The Neogene Period: Earth’s Shift Toward the Modern World
The Neogene Period, lasting from approximately 23 million to 2.6 million years ago, represents one of the most transformative intervals in Earth’s history. It followed the Paleogene Period and preceded the Quaternary, encompassing two major epochs — the Miocene and Pliocene.
During this time, the planet underwent dramatic climatic cooling, the continents assumed their near-modern positions, and ecosystems evolved toward the world we recognise today. Grasses spread across continents, mammal species diversified, and the earliest humans appeared.
For Australia, and particularly Victoria, the Neogene was a period of immense geological and ecological change — from volcanic activity and shifting coastlines to the development of modern flora and fauna.
Geological Framework
Tectonics and Continental Drift
Throughout the Neogene, Earth’s tectonic plates continued their slow collisions and separations.
The Himalayas, Alps, and Andes continued to rise due to ongoing continental convergence (Scotese, 2015).
The formation of the Isthmus of Panama around 3 million years ago restructured global ocean currents, linking North and South America (Zachos et al., 2001).
Australia moved steadily northward, drifting into drier latitudes after its separation from Antarctica (McGowran et al., 2004).
In southern Australia, including Victoria, these movements caused volcanic eruptions, marine regression, and basin sedimentation, forming much of the state’s modern topography.
Climate: From Warmth to Cooling
The Neogene began with the warm, humid Miocene and ended with the cooler, drier Pliocene — setting the stage for the glacial cycles of the Ice Age.
During the Miocene Climatic Optimum (17–15 million years ago), global temperatures were 3–4°C warmer than today.
By the late Neogene, cooling intensified as Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets expanded (Zachos et al., 2001).
These fluctuations drove shifts in vegetation, faunal migration, and ocean circulation.
In Australia, the retreat of rainforests and spread of open woodland and grasslands began — the ecological precursors of the modern bush.
Life and Evolution in the Neogene
Flora
Grasslands spread globally, enabling the rise of grazing animals.
In Australia, plant communities adapted to nutrient-poor soils and aridity, leading to the evolution of eucalypts, acacias, and banksias (Christophel & Greenwood, 1989).
Pollen evidence from Victorian basins such as Otway and Gippsland shows the gradual replacement of rainforest with sclerophyll vegetation.
Fauna
The Neogene saw a global radiation of mammals and birds.
In Australia, isolation led to the unique evolution of marsupials, including ancestors of kangaroos, koalas, wombats, and thylacines (Joyce, 2010).
Marine ecosystems in Victoria flourished with whales, seals, and megalodon sharks in warm coastal seas.
Giant birds, reptiles, and marsupials adapted to the continent’s changing climates.
Human Ancestors
In Africa, early hominins such as Australopithecus afarensis appeared around 3.5 million years ago (Begun, 2004).
Climate variability in the late Neogene is thought to have driven human evolution toward bipedalism and tool use.
The Neogene in Victoria
Volcanic Plains
The Western Victorian Volcanic Plains — stretching from Ballarat to Portland — began forming in the Miocene and continued erupting through the Pliocene and Pleistocene (Joyce, 2010).
Lava flows created fertile basalt soils and distinctive landforms such as crater lakes (Tower Hill) and lava blisters (Budj Bim).
These features later became cultural and economic centres for Aboriginal communities, especially the Gunditjmara people.
Marine Sediments and Coastal Evolution
Miocene marine deposits along the Otway, Bellarine, and Mornington Peninsulas show that much of Victoria was once submerged under shallow seas.
As sea levels fell during the late Neogene, coastlines retreated, forming estuaries, dunes, and wetlands that remain ecologically significant today.
River Systems
Major rivers such as the Barwon, Glenelg, and Moorabool carved valleys through Miocene and Pliocene sedimentary layers.
These systems became life sources for later human populations, supporting fish, eels, and freshwater ecosystems.
Australia in the Neogene
The continent’s northward drift exposed it to increasingly monsoonal and arid conditions.
Central Australia transformed from forest to desert.
Fauna adapted: kangaroos developed high-crowned teeth for grazing, and wombats grew larger to cope with harder vegetation (Archer & Hand, 2006).
Marine life along the southern coast adapted to cooler waters, with the emergence of kelp forests and modern fish species.
Aboriginal and Geological Connections
Although Aboriginal people arrived long after the Neogene (around 65,000 years ago), many Dreaming stories reflect deep geological memory of this era.
In Wadawurrung and Gunditjmara Country, stories of fire, water, and stone ancestors mirror the volcanic and tectonic forces that defined the late Neogene. The creation stories of Budj Bim, for example, describe the transformation of land and water, aligning with geological records of volcanic eruption and lava flow (UNESCO, 2019; Rose, 1996).
These stories reveal an Indigenous understanding of deep time — knowledge systems that align with scientific chronologies of Earth’s ancient past (Neale, 2017).
Global Comparisons
Across continents, Neogene environments produced similar evolutionary pressures:
Africa: Savanna expansion shaped primate and hominin evolution.
Europe and Asia: Grasslands supported herds of horses, antelope, and elephants.
North America: The Great Plains formed, hosting bison and large predators.
South America: Isolation led to unique fauna such as giant sloths and glyptodonts, later connected to North America by the Isthmus of Panama.
These global parallels show the Neogene as a period of biological innovation and adaptation under environmental stress.
Conclusion
The Neogene Period was the bridge between ancient Earth and the modern world. It saw continents settle into their familiar positions, climates cool toward ice age cycles, and ecosystems evolve into the patterns we see today.
In Victoria and across Australia, the Neogene shaped volcanic plains, river systems, and coastlines that became the foundations of Aboriginal Country. It was a time when fire and water sculpted the land — and when life, adapting to change, took its final steps toward the world we inhabit now.
References
Archer, M., & Hand, S. (2006). The Evolution of Australia’s Fauna. Sydney: UNSW Press.
Begun, D. R. (2004). The Earliest Hominins: Morphology and Ecology. Annual Review of Anthropology, 33, 345–368.
Christophel, D. C., & Greenwood, D. R. (1989). “Changes in vegetation and climate through the Tertiary of southeastern Australia.” Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 58, 99–129.
Joyce, E. B. (2010). The Western Victorian Volcanic Plains: A Field Guide to the Newer Volcanics Province. Geological Society of Australia.
McGowran, B., Li, Q., Cann, J., & Padley, D. (2004). The Cenozoic of the Australian Southern Margin: Evolution of a Rifted Continent. Journal of Australian Earth Sciences, 51, 125–145.
Neale, M. (2017). Songlines: The Power and Promise. Canberra: National Museum of Australia.
Rose, D. B. (1996). Nourishing Terrains: Australian Aboriginal Views of Landscape and Wilderness. Canberra: Australian Heritage Commission.
Scotese, C. R. (2015). The Paleomap Project: Paleogeographic Maps of the Neogene Period. University of Texas.
UNESCO. (2019). Budj Bim Cultural Landscape World Heritage Nomination. Paris: UNESCO.
Zachos, J., Pagani, M., Sloan, L., Thomas, E., & Billups, K. (2001). “Trends, Rhythms, and Aberrations in Global Climate 65 Ma to Present.” Science, 292(5517), 686–693.
Written, Researched and Directed by James Vegter 07/10/2025
Magic Lands Alliance
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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.