The loess at Timaru in South Canterbury deserves more attention; we are doing our best to promote it. John Howarth has been taking some pictures in the neighbourhood..
Saturday 29 February 2020
Thursday 6 February 2020
John Hardcastle: Then (1890-1910) & Now (1980-2020)
Scientific palaeoclimatology was invented in the nineteenth century by John Hardcastle of Timaru. The exact moment was recorded by the Christchurch Star newspaper:
"An ordinary meeting of the Philososphical Institute of Canterbury was held in the Public Library last evening. There was a moderate attendance, the President, Mr.J.T.Meeson, in the chair... The Secretary read a paper by Mr.J.Hardcastle of Timaru, on 'The Loess of Timaru as a Climate Register'. He stated his conclusion that the loess is a formation of wind-blown dust belonging to the second glacial period, and certain bands, which mark pauses in the process of deposition, are interpreted as registers of considerable variation of climate within that period. [Christchurch Star 3 October 1890]
From his base in Timaru Hardcastle published much scientific material, mostly in the Timaru Herald, but his weightier material appeared in the pages of the Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute:
Hardcastle, J. 1889. Origin of the loess deposit of the Timaru plateau. Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute 22, 406-414.
Hardcastle, J. 1890. On the Timaru loess as a climate register. Transactions and Proccedings of the New Zealand Institute 23, 324-332.
Hardcastle, J. 1908. Notes on the Geology of South Canterbury. Timaru Herald ,Timaru 62p.
Reprinted as Loess Letter Supplement ns2, June 2014, Geography Department, Leicester University, with editorial material and maps.
That was then; now begins in 1979-1980 in the library of the New Zealand Soil Bureau, in Lower Hutt, New Zealand. Jewel Davin and Ian Smalley are preparing a bibliography of New Zealand Loess to be published as a New Zealand Soil Bureau Bibliographic Report [BR28] by the Department of Scientific & Industrial Research. Almost exact dating is accomplished once again; John Hardcastle moves into their bibliographic awareness on 19 January 1979 as the library search encompasses the early volumes of the New Zealand Institute. It was fairly apparent early on that JH was a significant person- he had made important observations, and he deserved some recognition. These early observations provided material for the JH section in BR28 (Smalley & Davin 1980 p.17). A few days after this first JH revelation the ANZAAS Conference opened in Auckland and the Western Pacific Working Group of the INQUA Loess Commission was properly founded.
Smalley, I.J. Davin, J.E. 1980. The first hundred years- a historical bibliography of New Zealand loess 1878-1978. New Zealand Soil Bureau Bibliographic Report 28, NZ Government Printer 166p.
Smalley, I.J. 1983. John Hardcastle on glacier motion and glacial loess. [Early Discovers 33] Journal of Glaciology 29, 480-484; reprinted in Loess Letter 71 www.loessletter.msu.edu
Fagg, R. 2001. John Hardcastle (1847-1927)- a gifted amateur. Geological Society of New Zealand Historical Studies Group Newsletter 22, 21-25.
Smalley, I.J, Jefferson, I., Dijkstra, T.A., Derbyshire, E. 2001. Some major events in the development of the scientific study of loess. Earth Science Reviews 54, 5-18.
Smalley, I.J., Fagg, R. 2014. John Hardcastle looks at the Timaru loess; climatic signals are observed, and fragipans. Quaternary International 372, 51-57.
Fagg, R., Smalley, I.J. 2018. 'Hardcastle Hollows' in loess landforms; closed depressions in aeolian landscapes- in a geoheritage context. Open Geosciences 10, 58-63.
Fagg, R., Smalley, I.J. 2019. Loess in New Zealand; observations by Haast, Hutton, Hardcastle, Wild and Speight 1878-1944. Quaternary International 502A, 173-178.
"An ordinary meeting of the Philososphical Institute of Canterbury was held in the Public Library last evening. There was a moderate attendance, the President, Mr.J.T.Meeson, in the chair... The Secretary read a paper by Mr.J.Hardcastle of Timaru, on 'The Loess of Timaru as a Climate Register'. He stated his conclusion that the loess is a formation of wind-blown dust belonging to the second glacial period, and certain bands, which mark pauses in the process of deposition, are interpreted as registers of considerable variation of climate within that period. [Christchurch Star 3 October 1890]
From his base in Timaru Hardcastle published much scientific material, mostly in the Timaru Herald, but his weightier material appeared in the pages of the Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute:
Hardcastle, J. 1889. Origin of the loess deposit of the Timaru plateau. Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute 22, 406-414.
Hardcastle, J. 1890. On the Timaru loess as a climate register. Transactions and Proccedings of the New Zealand Institute 23, 324-332.
Hardcastle, J. 1908. Notes on the Geology of South Canterbury. Timaru Herald ,Timaru 62p.
Reprinted as Loess Letter Supplement ns2, June 2014, Geography Department, Leicester University, with editorial material and maps.
That was then; now begins in 1979-1980 in the library of the New Zealand Soil Bureau, in Lower Hutt, New Zealand. Jewel Davin and Ian Smalley are preparing a bibliography of New Zealand Loess to be published as a New Zealand Soil Bureau Bibliographic Report [BR28] by the Department of Scientific & Industrial Research. Almost exact dating is accomplished once again; John Hardcastle moves into their bibliographic awareness on 19 January 1979 as the library search encompasses the early volumes of the New Zealand Institute. It was fairly apparent early on that JH was a significant person- he had made important observations, and he deserved some recognition. These early observations provided material for the JH section in BR28 (Smalley & Davin 1980 p.17). A few days after this first JH revelation the ANZAAS Conference opened in Auckland and the Western Pacific Working Group of the INQUA Loess Commission was properly founded.
Smalley, I.J. Davin, J.E. 1980. The first hundred years- a historical bibliography of New Zealand loess 1878-1978. New Zealand Soil Bureau Bibliographic Report 28, NZ Government Printer 166p.
Smalley, I.J. 1983. John Hardcastle on glacier motion and glacial loess. [Early Discovers 33] Journal of Glaciology 29, 480-484; reprinted in Loess Letter 71 www.loessletter.msu.edu
Fagg, R. 2001. John Hardcastle (1847-1927)- a gifted amateur. Geological Society of New Zealand Historical Studies Group Newsletter 22, 21-25.
Smalley, I.J, Jefferson, I., Dijkstra, T.A., Derbyshire, E. 2001. Some major events in the development of the scientific study of loess. Earth Science Reviews 54, 5-18.
Smalley, I.J., Fagg, R. 2014. John Hardcastle looks at the Timaru loess; climatic signals are observed, and fragipans. Quaternary International 372, 51-57.
Fagg, R., Smalley, I.J. 2018. 'Hardcastle Hollows' in loess landforms; closed depressions in aeolian landscapes- in a geoheritage context. Open Geosciences 10, 58-63.
Fagg, R., Smalley, I.J. 2019. Loess in New Zealand; observations by Haast, Hutton, Hardcastle, Wild and Speight 1878-1944. Quaternary International 502A, 173-178.
Saturday 1 February 2020
Loess in South Canterbury
South Canterbury is in the South Island of New Zealand. It is the region which John Hardcastle wrote about in his book 'Notes on the Geology of South Canterbury'- first published by the Timaru Herald in 1908, and re-published in an edited and illustrated version by Loess Letter in 2014. South Canterbury contains some interesting loess deposits; the Dashing Rocks section has been examined by many scholars and is probably the best known. Most of the following illustrations are of the Dashing Rocks exposures. The loess there sits on the Timaru basalt- volcanic material from Mount Horrible which determined the location of the town of Timaru. The Dashing Rocks loess appears to contain three fragipans; is this the only occurrence of multiple fragipan horizons? Fragipans were first observed by Hardcastle in the Dashing Rocks loess.
Most of these pictures are by Roger Fagg of Timaru; a few maps etc included for locational purposes. The soils at Timaru were eventually classified as 'fragic pallic soils' acknowledging the presence of fragipan horizons.
The John Bruce map of loess soils in the South Island.
John Howarth stands on the Timaru basalt
Most of these pictures are by Roger Fagg of Timaru; a few maps etc included for locational purposes. The soils at Timaru were eventually classified as 'fragic pallic soils' acknowledging the presence of fragipan horizons.
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