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Summary A short general account of the distribution and characteristics of the laterites of south‐western Australia is given in relation to past and present climates and to climatically controlled processes of landscape development. A number of erosional and depositional surfaces have been identified near York, Western Australia, the older of which are lateritic, and the characteristics of the laterites and the soils associated with them have been shown to vary with the age of the land surface on which they occur. Extensive sandy deposits derived by the weathering and stripping of the ferruginous horizons of the laterites have been recognized. It is suggested that the 'sand plains' of Western Australia, hitherto considered to be intact or only slightly modified fossil laterites, originated in this way.

Abstract:The PULSE@Parkes project has been designed to monitor the rotation of radio pulsars over time spans of days to years. The observations are obtained using the Parkes 64-m and 12-m radio telescopes by Australian and international high school students. These students learn the basis of radio astronomy and undertake small projects with their observations. The data are fully calibrated and obtained with the state-ofthe-art pulsar hardware available at Parkes. The final data sets are archived and are currently being used to carry out studies of 1) pulsar glitches, 2) timing noise, 3) pulse profile stability over long time scales and 4) the extreme nulling phenomenon. The data are also included in other projects such as gamma-ray observatory support and for the Parkes Pulsar Timing Array project. In this paper we describe the current status of the project and present the first scientific results from the Parkes 12-m radio telescope. We emphasise that this project offers a straightforward means to enthuse high school students and the general public about radio astronomy while obtaining scientifically valuable data sets.

Landforms and soils of part of the Darling Range, Western Australia, are described. A controlling factor is rejuvenation of drainage following Tertiary (?) uplift of the Western Australian Shield, and the extent and effects of this are assessed. Broad divides carry remnants of old landscapes extensively preserved further inland, while sequential changes in valley forms and soils suggest stages in uplift. Upstream, valleys are broad and shallow, with low gradients, and deep weathering and old soils are widespread. Downstream, stages of progressively increasing sharpness and depth of incision of valleys are observable, and while deep weathering and old soils are preserved on the uplands, the steeper valley sides carry younger and fresher soil materials. Consideration of long and cross sections and soil patterns permit some separation of the effects of structure, uplift, and climate in landscape development.