[6] The thicker sediments of the Kupe Abyssal Plain nearer New Zealand and land commenced to accumulate from the end of the Oligocene onwards and terminated in the Pliocene with likely minor contributions from southern Lau-Colville Ridge volcanoes.

[7] The oldest basalt dredged from the Minerva Abyssal Plain is 26.0 ± 1.0 Ma but it is unknown if this is of basement or later volcanic origin.

[8] However drill site 285 in the Minerva Abyssal Plain also has basement volcanics that are dated to 26 Ma.

[11] These tend to give younger dates and there is increasing evidence that the Kupe Abyssal Plain is Miocene in age.

[13] The seafloor magnetic anomalies of the southern Kupe Abyssal Plain, unlike those further north, have been resolved and indicate NW–SE spreading.

[8] Matahourua, Mascarin, Marion, Coquille and one Margot seamount dedged sample are ocean island basalts.

[18] The historic interpretation based on magnetic anomaly patterns was that spreading involved a triple junction in the Minerva Abyssal Plain.

The New Hebrides Trench has consumed a large area of crust of the South Fiji Basin since the Late Miocene.