Noel J. de Jersey,^1,* John L. McKellar<sup>2,**,***

1</sup>a77 Michelle Drive, Cedar Grove, Queensland 4285, Australia
²bGeological Survey of Queensland, Department of Natural Resources and Mines, PO Box 15216, City East

^*NOEL J. de JERSEY is Australian-born and received his early education at the Church of England Grammar School in Brisbane, where he gained a State Open Scholarship to the University of Queensland. After completing a science course, majoring in geology, he pioneered the study of palynology in Queensland. Other interests are in coal research and it was in the UK, in 1948, that he gained his Ph.D. at Imperial College, London, in fuel technology before he returned to Australia. Noel joined the Geological Survey of Queensland in 1950, and, in 1974, gained his DSc from The University of Queensland.In the 1950s and 1960s, there was an upsurge of exploratory drilling in Queensland, which included the development of the Moonie oilfield, the first commercial oilfield in mainland Australia. Palynology provided vital assistance in elucidating the biostratigraphy of petroliferous sequences in Queensland. His main interests have been in the Triassic and Jurassic biostratigraphy of Queensland. In retirement, he has been active in extending these studies to New Zealand, where the Triassic—Jurassic sequence is largely marine, in contrast to the continental sequence in Queensland. Palynofloral correlation has enabled the Queensland sequence to be dated more precisely, in relation to the well-dated sequence in New Zealand. This paper on the TriassicJurassic transition has filled in a ‘missing link’ in the studies. Noel has travelled widely internationally and was a keen golfer well into his seventies.
^**Corresponding author. Email: john.mckellar@dnrm.qld.gov.au
^***JOHN L. McKELLAR is a Senior Geoscientist in the Energy Unit of the Geological Survey of Queensland. He commenced work in the Survey in late 1968, initially in the Palynology Section, working with Noel de Jersey, one of Australia's foremost palynologists. After graduating from The University of Queensland in 1971, John worked on the biostratigraphical palynology of Queensland's Late Palaeozoic—Mesozoic sedimentary basins. A particular interest in the Jurassic palynofloras of the Surat Basin and their taxonomy and biostratigraphical and palaeogeographical significance provided the foundation for his Ph.D. degree, which he completed in 1998 at The University of Queensland, under the supervision of Geoff Playford.Assessing the depositional history of sedimentary basins in Queensland is now John's main focus. In a 2004 publication, he also broadly outlined the apparent geophysical controls operating on basin development and evolution through the Late Palaeozoic—Early Mesozoic of eastern Australia. This assessment brought together wide-ranging data on the associated floral succession and attendant palaeoclimates, as well as on the tectonic and palaeomagnetic evolution of the region during this interval of time.