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Between July, 1960, and December, 1963, observations were made on the natural history of Rhinolophus megaphyllus Gray in north-eastern New South Wales. Typically the species occurs as small colonies in a wide variety of cave and mine roosts. It appears to be absent from available roosting sites at higher altitudes in this area. Seasonal changes in the sizes of testes and epididymides suggest that mating occurs in May and June. The single young are born at maternity colonies through November, and nursing lasts about eight weeks. Field weights do not reflect seasonal variation other than that associated with pregnancy. However, seasonal differences in daytime level of activity are noted and these correlate with behavioural changes apparently related to temperature selection. Changes in colony size are described for several roosts and three movements made by marked individuals are recorded. Males appear to be more sedentary than females. Considerable aggregation of females and their young at maternity colonies (size, 15 to 1,5000 individuals) characterises the spring and summer population.
Murray Cave is an almost horizontal former outflow cave, which is now on the brink of inactivity. A heavily decorated upper branch functioned during the first outflow phase and the present inactive entrance succeeded it as the outlet point. Both are at the level of a low aggradational terrace of the North Branch of Cave Creek outside the cave; this probably belongs to a Pleistocene cold period. An undecorated lower branch provided the third phase outlet, which still functions occasionally when water rises up a water trap at the inner end of the main passage and flows along that passage into it. The entrance chamber has angular gravel fill due to frost shattering, which post-dates the development of the lower branch passage and belongs to a late Pleistocene cold period. Evidence of free surface stream action predominates in the cave but shallow phreatic conditions must have contributed to its development.
The new data from the Big Hole and its vicinity give some further support to the view maintained previously as to its origin, though an approach through water chemistry proved non-committal. Difficulties attaching to an origin by true phreatic solution of underlying limestone through circulations of groundwater of meteoric provenance remain however. Nevertheless, the possibility, not considered previously, that the Big Hole is due to hydrothermal solution in the manner of many collapse structures associated with uranium ore bodies in southwestern U.S.A. finds no support in the regional geology of the Shoalhaven valley, though it could produce features of the right dimensions. Previous lack of a complete parallel to the Big Hole has been removed by reference to the furnas of southern Brazil where a similar origin to the one proposed here is also inferred.
Barber Cave is one of the Cooleman Plain caves known for a long time. Inscriptions on the cave walls take white man's knowledge of it at least back to 1875 when it was visited by a party led by John Gale of Queanbeyan. However, the actual date of discovery remains obscure and may belong to the period of the late 1830s to the early 'fifties when there were convict and ex-convict stockmen looking after T.A. Murray's (later Sir Terence Murray) stock on the plain. It is of modest dimensions with about 335m (1,100 ft) of passage, some 25m (80 ft) of overall height, and no spaces worthy of the name chamber. Within this small compass, nevertheless, it possesses such a good range of cave forms that it was selected o represent "karst cave" in the series of landform prototypes being described and illustrated briefly for teaching purposes in the Australian Geographer (Jennings, 1967b). Here a fuller account of its morphology is presented for speleologists.
Douglas Cave is on the western slopes of central New South Wales about five miles south-west of Stuart Town. The cave was first discovered in 1896 by R. J. Wilson (Leigh, 1897). At the time of discovery, the accumulation of fossil bone in the Bone Room was noted and shortly afterwards some bone was collected by W. S. Leigh. Thylacinus spelaeus, Dasyurus sp. and Macropus sp. were included in the collection (Dun, 1897). The cave was not named when it was discovered, though Trickett does refer to it as "the Stuart Town Caves" in a later report (Trickett, 1898, p. 205). It will be referred to hereafter as the Douglas Cave in honour of the present owner.
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