Dredge and core samples of sediments recovered from the west Tasmanian margin, South Tasman Rise and the Lord Howe Rise, on R.V. Sonne, are of possible Eocene, late Oligocene, early and late Miocene, early and late Pliocene, and Pleistocene or younger ages. Reworked Paleocene and Eocene specimens occur in some cores and dredge samples of late Oligocene age. Some cores show a major stratigraphical break from late Oligocene to Pleistocene. The coiling direction of Turborotalia pachyderma was investigated as a possible method of correlation of younger cores, and also as an indicator of palaeoclimatic changes. No correlation between cores was possible using coiling curves, which indicate rapid and irregular changes in sea-water temperatures over small areas, assuming that the coiling direction of T. pachyderma is an indication of sea-water temperature.