One billion years of tectonism at the Paleoproterozoic interface of North and South Australia

•New constraints on timing of metamorphism in Mount Woods, northeast Gawler Craton.•Pre-1800 Ma protoliths record granulite facies metamorphism at c. 1700 Ma.•Post-1750 Ma metasedimentary rocks and shear zones metamorphosed at c. 1570–1550 Ma.•Regional Rb–Sr biotite data suggests cooling after c. 1480 Ma.•Supports long-term connection between NAC and SAC from the earliest Paleoproterozoic.