In my travels around coastal Tasmania I often come across aboriginal middens – many (but not all) of which are probably included in the list of 12,000 or so cultural sites on the Aboriginal Heritage Register (AHR). [The AHR replaced the Tasmanian Aboriginal Site Index (TASI) in 2014.] The Register is maintained by Aboriginal Heritage […]
Read more…An unusual boulder spit at Dennes Point on Bruny Island
I’m collaborating with expert coastal geologist/geomorphologist Chris Sharples to report on an unusual occurrence of boulders at the extreme northern tip of Bruny Island in southern Tasmania. The rounded, moderately-graded, mostly dolerite boulders (and cobbles) up to half a metre or so in size form an arcuate foreshore several metres high and extending a few […]
Read more…Foredunes and coastal development in Tasmania
Coastal planning and policy in Tasmania has been hindered by a use of ambiguous and undefined terminology in relevant coastal planning policy documents, notably the Tasmanian Coastal Policy (1996) and in some Local Government Planning schemes. The use of such terminology to define appropriate and inappropriate areas for coastal development has previously and will continue […]
Read more…A new occurrence of Tertiary boulder beds in Glenorchy, Tasmania
The published 1:25,000 scale digital geological map of the Hobart metropolitan area shows the OAK Tasmania’s Walkabout Industries site in Clydesdale Street, Glenorchy, and the neighbourhood, to be underlain by Jurassic-age dolerite. New field evidence suggests the map needs to be amended. In 2011 bulk excavations at OAK provided excellent exposures of weakly-consolidated, orange-brown boulder […]
Read more…Earthquakes in Tasmania 1958 – 2014
I’ve recently been researching landslide triggers in Tasmania. Events which trigger landslides include unusually heavy rainfall events, and earthquakes. Here’s a graph of some 860 earthquakes and their magnitudes recorded in the Tasmanian region over the period 1958 – 2014. It’s a picture of quiet earthquake periods lasting several years interrupted by years of much […]
Read more…Tasmanian shipwreck Annie Taylor
Hilary and I recently holidayed at one of our Island Shacks at Spring Beach on Tasmania’s east coast. We drove south a few kilometres to lovely, deserted Rheban Beach and cycled 2.5km along it at low tide. The beach is a mid-bay spit which grew by northeasterly accretion of sandy beach ridges during the last […]
Read more…Mt Wellington rockfall
On 8 July, Hobart City Council asked me to assess the risk posed to road users and track walkers from a large dolerite boulder (50t) which had toppled off a small cliff section on steep (40+degree) slopes on Mt Wellington. Despite the millions of already-toppled boulders on the adjacent talus slopes, geological time is immense […]
Read more…Should geotechnical practitioners be accredited?
People (like me) who conduct geotechnical (including landslide) investigations and write geotechnical reports ought to be qualified to do so. At the very least, in Tasmania, we must have a university degree in Engineering, Geotechnical Engineering or Geology, and have Professional Indemnity Insurance (Certificates of Specialists or Other Persons). In Tasmania, twenty or so firms […]
Read more…AS2870 site classification in Launceston
I am currently working on AS2870 site classification reports for more than 50 separate lots in a residential subdivision in Launceston. The job involves about three weeks of field work, and a similar time in the office. The subdivision is Eastmans Green in Newstead, and the developer is Ecoast Homes Pty Ltd from St. Helens. […]
Read more…Landslide assessments in Tasmania
I have been invited to collaborate with the Tasmanian Department of Premier and Cabinet (DPAC) and Mineral Resources Tasmania (MRT) to prepare landslide guidelines for geotechnical practitioners and regulators in this state. Both government entities have been working hard to address geotechnical hazards in Tasmania. The players in this game are State Government, Planning Authorities […]
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