IN dealing with the geology of the State coal mine it is necessary to include and briefly describe the coal strata existing in other parts of Victoria, and as a short historical rsum of the early attempts at coal-mining in Victoria may be of interest, it is also included. Black coal in Victoria has so far been found only in strata of Jurassic age, occurring in three fairly large areas (Plate I.) as follows :-WANNON AREA. About 370 square miles of Jurassic strata are exposed within the Wannon River watershed, situated in the south-western portion of Victoria. The northern boundary of the coal measures here is fairly well defined, the junction in many places with the Ordovician, granite, and porphyry rocks being visible, but how far they extend southward is unknown; and, owing to the masking of the older strata by wide deposits of Tertiary sands and clays, information to guide prospecting operations is not so easily obtainable as in the Otway and South Gippsland areas. An unpublished report made in 1896 by the late Mr. James Stirling on a very small portion of this area contains all the available information regarding coal seams, &c. "The seams, which vary from 4 in. to 12 in. in thickness, can be traced for about half a mile along Palmer's Creek through strata similar to the Jurassic of Otway and South Gippsland."