Fletcher, Michael-Shawn; Romano, Anthony (2026): Multiproxy palaeoecological record from Purghagoolah (Lake Elusive), Gippsland, southeastern Australia: pollen, macroscopic charcoal, FTIR charcoal temperature, magnetic susceptibility and radiocarbon [dataset bundled publication]. PANGAEA, https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.995756 (DOI registration in progress)

This dataset presents multiproxy palaeoecological measurements from a 1 m sediment core taken from the deepest point of Purghagoolah (Lake Elusive), a lake of approximately 40 ha and 21 m depth in Croajingolong National Park, Gippsland, southeastern Australia, on Gunaikurnai Country (37°44'50S, 149°27'9E). The core was collected on 9 February 2021 with a Universal Corer (Aquatic Instruments) and subsampled at 0.5 to 1 cm intervals. The record spans approximately the last 1000 years (ca. 844 to 2021 CE). Variables measured include: pollen, reported as raw counts, as percentages of the terrestrial pollen sum, and as pollen accumulation rates, identified by light microscopy; pollen counts for the modelled taxa prepared as input to the REVEALS regional vegetation model; macroscopic charcoal (>125 µm) counts and accumulation rates following hydrogen peroxide digestion; charcoal pyrolysis temperature estimated by Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy on a Nicolet iN10 MX microscope, accompanied by a modern reference charcoal spectral library; and volume magnetic susceptibility measured on a Bartington ring sensor (75 mm aperture). The age-depth model is based on eleven lead-210 dates (Constant Rate of Supply model) and six accelerator mass spectrometry radiocarbon dates on bulk sediment, with a reservoir correction applied, calibrated with SHCal20 and modelled in rbacon. A regional archaeological radiocarbon compilation (216 ages from 30 sites, obtained from the OCTOPUS v.2.3 / SahulArch database) used to compute a summed probability distribution is also included. Archaeological site coordinates are withheld in accordance with Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP) principles and Indigenous Data Sovereignty. Data are provided as TAB-delimited tables with full parameter names, units, and event metadata in decimal degrees (WGS84).