Taranaki Geological Society

18/05/2026

June Monthly Meeeting
Thursday 4th June,7:30pm
Toi Foundation,121 Gill St,New Plymth
(7:15 doors open for cup of tea)

Speaker : Prof. James Crampton,Victoria University

Topic : “Let the Dead Speak! What can we learn from the fossil record of extinction?”

OPEN to PUBLIC and Non-Members

01/05/2026

May Monthly Meeting
AGM (brief)plus Speaker following
Monday 4th May,
83 Hine St,New Plymouth.
Free, Public Invited
Cup of Tea from 7:15pm
AGM from 7:30pm

Speaker : Dr Ian Brewer

Topic: Inversion tectonics in the Taranaki Basin, how applicable are tectono-stratigraphic analogs from the Spanish Pyrenees foreland basin?

06/04/2026

April Monthly Meeting
13th April, 7:30pm (doors open 7pm)
83 Hine St,Disabled Citizens Cntr

Speaker: Kim Styles
Occupation: Greasy Rockologist (Petroleum Geologist BSc.Hon Victoria University)

Topic:
Insights from the mysterious east, drilling in the "Wanganui Basin" andimplications for understanding the Taranaki Basin.

The Taranaki basin is often treated like it ends at the Taranaki Fault.
East of the fault, latest Miocene and early Pliocene sediments were
deposited on a Jurassic, Murihiku basement. The real story however
starts further east in the Whangamomona and Ohura areas. This talk collects the data and results of 2000's era Coal Seam Gas and Petroleum exploration. Through these insights it links the Western Wanganui Basin inseparably to the Taranaki Basin. Understanding this link helps us follow sediments from their source in the east though to their eventual deposition as petroleum reservoirs beneath our feet.



In his career Kim has worked on drilling rigs from Auckland to Stewart Island, and from the Deep Water Taranaki Basin to the deep water off South Island of New Zealand (Great South Basin). From mud logger to technical business owner/operator to his current position as Principal Geologist for NZEC, Kim has intensively studied and evaluated the depositional pathways that built the Taranaki Basin. In 2011 NZEC drilled Kim's Copper Moki prospect which discovered oil in the Kiore and Mt Messenger formations, both very close to his heart present day.s

17/03/2026

2026 Geoscience Lecture Tour - New Plymouth
Thursday, 19 March at 7.30pm

Do New Zealand’s active faults and volcanoes talk to each other? Insights from 25 years of trenching ancient faults presented by Pilar Villamor.

This year’s Geoscience Tour lecture will review 25 years of trenching active faults in volcanic environments and how a scientist perspective on tectonics close to volcanoes changed through that time.

Full details here
https://gsnz.org.nz/gsnz-events/ViewEvent/461

23/02/2026

Second Meeting in March

Taranaki Geological Society Special 2026 Geoscience Lecturer Meeting:

"Do New Zealand’s active faults and volcanoes talk to each other? Insights from 25 years of trenching ancient faults".

Dr. Pilar Villamor

When: 19 March 2026, 7.30 pm - cup of tea available from 7.15pm
Where: Toi Foundation meeting rooms
Address: 121 Gill Street, New Plymouth: Rooms accessed off Davidson Street (See map below)

The talk will be about the paleo-seismic studies in the Taupo Volcanic Zone and how we have found evidence of time associations between prehistoric fault ruptures (i.e. large earthquakes) and volcanic eruptions.

23/02/2026

First of 2 meetings in March

When: March 10th 2026, 7.30pm
Where: 45 Robe St, Taranaki Emergency Management Office, New Plymouth



GeoNet Sensor Network Development
Sam Taylor-Offord, Tim McDougall, Andrea Wolter

GeoNet operates a sensor network of over 1000 sites across the country monitoring earthquakes, volcanoes, tsunami and landslides. The data from GeoNet's network are all free and open and cover a legacy of almost 25 years of sensor network operation. On top of its extensive sensor network, IT platform and data archive, GeoNet also works with the wider Earth Sciences New Zealand organisation to provide scientific advice to government during emergency response and as part of regular hazard monitoring.

In recent years GeoNet's sensor network has expanded significantly to address gaps in monitoring capability, most notably around Taranaki Maunga and along the Southern Alps. Today GeoNet sensor network development looks to the future of the sensor network under a fixed budget and seeks to carry on the legacy of 25 years while exploring new avenues for expansion. This talk will cover a brief overview of GeoNet before turning to focus on recent work in network development with particular focus in the Taranaki region.

28/10/2025

TGS Nov.Monthly Meeting,
Mon.3rd Nov.,7:30pm,
Disabled Citizens Centre,
83 Hine St.

Speaker: Steve Morice
Topic : Unravelling complex contraction structures by seismic modelling of fold and thrust systems.

Thrust faults and inverted extensional faults characteristically form complex geometries with tight folds and
steeply dipping limbs with multiple faults and fractures. These structures are commonly poorly imaged in
seismic surveys due to steep dips and complex velocity fields. This research uses synthetic seismic imaging
of scaled physical models to improve our understanding and interpretation of these complex thrust and
inversion structures. The seismic modelling offers new paradigms for seismic interpretation in these
contractional terranes.

18/09/2025

EarthFest Taranaki is an opportunity to celebrate the Earth Sciences and the opening of Puke Ariki’s newest permanent exhibit — Whakarūaumoko: Active Earth. The Earth Science community is pulling together, bringing rocks to the people and people to the rocks! Come and meet rocks, minerals, and ...

05/08/2025

https://gsnz.org.nz/gsnz-events/ViewEvent/411

Past, present, and future earthquakes on the Alpine Fault: what lies beneath and what lies ahead? Presented by John Townend

03/08/2025

TGS August Monthly Meeting
Mon.4thAug.,7:30pm
Disabled Citizens Centre
83 Home St.

Speaker: Steve Finnigan

Topic: 3 Passes & Everest Base Camp in 14 days

A Big thank you to Steve for agreeing to share his adventure with us at short notice.