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Volume 47, 1914
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Art. LVIII.—Record of Borings at Horotiu, near Ngaruawahia.

By J. R. Hetherington. Communicated by D. Petrie, M.A., Ph.D.

[Read before the Auckland Institute, 16th December, 1914.]

Horotiu is seventy-eight miles south of Auckland, and the railway-station there is 78 ft. above sea-level. Four separate bores were sunk in the hope of discovering workable coal-seams. They were located at spots generally about 20 ft. below the level of the railway-station. Bores I and II reached a depth of 446 ft. and 450 ft. respectively. The latter ended at an old beach formation filled with well-preserved marine shells. The data given below belong to Bores III and IV, which were put down on Mr. Gallagher's land. Bores I and II gave off abundant inflammable gas, and also threw up water at a high pressure.

Bore No. III. (The depths are in feet and inches.)
Ft. in. Ft. in.
0 6 Black soil.
0 6 to 2 6 Subsoil.
2 6 " 8 6 Shingle.
8 6 " 23 6 Sand.
23 6 " 28 6 Firm white pumice.
28 6 " 48 6 White clay and swamp mixed.
48 6 " 51 10 Sand.
51 10 " 81 0 Blue fireclay and shingle.
81 0 " 93 0 Hard pumice.
93 0 " 103 0 Swamp and timber.
103 0 " 117 0 Hard sandstone.
117 0 " 120 0 Brown fireclay.
120 0 " 129 0 Sand.
129 0 " 139 0 Pumice.
139 0 " 172 0 Light fireclay.
172 0 " 176 0 Dark fireclay.
176 0 " 181 0 Brown fireclay.
181 0 " 212 0 Blue fireclay and marl.
212 0 " 226 0 Sandstone.
226 0 " 244 0 Running sand.
244 0 " 265 0 Blue fireclay.
265 0 " 265 6 Very hard sandstone.
265 6 " 273 6 Blue fireclay and marl.
273 6 " 278 6 Lignite.
278 6 " 349 0 Blue fireclay.
349 0 " 360 0 Blue fireclay and poor coal.
360 0 " 366 0 Very soft mud.
366 0 " 400 0 Sand.
400 0 " 408 0 Blue fireclay and poor coal.
408 0 " 416 0 Blue fireclay.
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416 0 " 430 0 Brown fireclay.
430 0 " 433 0 Lignite.
433 0 " 435 0 Very soft sand and mud.
435 0 " 468 0 Blue fireclay.
468 0 " 473 0 Coarse sand.
473 0 " 480 0 Brown fireclay.
480 0 " 532 0 Blue fireclay and lignite.
532 0 " 543 0 Strata of sand and soft country.
543 0 " 552 0 Blue fireclay and lignite.
552 0 " 573 0 Very soft sand and mud.
573 0 " 610 0 Lignite and soft mud.
610 0 " 640 0 Sandstone.

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Bore No. IV. (Record starts at 640 ft., the strata above being the same as in Bore III.)
Ft. in. Ft. in.
640 0 to 643 0 Sandstone.
643 0 " 687 0 Soft running sand.
687 0 " 688 0 Stratified sandstone.
688 0 " 700 0 Blue fireclay.
700 0 " 714 0 Brown fireclay.
714 0 " 735 0 Sand.
735 0 " 740 0 Brown clay.
740 0 " 752 0 White clay.
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