Detrital zircon records of Late Cretaceous syn-rift sedimentary sequences of New Caledonia: An Australian provenance questioned

► Late Cretaceous sediments contain zircons from rocks that are absent in New Caledonia. ► However, zircon population patterns do not fit the Australian provenance. ► Precambrian zircons come locally from eroded Mesozoic terranes. ► Early Cretaceous zircons come from hitherto unknown volcaniclastic rocks. ► New Caledonia was already separated from Australia in Late Cretaceous time.