Palaeozoic greenstones lying at the base of stratigraphic sequences or in fault blocks in the Tasman Geosyncline are compared with the Penrose Conference definnition of an ophiolite by using tabulated petrological, structural, and metallogenic data. Of 45 occurrences, only 9 are recognizably ophiolites: 4 are in rift zones adjoining Precambrian continental crust at the ends of the geosyncline; and away from the margins, in that part of the geosyncline most typically of West Pacific‐type, only 5 of the 33 greenstone occurrences are recognizably ophiolites. Ophiolites are rare in the Tasman Geosyncline, in contrast to several Atlantic‐type geosynclines. This may be a characteristic of West Pacific‐type geosynclines in general.