Native Animals History and Science
Turtles of Victoria: Ancient Travellers and Keepers of Water Law
Turtles are among the oldest living vertebrates on Earth — creatures whose ancestry stretches back more than 200 million years. Across Victoria’s rivers, wetlands, and coasts, these enduring beings have long symbolised patience, longevity, and the connection between land and water. For Indigenous peoples, turtles are not just animals but ancestors and law-keepers, embodying balance, endurance, and the slow rhythm of Country (Clarke 2008; Howitt 1904).
From the Eastern Long-necked Turtle in inland billabongs to marine turtles along the southern coast, they feature in story, ceremony, and seasonal knowledge systems. Their shells inspired art and tools, and their nesting cycles signalled changes in weather and water. Colonisation disrupted these cycles through wetland drainage, pollution, and the introduction of predators — yet today, cultural renewal and ecological restoration are reuniting people and turtles across Victoria’s waters.
Origins and Deep Time
Turtles first appeared during the Triassic Period, over 220 million years ago, evolving the unique protective shell that defines them (Gaffney 1990). By the Jurassic (200–145 Ma), both marine and freshwater forms had spread across Gondwana, including the ancient landscapes that would become Australia. Fossils reveal that Miocene and Pliocene turtles swam through subtropical wetlands and inland rivers long before humans arrived (Warren 1969; Thomson & Georges 2009).
Their physiology — low metabolism, shell insulation, and specialised respiration — made them masters of survival through droughts, floods, and Ice Ages. By the Pleistocene (2.6 Ma–10 ka), modern genera such as Chelodina (long-necked turtles) and Emydura (short-necked turtles) occupied rivers and lakes across Victoria (Hutchinson 1991).
For over 40,000 years, First Peoples have lived alongside these beings, incorporating them into ceremony, story, and ecological practice. Turtles became emblems of water law, teaching patience, persistence, and balance (Clarke 2008).
Deep-Time and Cultural Timeline
Triassic (220 Ma): First shelled turtles evolve on Gondwana (Gaffney 1990).
Miocene (23–5 Ma): Freshwater turtles like Chelodina diversify across Australia’s inland rivers (Thomson & Georges 2009).
Pleistocene (2.6 Ma–10 ka): Fossil evidence of long-necked turtles recorded in Victoria (Hutchinson 1991).
>40,000 years ago: Indigenous peoples include turtles in Dreaming stories and water law (Clarke 2008).
Pre-1788: Turtles harvested sustainably; their shells and movements guide seasonal calendars (Howitt 1904).
1798–1900: Wetland drainage and settlement destroy nesting sites and alter water systems.
1900s–Present: Indigenous-led conservation and scientific research work to restore habitats and protect turtle populations (DELWP 2021; Wadawurrung TOAC 2023).
Species of Victoria
Victoria’s freshwater and coastal environments host several turtle species (Thomson & Georges 2009):
Eastern Long-necked Turtle (Chelodina longicollis) – widespread in rivers, lakes, and wetlands; highly flexible neck and strong sense of smell.
Murray River Turtle (Emydura macquarii) – large, robust swimmer found in major inland waterways; key seed disperser.
Common Snake-necked Turtle (Chelodina canni) – found in northern Victoria; burrows deep into mud during dry periods (aestivation).
Marine visitors: Loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and Green Turtles (Chelonia mydas) occasionally appear off Victoria’s coasts during warmer years.
Ecology and Role in Country
Turtles are vital to aquatic ecosystems as nutrient recyclers, scavengers, and seed dispersers.
Cleaning waterways: They consume carrion and decaying vegetation, maintaining water quality.
Sediment aeration: Nesting and burrowing oxygenate wetland soils.
Seed dispersal: Plants such as Myriophyllum and Potamogeton benefit from turtle transport.
Ecosystem indicators: Declining turtle numbers often reflect deteriorating water health (Georges 2013).
Their survival across changing climates illustrates resilience — slow, deliberate, and steady, much like the rivers they inhabit.
Turtles in Indigenous Knowledge and Law
For Indigenous peoples of Victoria, turtles hold deep spiritual and ecological importance:
Food and materials: Turtle meat and eggs were roasted or baked in clay; shells became water bowls and tools (Dawson 1881).
Ceremony and story: Turtles are keepers of water law, representing stillness, reflection, and the cyclical flow of life (Clarke 2008).
Seasonal guides: Their emergence signals the coming of certain fish and plants.
Moral teachers: Many stories teach that like the turtle, one must move carefully and live in rhythm with Country.
Turtle stories from the Kulin Nations emphasise harmony — that no water should be taken without gratitude, and no life sustained without balance (Howitt 1904).
A Story from Wadawurrung Country: The Turtle Who Carried the Rain
Long ago, when the plains were dry and the people were thirsty, the rivers of Wadawurrung Country had sunk into the earth. The spirits of the sky kept the rain hidden, and the people sang for water.
One small turtle, tired of waiting, began digging deep into the mud, searching for the hidden pools beneath. As she dug, her claws struck cool water, and it bubbled to the surface. She carried that water on her back, dripping it across the land as she walked. Every step she took created a new waterhole.
The sky spirits saw her effort and opened their clouds, sending rain to fill the holes she had made. From that day, the people remembered her as Ngarrwa-warrung, the Turtle Who Carried the Rain — a reminder that patience, care, and persistence can bring renewal to even the driest Country.
(Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation, oral teaching shared with permission through cultural research, 2023.)
The Physics and Biology of the Turtle
Turtles’ survival across deep time is not only cultural but biomechanical and sensory marvel. Their unique biology integrates physics, evolution, and environmental adaptation:
Shell structure: The turtle shell (carapace and plastron) is a fusion of ribs and vertebrae — a living bone armour. Its domed shape distributes pressure evenly, a principle of load-bearing similar to engineering arches (Gaffney 1990).
Hydrodynamics: The streamlined form of aquatic turtles reduces drag by up to 60%. Limb strokes follow a figure-eight pattern, producing lift and thrust akin to propeller motion in water (Thomson & Georges 2009).
Vision and light sensitivity: Freshwater turtles possess colour vision in the red and ultraviolet spectrum, enabling them to detect aquatic plants, mates, and sunlight angles for navigation (Georges 2013).
Magnetic navigation: Like sea turtles, some freshwater species can sense Earth’s magnetic fields, guiding long-distance movement between nesting and feeding sites (Lohmann et al. 2008).
Thermoregulation: They absorb sunlight through their shells, which act as solar panels, regulating body temperature through conduction and circulation.
Vibration and pressure sensors: Receptors in the skin and shell detect subtle vibrations and currents, allowing turtles to perceive approaching predators or environmental shifts — a natural early-warning system (Georges 2013).
These adaptations blend physics and biology in perfect design — the turtle moves slowly, but with extraordinary precision, attuned to every ripple of its world.
Turtles on Wadawurrung Country
On Wadawurrung Country, from Ballarat’s volcanic lakes to the Barwon River and Lake Connewarre wetlands, turtles connect land and sea.
Their presence signals healthy water. They feature in local creation stories, embodying patience and endurance. Today, the Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation collaborates with scientists to restore nesting sites and protect eggs from predators, combining cultural water law with ecological data (Wadawurrung TOAC 2023; DELWP 2021).
Colonial Impacts
The 19th century brought profound ecological change.
Wetlands were drained for farming, rivers were dammed, and introduced species — foxes, cats, and carp — altered ecosystems. Pollution and land clearing destroyed nesting banks. For Indigenous communities, these impacts broke cultural and ecological connections to waterways (Flannery 1994; Georges 2013).
Conservation and Cultural Renewal
In the 21st century, turtles have become symbols of renewal:
Scientific monitoring tracks nesting and migration using GPS telemetry (Georges 2013).
Predator control reduces egg predation in Barwon and Murray wetlands.
Cultural co-management integrates traditional knowledge and ceremony into conservation practice (Wadawurrung TOAC 2023).
Education and citizen science: TurtleSAT and school programs teach communities to protect nests and record sightings.
These initiatives reflect a shared recognition: the survival of turtles is inseparable from the health of Country and community.
Symbolism and Meaning
For Indigenous peoples, the turtle is an ancestor of patience, carrying the water law on its back.
For scientists, it is an evolutionary marvel, a model of resilience and efficiency.
Together, these perspectives reveal that care for the turtle is care for time, water, and balance itself.
Conclusion
Turtles are living fossils — patient travellers who have endured fire, flood, and the turning of continents. Their story in Victoria connects deep-time evolution, Indigenous knowledge, and modern science.
As keepers of water law, they teach us to move carefully, to listen to the slow language of rivers, and to protect the cycles that sustain life.
To restore turtles to Country is to restore the rhythm of water — ancient, enduring, and ever-flowing.
References
Abbott, I. (2008). Historical perspectives of faunal change in southern Australia. Conservation Science Western Australia, 7(1), 1–17.
Clarke, P.A. (2008). Aboriginal Healing Practices: Smoke, Fire and Water in South-Eastern Australia. Aboriginal Studies Press, Canberra.
Dawson, J. (1881). Australian Aborigines: The Languages and Customs of Several Tribes of Aborigines in the Western District of Victoria, Australia. George Robertson, Melbourne.
DELWP (2021). Biodiversity 2037 Strategy. Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, Melbourne.
Flannery, T. (1994). The Future Eaters. Reed Books, Sydney.
Gaffney, E.S. (1990). The Paleontology of Turtles. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington D.C.
Georges, A. (2013). “Turtle conservation and management in Australia.” Australian Zoologist, 37(2), 145–156.
Hutchinson, M. (1991). “Fossil turtles from the Pleistocene of Australia.” Records of the South Australian Museum, 25(1), 33–48.
Howitt, A.W. (1904). The Native Tribes of South-East Australia. Macmillan, London.
Lohmann, K.J., Lohmann, C.M. & Putman, N.F. (2008). “Magnetic maps in animals: Nature’s GPS.” Journal of Experimental Biology, 211, 3697–3705.
Thomson, S.A. & Georges, A. (2009). “Evolution of Australia’s freshwater turtles.” Zootaxa, 2053, 1–31.
Wadawurrung Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation (TOAC). (2023). Waterways and Wetland Knowledge Framework. Geelong.
Warren, A.A. (1969). “Fossil reptiles from the Cretaceous of Australia.” Journal of the Geological Society of Australia, 16(1), 91–97.
Written, Researched and Directed by James Vegter 16/09/2025
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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.