catalogue of western australian meteorite collections

I
I
Part I-Western Australian Meteorites
STATISTICAL DETAILS
In cO)llpanson with 'the 1,700 meteorites recorded in the latest assessments
of world statistics (e.g. Mason 1962) some 48 separate occurrences are listed
from this State. However' among these are included groups of meteorites
believed to come from the same meteorite arrivals: for example, the two
Mt. Edith irons, the Youndegin, Mt. Stirling, Mooranoppin and, Quairading
irons, the two Bencubbin stony-irons, the Yalgoo and Mellenbye stones.
Premier Downs and Loongana Station may well come from one meteorite arrival
and the small Nullarbor Plain stones also seem to represent a prolific scatter
in a single arrival (though Rawlinna apparently represents a separate event).
Thus the number of distinct meteorite arrivals represented is probably not
more than about 37. It is strange that so few observed falls have resulted in
recovery (one certain, two doubtful) but this is probably due to the sparse poplation
of the State. No less than 13 or 14 finds of stony meteorites have been
made, a very high proportion considering that only some 35 %' of the total stony
meteorite recoveries come from finds (Mason 1962, p. 3). The statistics of
the meteorite recovery are given below in Table 1 :
Irons 29
Stony-Irons
Stones
4
15
Shale Balls ",. 1
Doubtful 1
TABLE 1
Falls Finds
1 28
4
1 14
1
1
Total 50
2 48
Notes on this table-
(a) The total number of stones i~cludes one find previously listed as a
Western, Australian meteorite (Loongana~ Prior and Hey 1953) but
which was probably recovered from just across the South Australian
border (p. 33).
(b) The total number of stones includes the Lake Moore meteorite which
appears to be a section taken from another ~eteorite and erroneously
considered as a separate entity (p. 37). .
(c) A large iron meteorite is included in the iron meteorite category
but not fully described in this text. This, the Warburton Range
meteorite, was discovered in December 1963, or January 1964, at
a point 25 miles south-west pf the Warburton Mission, Western
Australia. The total weight of the single mass is 56·5 kg (124! lb.).
It will be described at a later date. It is provisionally identified as
a nickel-rich ataxite.
. (d) A large fragmented stony-iron me~eorite was recovered from the
vicinity of Mt. Padbury Station on the 12th March, 1964. Five
large masses and numerOllS small weathered masses total over 272 kg
(600 lb.), the largest being 88·4 kg (195 lb.) weight. This meteorite,
provisionally classified as a mesosiderite, will be described at a later
date.
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