Late Cretaceous to Oligocene source-to-sink system in Central Zealandia: implications for exhumation, paleogeography and Cenozoic Australia-Pacific plate boundary evolution

U-Pb, and zircon and apatite fission track data provide a powerful means to characterise the Late Cretaceous to Late Oligocene source-to-sink system and continent evolution in central Zealandia. Our dataset includes samples from potential source rocks in northwest Nelson (Takaka and Buller terranes; Karamea, Tobin, Darran and Separation Point suites) and Cenozoic sediments in the Taranaki and King Country basins. Zircon (ZFT) and apatite (AFT) fission track data for basement rocks indicate 7.5 to 10 km of Late Cretaceous to Paleogene exhumation, requiring a substantial Early Cretaceous to Paleogene mountain range in northwest Nelson, which was eroded to sea level by the Late Oligocene. Some 54% of the detrital zircon content in basin sandstone beds have Separation Point Suite U-Pb age, 24% have Karamea Batholith age and 19% have Darran and Tobin suites age. The remainder could be from the Buller and/or Takaka terranes. Revised Late Eocene and Oligocene paleogeographic maps for the basins define the sediment transport routes until termination during 29 to 26 Ma due to shortening across central to southern parts of the Taranaki Fault System, which dates the timing of subduction initiation along the Hikurangi margin of the modern Australia-Pacific plate boundary.