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Land Bridge of Ice, Water, and Culture on the Bassian Plane
The Bassian Plain, also known as the Bass Strait Land Bridge, is one of the most significant geological and cultural features in southern Australia. Now submerged beneath the Bass Strait, this vast plain once formed a continuous landmass linking Victoria and Tasmania during periods of low sea level in the Quaternary Period, especially during the Pleistocene Ice Ages (Lambeck & Chappell, 2001).
For tens of thousands of years, the Bassian Plain was a habitable landscape, supporting Aboriginal peoples, diverse flora and fauna, and complex ecosystems. Its flooding around 10,000–12,000 years ago, at the end of the last glacial period, dramatically reshaped the geography, cultures, and ecological systems of southeastern Australia.
Today, its legacy endures beneath the sea — in sediments, underwater ridges, and oral traditions of Aboriginal communities that remember a time when Tasmania was connected to the mainland.
Geological Formation and Evolution
Tectonic Background
The Bassian Plain lies between the southern coast of Victoria and the north coast of Tasmania, spanning approximately 240 kilometres across the Bass Strait. Geologically, it forms part of the Southeast Australian Continental Shelf, a shallow submarine platform less than 80 metres deep, shaped by the breakup of Gondwana and later Cenozoic sedimentation (McGowran et al., 2004; Joyce, 2010).
During the Mesozoic Era (≈100 million years ago), the rifting between Australia and Antarctica opened the Southern Ocean and initiated the formation of the Bass Basin.
Over millions of years, sedimentation filled the basin with marine sands, gravels, and glacial outwash.
The resulting Bassian Plain emerged repeatedly during glacial periods of the Quaternary, when global sea levels dropped due to ice sheet expansion (Lambeck & Chappell, 2001).
Ice Age Exposure
During the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) around 20,000 years ago, global sea levels were approximately 120 metres lower than today (Lambeck & Chappell, 2001).
The sea between Tasmania and Victoria receded, exposing a broad grassy plain intersected by rivers and lakes.
The Bass River system drained from the highlands of eastern Victoria toward the west, joining other channels that eventually reached the Southern Ocean through what is now Bass Strait.
The exposed plain covered an estimated 50,000 square kilometres — roughly the size of modern-day Costa Rica — making it one of the most extensive Ice Age land bridges on Earth.
Climate and Environment of the Bassian Plain
Glacial Climate
The Bassian Plain existed during some of Earth’s coldest periods.
The region experienced a cool, dry climate, with steppe and grassland vegetation.
Pollen and sediment records from surrounding areas (e.g., King Island and Wilsons Promontory) indicate open woodlands, dominated by Casuarina, Eucalyptus, and Acacia species (Dodson et al., 1998).
Seasonal rainfall maintained freshwater lakes and river systems across the plain, supporting diverse fauna including kangaroos, emus, wallabies, and megafauna.
Postglacial Flooding
As the last Ice Age ended around 14,000–10,000 years ago, melting ice sheets caused rapid sea-level rise.
The Bassian Plain flooded, first forming islands (e.g., King Island and Flinders Island) before becoming the Bass Strait as we know it today (Lambeck & Chappell, 2001).
By around 8,000 years ago, Tasmania was fully isolated from mainland Australia.
This event reshaped ecosystems, forcing terrestrial species into refugia and permanently altering human mobility and settlement patterns.
Indigenous Occupation and Cultural Memory
Human Presence
Archaeological and genetic evidence shows Aboriginal peoples lived across the Bassian Plain for tens of thousands of years before it was inundated (Sullivan, 1981; Richards et al., 2007).
Populations moved freely between Victoria and Tasmania, sharing technologies, stone resources, and cultural practices.
Artefacts and ochre trade links between Wilsons Promontory, Flinders Island, and northern Tasmania demonstrate cultural continuity across the region (Cosgrove, 1995).
When rising seas submerged the plain, groups became separated — leading to distinct cultural trajectories in Tasmania and the mainland.
Oral Traditions
Aboriginal oral histories describe the flooding of land between Tasmania and the mainland — stories that have persisted for more than 10,000 years (Neale, 2017).
The Palawa people of Tasmania and the Gunaikurnai and Bunurong peoples of Victoria tell stories of the sea rising, swallowing land, and stranding people on islands.
These narratives correspond closely to geological evidence of sea-level rise, demonstrating the longevity and accuracy of oral environmental knowledge (Rose, 1996; Nunn & Reid, 2016).
Such stories make the Bassian Plain one of the clearest examples of Aboriginal deep-time knowledge aligning with geological science.
Ecological and Biological Legacy
Biogeography
The Bassian Plain served as a biogeographical corridor, allowing species movement between Tasmania and the mainland.
Many animal and plant species shared across these regions today — such as Tasmanian devils, eastern quolls, and pademelons — reflect this ancient connection (Hope, 1994).
Following inundation, isolation led to genetic divergence between Tasmanian and mainland populations.
Modern Marine Environment
Today, the submerged Bassian Plain forms the Bass Strait shelf, rich in marine biodiversity.
Strong tidal currents over the shallow seafloor support kelp forests, sponges, and fisheries for scallops, abalone, and lobsters (Currie & Sorokin, 2011).
Geological mapping reveals submerged channels, dunes, and estuarine deposits that record the transition from land to sea.
Scientific Investigations and Submerged Landscapes
Recent marine geology and archaeology projects have sought to reconstruct the palaeogeography of the Bassian Plain.
Seismic surveys and core sampling identify ancient river valleys, lagoon systems, and palaeosols buried under marine sediments (White et al., 2014).
These features correspond to likely zones of past human habitation — now submerged archaeological landscapes.
Researchers are using sonar and underwater mapping to locate potential Aboriginal sites, such as hearths or stone artefacts preserved beneath the seafloor.
Such work is reshaping our understanding of how sea-level rise transformed human landscapes and how early Australians adapted to dynamic coastlines.
Cultural and Environmental Significance Today
The Bassian Plain remains central to both scientific inquiry and Aboriginal cultural heritage.
It represents a shared landscape of memory, bridging deep time and living tradition.
The Palawa, Wadawurrung, Bunurong, and Gunaikurnai peoples maintain connections to coastal areas that once overlooked the plain — places of ancestral travel, trade, and ceremony.
Conservation initiatives in the Bass Strait islands and Victorian coastal reserves increasingly incorporate Indigenous perspectives on land and sea management, reflecting the enduring relationship between people and Country.
Conclusion
The story of the Bassian Plain is one of transformation — from land to sea, from connection to separation. It embodies the intertwined histories of Earth’s changing climate and Aboriginal cultural resilience.
Once a thriving grassland crossed by rivers and people, the plain now lies beneath the waves, but its memory endures — in sediment cores, in science, and in the stories of First Peoples who remember when “the sea came in.”
The Bassian Plain reminds us that landscapes are never fixed — they rise and fall, connect and divide, but their spirit remains embedded in both geology and story.
References
Cosgrove, R. (1995) ‘Late Pleistocene behavioural variation and time trends: the case from Tasmania’, Archaeology in Oceania, 30(3), pp. 83–104.
Currie, D. R. & Sorokin, S. J. (2011) ‘Biological and physical characteristics of the Bass Strait shelf system’, Marine and Freshwater Research, 62(8), pp. 799–814.
Dodson, J. R., Fullagar, R. & Head, L. (1998) ‘Vegetation change and human occupation at Burrup Peninsula, northwest Australia’, Quaternary International, 49–50, pp. 275–284.
Hope, J. H. (1994) Faunal Changes in Late Quaternary Australia. Sydney: UNSW Press.
Joyce, E. B. (2010) The Western Victorian Volcanic Plains: A Field Guide to the Newer Volcanics Province. Geological Society of Australia.
Lambeck, K. & Chappell, J. (2001) ‘Sea level change through the last glacial cycle’, Science, 292(5517), pp. 679–686.
McGowran, B., Li, Q., Cann, J. & Padley, D. (2004) ‘The Cenozoic of the Australian southern margin: evolution of a rifted continent’, Australian Journal of Earth Sciences, 51, pp. 125–145.
Neale, M. (2017) Songlines: The Power and Promise. Canberra: National Museum of Australia.
Nunn, P. D. & Reid, N. J. (2016) ‘Aboriginal memories of inundation of the Australian coast dating from more than 7000 years ago’, Australian Geographer, 47(1), pp. 11–47.
Rose, D. B. (1996) Nourishing Terrains: Australian Aboriginal Views of Landscape and Wilderness. Canberra: Australian Heritage Commission.
Richards, T., Brown, S., & Cooper, A. (2007) ‘Pleistocene population dynamics in southeast Australia’, Proceedings of the Royal Society B, 274(1628), pp. 1445–1452.
Sullivan, H. (1981) ‘Aboriginal occupation of the Bassian Rise: evidence and implications’, Records of the Queen Victoria Museum, 76, pp. 1–8.
White, S. D., et al. (2014) ‘Submerged landscapes and archaeology of the Bass Strait’, Australian Archaeology, 78(1), pp. 53–67.
Written, Researched and Directed by James Vegter 16/09/2025
Magic Lands Alliance
Sharing the truth of Indigenous and colonial history through film, education, land and community.
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Magic Lands Alliance acknowledge the Traditional Owners, Custodians, and First Nations communities across Australia and internationally. We honour their enduring connection to the sky, land, waters, language, and culture. We pay our respects to Elders past, present, and emerging, and to all First Peoples communities and language groups. This article draws only on publicly available information; many cultural practices remain the intellectual property of communities.