brachial valve; a cardinal process which is rod-like, bordered by extensions of the socket plates, and has an alveolus or pit at the base; the lack of a cardinal plate; and the lack of well-defined dental plates. In New South Wales Rawdonia nasharae ranges from the Delepinea aspinosa Zone to the Rhipidomella fortimuscula Zone.     

A new species of triplinerved Laurophyllum from the Eocene of Nerriga,New South Wales

A new fossil triplinerved dicotyledon leaf, Laurophyllum acrocryptocaryoides Conran & Christophel (Lauraceae) from Eocene deposits at Nerriga is described. The fossil is similar to the previously described L. acrodromum Hill, also from this site, but differs in leaf shape and cuticular features. L. acrocrytocaryoides also resembles some members of the extant genus Cryptocarya and its relationship to extant taxa is discussed.     

A new non-marine Early Cretaceous gastropod species from Lightning Ridge,New South Wales

A new species of thiarid snail attributable to the extant genus Melanoides is described from the Early Cretaceous (middle-late Albian) non-marine deposits of the Griman Creek Formation at Lightning Ridge in northern New South Wales. It represents the oldest Australian record of the genus and the family. Implications for the palaeoecology and distribution of Australian Cretaceous non-marine gastropods are discussed.     

Folk-Tales of the Aborigines of New South Wales

THE WITCH-CULT IN WESTERN EUROPE. A STUDY IN ANTHROPOLOGY. MARGARET ALICE MURRAY. Oxford: at the Clarendon Press. 1921. Pp. 303. Price 16s. Reviewed by W. R. Halliday.

THE SEMA NAGAS. By J. H. HUTTON, C.I. E., M.A., I.C.S. Published by direction of the Assam Administration. London : Macmillan &; Co. 1921. Price 40s. net. Reviewed by A. C. Haddon.

ANCIENT TALES FROM MANY LANDS : A COLLECTION OF FOLK STORIES. By R. M. FLEMING. With an Introduction by H. J. FLEURE, D.Sc. London: Benn Bros. 1922. Price 10s. 6d. Reviewed by A. Hingston Quiggin.

ASPECTS OF ANCIENT INDIAN POLITY. By NARENDRA NATH LAW, M.A., B.L. ; with a Foreword by ARTHUR BERRIEDALE KEITH, D.C.L., D.Litt. Oxford University Press. London: Milford. Reviewed by H. A. Rose.     

Palaeobiogeography of the Ordovician trilobite Prosopiscus,with a new species from western New South Wales

Prosopiscus is particularly important in Ordovician palaeobiogeography because of its wide geographic distribution in Gondwana and peri-Gondwanan regions. It appears to have been confined to low palaeolatitudes, representing a characteristic member of the warm water eastern Gondwanan shelf faunas. Trends in the distribution of the Ordovician genus can be observed due to its long stratigraphic range. Prosopiscus was restricted to, and may have originated in, Australia during the late Early Ordovician (Bendigonian-Chewtonian). By the Middle Ordovician (Darriwilian), Prosopiscus had dispersed to other parts of Gondwana and peri-Gondwana, including the North and South China blocks, Tarim, central Himalayas, and the Argentine Precordillera (South America). Possible explanations for the distribution of Prosopiscus are that: (1) there were no oceanic barriers preventing dispersal of trilobites between different regions of Gondwana, thus permitting uninhibited migration over vast distances; (2) Prosopiscus was not restricted to a specific biofacies; (3) a major eustatic transgression during the early Darriwilian may have facilitated the dispersal of Prosopiscus in allowing further development and expansion of marine environments; and (4) a prolonged planktonic larval stage may have permitted wide dispersal.

Prosopiscus lauriei sp. nov. is described from the late Early Ordovician (Bendigonian-Chewtonian) Tabita Formation at Mount Arrowsmith, northwestern New South Wales, Australia. The new species is closely related to P. praecox, from the Nora Formation, Georgina Basin, central Australia, and to P. magicus from northwest China.     

A new Late Devonian acanthodian fish from the Hunter Formation near Grenfell,New South Wales

The ischnacanthid acanthodian Grenfellacanthus zerinae gen. et sp. nov. is described on the basis of two large jaw bones from the Late Devonian (late Famennian) Hunter Formation, near Grenfell, N.S.W. The new species is the youngest known ischnacanthid, and the largest ischnacanthid from Gondwana. As for many ischnacanthids, the structure of the jaws and teeth indicate that Grenfellacanthus was probably an ambush predator.     

The New South Wales Election of 22 March 2003

Well before polling day, public commentators and political insiders thought the outcome of the March 2003 NSW election was clear: Labor would win. Seventy per cent of the polled public agreed, according to the Newspoll of 7–10 March (Newspoll 2003), as did those putting their money where their mouths were: Centrebet offered odds of 10:1 against for the Coalition $10.00 and 50:1 on for Labor (Daily Telegraph 13 March 2003). Even Prime Minister Howard, lending his support to NSW Liberal Leader John Brogden, did not predict a Liberal win (Australian Financial Review 12 March 2003). The main question of interest in the election was whether the Coalition would win enough seats to pose a threat to Labor in 2007. Secondary interest lay in whether the Greens would add to their recent series of strong election results. The election campaign was overshadowed by the war in Iraq. The outcome was decided far more by the politics of the preceding four years than by the short official campaign. Consequently, this commentary focuses on understanding the election in the context of NSW politics from 1999.     

Fish and fishing in colonial New South Wales: new evidence from the Quadrant site in Sydney

Abstract

Excavations at the Quadrant site in Sydney uncovered remains of 19th-century working-class houses and industrial areas including a collection of fish remains. The spatial distribution of bones of northern hemisphere ling and salmonids across house lots suggests these fish were commonly eaten. Little previous research on fish remains from post-1788 Australian sites has been reported and the study has wider research significance to Australasian archaeozoology. Documents indicate that some 19th-century British settlers preferred fish imported from Europe to local species. This study provides new insights into diet, economy and class in early colonial Sydney.     

A new Triassic Palaeolimnadiopsis (Crustacea: Conchostraca) from the Sydney Basin,New South Wales

Palaeolimnadiopsis bassi sp. nov. is described from the mid-Triassic Hawkesbury Sandstone of the Sydney Basin, New South Wales. It is distinguished from other species of the genus by its paired growth lines, moderately large size, nonterminal umbo, and small larval valve. Macrolimnadiopsis, Pteriograpta, and Limnadia (Falsisca) are considered to be synonymous with Palaeolimnadiopsis, and Belgolimnadiopsis with Euestheria.     

The Impact of Urbanisation on the Bed Sediments of South Creek,New South Wales

The textural and geochemical characteristics of the bed sediments in South Creek are examined. The bed substratum in the urbanised reaches differs from that of the rural reaches, in terms of the volume and size of the fine matrix sediment and the concentration of heavy metals. The impact of urbanisation on the river-bed sediment is variable, with less matrix than ‘expected’ within the substratum of the urban reach and more than ‘expected’ in the below urban reach. The urban matrix sediment is also significantly finer in comparison to the rural reach matrix sediment. Heavy metal concentrations within the urbanised matrix sediment are up to 800 times greater than background levels and are considered to be indicative of extreme contamination despite only SO years of urbanisation.     

明蜀藩太监墓志集释

本对明蜀太监腾英、苏荣、江时墓志铭进行释读和研究,为明蜀藩的政’治制度,丧葬礼仪以及成都的历史地理研究提供了较为详实的物史料。     

A new Late Famennian lungfish from New South Wales,Australia, and its bearing on Australian-Asian terrane relations

A new genus and species of lungfish with toothplates, Adelargo schultzei, is described from the Hunter Siltstone (Devonian, Late Famennian) near Grenfell, New South Wales. Materials assigned to Adelargo schultzei gen. et sp. nov., include a portion of the left side of the skull comprising B, I (postparietal) and J (parietal) bones, pterygoid and prearticular toothplates, a parasphenoid with a long posterior stalk, vertebrae, ribs, anal fin supports and scales. Toothplates are similar to Dipterus, although morphology of the skull, parasphenoid and postcranial elements is more derived. Biogeographic relationships of the Grenfell fauna were based on the presence of the antiarch group Sinolepidoidei, also present on Asian terranes during the Late Devonian. A small number of lungfish scales have been described from Asian sinolepid localities of this age, but differ from those of Adelargo schultzei, and other faunal similarities between these areas appear limited. Paucity of eastern Australian Devonian taxa on the North and South China blocks implies that strong biogeographic relationships between eastern Australia and Euramerican localities during the Late Devonian were not the result of Asian migration routes, but the closer proximity of these areas.     

New Archaeocyatha from the Early Cambrian of the Mt. Wright area,New South Wales

An archaeocyathan fauna from a single limestone lens in the upper Cymbric Vale Formation at Mt. Wright shows species in common with the historic Ajax Mine fauna of the Flinders Ranges, South Australia. The Cymbric Vale fauna is considered equivalent to the lower Sanashtykgol ‘horizon’ of the Altay Sayan fold belt of Siberia.

New taxa described are the genera Hyptocyathus (Inessocyathacea, Hyptocyathidae fam. nov.), Aporosocyathus (Annulocyathidae), Wrighticyathus (Sigmocyathacea, Wrighticyathidae fam. nov.), Flexicyathus (Porocoscinidae) and Bractocyathus (Polycoscinidae), and the species Erugatocyathus cymbricensis and Veronicacyathus concavus.     

A primitive amphibian from the Late Devonian of New South Wales

A locality in the Late Devonian Cloghnan Shale (Nangar Subgroup) near Forbes, N.S.W., has yielded a rich vertebrate fauna including the antiarchs Bothriolepis and Remigolepis, the phyllolepid Phyllolepis, the dipnoan Soederberghia, and the jaw of a new ichthyostegaliid amphibian Metaxygnathus denticulus gen. et sp. nov. The amphibian is the oldest known member of the group with the possible exception of Elpistostege Westoll, and it retains characters previously associated with the rhipidistian fishes. The musculatures of rhipidistian and amphibian jaws are analysed and are shown to be functionally related to distinctive morphologies of the articulatory region in each group, Metaxygnathus being of amphibian type. Comparison is made with the Greenland ichthyostegids, and rhipidistians such as Eusthenodon.