Imposition of a Proterozoic salient on a Palaeozoic orogen at the eastern margin of Gondwana

Regional analysis of the distribution of metamorphic fabrics and shear zones in the Palaeo-Mesoproterozoic Curnamona Province has enabled the deconstruction of a Cambrian fold arc that defines part of the eastern margin of Gondwana. We suggest a tectonic model whereby the arc formed at ca. 500 Ma, during accretion of Phanerozoic terranes to the eastern margin of Precambrian Australia. The regional fold arc is interpreted to have formed along an irregular plate margin comprising a SE-convex rigid promontory of Precambrian basement during initial accretion of the Phanerozoic terranes during the Cambrian. An early phase of dextral oblique-slip along shear zones in the south and west of the province indicates an initial WNW transport direction. As the arc was folded, a slightly later phase of sinistral oblique-slip shearing was initiated along shear zones in the east, in response to deflection of the arc around the rigid promontory.