Native Animals History and Science
Ancient Harvests and Coastal Knowledge
Shellfish have sustained life along Victoria’s coasts, estuaries, and rivers for tens of thousands of years. From mussels and pipis to oysters and abalone, these molluscs have nourished people, shaped ecosystems, and inspired stories of water and spirit. For Indigenous peoples, shellfish were not only food but also sacred beings, deeply connected to the cycles of tide, moon, and law (Gaughwin & Fullagar 1995; Clarke 2011).
Their presence is immortalised in shell middens — great accumulations of shells, charcoal, and bones that stretch along Victoria’s coastlines, some dating back over 8,000 years (O’Connor et al. 2002). These sites are living archives of knowledge, recording both ecological abundance and cultural continuity.
For colonists, shellfish became commodities: oysters for markets, abalone for export, shells for lime in construction. Overharvesting led to collapse, but today, shellfish restoration projects and Traditional Owner-led management are reviving ancient relationships between people, coast, and sea.
Origins and Deep-Time
The evolutionary story of shellfish stretches back over 500 million years, to the Cambrian Period, when early molluscs evolved hard shells for protection (Runnegar & Pojeta 1974). Through the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras, shellfish diversified into clams, oysters, mussels, and abalone, colonising marine and estuarine environments.
Fossil beds from the Miocene epoch (23–5 million years ago) in southeastern Australia reveal extensive shell deposits, evidence of ancient reefs and estuaries that once flourished where Victoria’s coastal plains now lie (Darragh 1989).
By the Pleistocene (2.6 million–10,000 years ago), as ice ages shaped the coastline and sea levels rose, shellfish became abundant in newly formed bays, inlets, and estuaries — providing a steady, renewable food source for the First Peoples of southern Australia.
Deep-Time and Cultural Timeline
The story of shellfish in Victoria begins in the Cambrian period, when early shelled molluscs appeared in ancient seas (Runnegar & Pojeta 1974). By the Miocene, warm, shallow waters supported vast oyster and mussel reefs along what is now Bass Strait and Port Phillip (Darragh 1989). During the Pleistocene, sea-level changes formed modern bays and estuaries, where shellfish thrived and sustained human life.
For over 40,000 years, Indigenous communities along Victoria’s coasts have gathered and honoured shellfish as both sustenance and spirit (Gaughwin & Fullagar 1995). Before 1788, shellfish harvesting followed cultural law — respecting size, season, and sacred sites. Middens from this period reveal complex patterns of trade, ceremony, and ecology.
After colonisation, exploitation intensified: by the 1840s, Victoria’s oyster beds were depleted by overharvesting and pollution (Parks Victoria 2020). Abalone became a major industry in the 20th century, leading to further population declines. Since the late 1900s, conservation, Traditional Owner leadership, and reef restoration have revived both shellfish populations and their cultural significance (DEECA 2022).
Types of Shellfish in Victoria
Victoria’s coasts and waterways support diverse shellfish species, each with ecological and cultural importance (Gaughwin & Fullagar 1995; Parks Victoria 2020):
Mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis, Xenostrobus spp.): Common on rocky shores and estuaries; traditional food source and key water filterers.
Pipis (Donax deltoides): Gathered along sandy beaches such as Venus Bay and Ninety Mile Beach; vital for cultural and community harvests.
Oysters (Ostrea angasi): Once abundant in Port Phillip and Western Port Bays; now the focus of reef restoration projects.
Abalone (Haliotis rubra, H. laevigata): Highly valued for food, trade, and ceremony; harvested sustainably by Indigenous communities for millennia.
Scallops (Pecten fumatus): Found in offshore sandy habitats; important both culturally and economically.
Cockles and Clams: Abundant in estuaries; part of wetland food chains and sediment health.
Ecology and Role in the Environment
Shellfish are essential engineers of Victoria’s coastal ecosystems:
Filter Feeders: Mussels, clams, and oysters filter nutrients and sediment, improving water clarity and quality.
Habitat Builders: Shell reefs provide structure for fish, seahorses, crabs, and seaweed.
Nutrient Cyclers: Decomposing shells enrich sediment, creating fertile seabeds.
Indicators: Healthy shellfish populations signify clean water and stable ecosystems (Parks Victoria 2020).
Their ecological role mirrors their cultural one — connecting land, water, and life through cycles of renewal.
Shellfish in Indigenous Culture
For Indigenous peoples of Victoria, shellfish were central to both survival and ceremony (Clark 1990; Gaughwin & Fullagar 1995).
Food and Fire: Shellfish such as mussels, pipis, and abalone were collected seasonally, often roasted over open fires near the shore.
Middens as Memory: Shell middens — some stretching hundreds of metres — record thousands of years of family gatherings, ceremonies, and knowledge sharing (Gaughwin & Fullagar 1995).
Tools and Trade: Shells were shaped into fishhooks, scrapers, and personal ornaments, and traded across vast distances.
Law and Ceremony: The act of gathering shellfish was governed by protocols ensuring sustainability — take only what is needed, leave breeding stock, and never harvest during spawning.
Spiritual Connections: Shells and sea creatures were woven into Dreaming stories that explained the creation of reefs, tides, and abundance, teaching respect for water as living spirit (Massola 1968; Clarke 2011).
Shellfish symbolised reciprocity: to care for the sea was to ensure that the sea would care for you.
Shellfish on Wadawurrung Country
On Wadawurrung Country, spanning the Bellarine Peninsula, Geelong, and the Surf Coast, shellfish gathering was a cornerstone of coastal life (Clark 1990).
At Lake Connewarre and the Barwon River estuary, Wadawurrung people harvested mussels, clams, and oysters, roasting them on coals or drying them for travel. Pipis were collected from surf beaches, while abalone and limpets were taken from intertidal reefs.
The midden sites of the Bellarine — such as those at Clifton Springs, Indented Head, and Barwon Heads — are among Victoria’s most significant cultural landscapes, holding stories of continuity and care that predate colonisation by thousands of years.
In Wadawurrung teaching, abundance came with responsibility. Greed or waste offended sea spirits and could bring scarcity. Abalone shells were also used in ceremony, traded inland for ochre and stone, and prized for their iridescent surfaces — symbols of light, water, and transformation (Wadawurrung TOAC 2023).
Colonial History and Exploitation
Colonisation disrupted both shellfish ecosystems and cultural practices:
Oyster Collapse: By the 1840s, oyster reefs in Port Phillip Bay were overharvested for Melbourne’s markets (Parks Victoria 2020).
Abalone Industry: From the 1950s, commercial diving decimated natural populations until quotas were imposed.
Loss of Middens: Many shell middens were destroyed by lime-burning and coastal development.
Cultural Disconnection: Colonisation restricted Indigenous access to coasts, severing food systems and ceremonial traditions.
These losses symbolise both ecological decline and the cultural disruption wrought by colonisation (Gaughwin & Fullagar 1995).
Modern Science and Cultural Renewal
Today, shellfish are central to restoration efforts that merge ecological science with Indigenous leadership:
Oyster Reef Restoration: Projects in Port Phillip Bay and Western Port aim to re-establish native flat oyster (Ostrea angasi) reefs (Parks Victoria 2020).
Water Quality Monitoring: Shellfish are used as biological indicators to track pollution and climate change impacts.
Cultural Management: Traditional Owners, including Wadawurrung and Bunurong Peoples, are leading marine restoration that integrates ceremony, education, and sustainable harvesting.
Ecological Education: Schools and cultural programs use shellfish as teaching tools for sustainability and respect for Sea Country.
These collaborations affirm that science and culture are not separate, but two languages of the same story — the story of care for water and life.
Symbolism and Meaning
Shellfish carry layered meanings across time and culture:
For Indigenous peoples: They represent nourishment, gratitude, and the law of balance.
For scientists: They symbolise ecosystem resilience and environmental health.
For all Victorians: They stand as reminders of the ancient human connection to the sea — one that continues through renewal and responsibility.
Their shells, once discarded into middens, are now voices of continuity — records of how people have lived with the coast since time immemorial.
Conclusion
Shellfish are keepers of Victoria’s coastal memory — ecological engineers, cultural teachers, and witnesses to history. From the Miocene reefs beneath Bass Strait to the living middens of the Wadawurrung coast, their story spans deep time and deep belonging.
Their decline under colonisation mirrors the wounds of Country, yet their restoration offers hope for healing — of land, water, and spirit.
To protect shellfish is to honour both the science of ecosystems and the law of Country, ensuring that the ancient songs of tide and shell continue to shape Victoria’s shores for generations to come.
References
Clark, I.D. (1990). Aboriginal Languages and Clans: An Historical Atlas of Western and Central Victoria, 1800–1900. Monash Publications in Geography, Melbourne.
Clarke, P.A. (2011). Australian Indigenous Ethnobotany and Ethnozoology: An Overview. CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne.
Darragh, T.A. (1989). “Tertiary Mollusca of Southeastern Australia.” Memoirs of the Museum of Victoria, 50(1), pp.1–10.
DEECA (Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action). (2022). Victoria’s Marine and Coastal Strategy. State Government of Victoria.
Gaughwin, D. & Fullagar, R. (1995). “Aboriginal Shell Middens in Victoria: Past Use and Present Significance.” Australian Archaeology, no. 41, pp.15–22.
Massola, A. (1968). Bunjil’s Cave: Myths, Legends and Superstitions of the Aborigines of South-East Australia. Lansdowne Press, Melbourne.
O’Connor, S., Spriggs, M. & Veth, P. (2002). The Archaeology of the Aru Islands, Eastern Indonesia. Pandanus Books, Canberra.
Parks Victoria. (2020). Port Phillip Bay Reef Restoration Project. State Government of Victoria, Melbourne.
Runnegar, B. & Pojeta, J. (1974). “Molluscan Phylogeny: The Paleozoic Foundation of Modern Classes.” Science, 186(4162), pp.311–317.
Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation. (2023). Sea Country and Coastal Knowledge Framework. Geelong.
Written, Researched and Directed by James Vegter 16/09/2025
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.