Mechanisms of pollen transport and deposition in fluvial and marine systems of northeastern Australia were investigated to aid in the interpretation of the ODP 820A marine pollen record. Pollen assemblages are compared for sediments from three different depositional settings across the study region: 1. Modern (surface) sediments from the present day estuaries of the Russell/Mulgrave and Barron Rivers; 2. Holocene core sediments from fossil shorelines on the continental shelf (cores KG 951 VC1 and VC2); 3. Holocene core sediments from the continental slope (ODP 820A marine core). The combined results contribute to our understanding of pollen transport and deposition in the humid tropics of northeastern Australia. Distinctive pollen assemblages are recorded for the estuaries climatically contrasting river catchments, and there is no evidence for the fluvial sorting of pollen types into sand-sized and silt-sized components as reported elsewhere. A clearer picture of the regional biases in production and dispersal of pollen types provides a stronger basis for the interpretation of marine cores from beyond the continental shelf.