The polycyclic hydroxy ketones (1)-( 3) are unaffected by treatment with 1 mol dm-3 aqueous hydrochloric acid. Hydroxy ketone (5) is also stable to fluorosulphonic acid-antimony pentafluoride in liquid sulphur dioxide at 0°C. 'H and 13C NMR spectroscopy shows that (5) is protonated on both alcohol and carbonyl oxygens in this medium, and an activation energy, AG*, of 14.7 f 0.8 kcal mol-l, for geometric isomerism of the protonated carbonyl has been determined by dynamic NMR methods. The rate, k = 1.1 7 s-l (23.3 "C) of degenerate rearrangement of ( 5) by 1,4-hydride shift from alcohol methine to carbonyl carbon in trifluoromethanesulphonic acid in liquid sulphur dioxide solution was determined by spin-saturation transfer experiments. The primary kinetic isotope effect was 2.30 f 0.35. In trifluoromethanesulphonic acid, (5) also rearranges more slowly to (7) or (8). In strongly acidic media, hydroxy ketone (6) rearranges rapidly to a mixture of ( 9) and ( 10). The X-ray crystal structure of ( 10) has been determined. * For a discussion of the basicity of carbonyl and alcoholic oxygen see 'The Proton; Applications to Organic Chemistry,' ed. R. Stewart,