Rocks in the Brungle‐Darbalara area of the Tumut Trough form two distinct domains: basement (mainly Bullawyarra Schist), of Cambrian‐Ordovician age, and an Ordovician ‐ Early Silurian sedimentary and volcanic cover sequence. These two domains are separated by a sharp discontinuity that marks an abrupt change in rock type, structure, metamorphic grade and deformation style. Cover sequences have undergone only one major penetrative deformation during the Late Silurian, involving sub‐greenschist facies metamorphism and upright folding. In contrast, the basement also underwent at least two older deformations at greenschist facies and contains distinct high‐strain zones subconcordant with the basement‐cover contact. The high‐strain zones, characterized by a ubiquitous south‐southeast trending mineral lineation, record a discontinuous history of ductile followed by brittle behaviour, consistent with an extensional origin.