Geological development of eastern Indonesia and the northern Australia collision zone: A review: Northern Territory Geological Survey, Special Publication 1 (CD-ROM)

For much of its history, the region encompassing the northern margin of the Australian Plate and eastern Indonesia has been part of, or relatively close to a continental margin.
Three significant periods of Palaeozoic–Mesozoic terrane dispersion occurred, where continental fragments separated from the margin of Gondwanaland, drifted northward and were subsequently accreted to the Eurasian craton. Separation of these blocks in the Early Devonian, late Early Permian and Late Triassic–Late Jurassic was accompanied by the opening of the Palaeo- Tethys, Meso-Tethys and Ceno-Tethys ocean basins.
By the end of the Jurassic, the northern margin of the Australian continent was part of a passive margin facing an open ocean containing several continental blocks or microcontinents.
The present geology results from two tectonic forces: (1) northward movement of the Australian Plate driven by the Southern Ocean spreading centre at 9 cm/year, and (2) rotation of the Pacific Plate which sets up sinistral shear on the northern margin of New Guinea.
This paper summarises the geological evolution as: building blocks formed during Proterozoic and Palaeozoic times; development of a Mesozoic mid-latitude passive margin on the eastern margin of Gondwanaland; and Neogene collision of Australia and the Indonesian archipelago.