The Permian-Triassic Bowen Basin
and the Jurassic-Cretaceous Surat Basin evolved in a backarc tectonic
setting behind an active convergent plate margin in eastern Gondwana. Several
extensional (Early Permian; Eocene) and contractional (mid-Permian; Early
Triassic; Middle-Late Triassic; early Late Cretaceous) intraplate deformational
events are recognised in the basins. These can be correlated with similar events
in the New England Orogen that was being deformed in the Late Permian-Late
Triassic as a foreland thrust belt. The intraplate deformations were probably
the consequence of plate interactions, including the accretion of terranes, at
the ancient active plate margin, remnants of which now occur in
New
Zealand.