The following information is taken from the Aboriginal Coastal Shell Middens mini-poster; one of a set of 15 Aboriginal heritage mini-posters produced by Aboriginal Affairs Victoria.
The mini-poster can be downloaded by clicking
the poster thumbnail 
Coastal shell middens contain the remains of shellfish eaten by Aboriginal people. They can consist of the shells from a single meal or many different meals eaten in the same location over many years. They can also contain the remains of a more varied diet including fish, seal and kangaroo. Charcoal and hearth stones from fires as well as other cultural items such as stone and bone artifacts can also be present.
Shells embedded in a coastal midden
Shell middens are found in many areas along the Victorian coast. They can be located in sheltered positions in the dunes, coastal scrub and woodlands, within rock shelters, or on exposed cliff tops with good vantage points. They can occur near rocky or sandy shores and also close to coastal wetlands, inlets, estuaries, bays and river mouths.
Coastal shell middens are found as layers of shell exposed in the sides of dunes, banks or cliff tops, or as scatters of shell exposed on eroded surfaces. They range in size from a few metres across to many hundreds of metres and can consist of a thin, single layer, or multiple layers forming a thick deposit.
Coastal shell middens occur along the entire Corio Bay, Bellarine, Surfcoast and Otway coasts. There are 435 recorded middens. They are usually found just above the high tide mark. However at the end of the last ice-age, about 6000 years ago, the sea level was one or two meters higher than at present. Older middens therefore occur on higher ground. One such example occurs at Lake Connewarre where ancient shell beds are also found.
Shell middens are the remains of meals of shellfish once gathered and eaten by Aboriginal people.
Aboriginal people gathered a range of shellfish species. They were gathered from rock platforms and from the sandy shores of ocean beaches, river inlets, estuaries and bays. On rock platforms, shellfish such as mussels were pulled off in sheets, while snail-like turbos and whelks were prised off with wedge shaped sticks, stone and bone tools, or fingers. Rock platform shellfish from the sub-tidal zone, such as abalone, were obtained by diving. On sandy beaches, the shellfish were dug up with sticks, hands and feet. Aboriginal people preferred to collect larger shellfish because they contained more meat.
Aboriginal people often took their catch back into sheltered areas behind the beach to cook and eat. Shell fish were also eaten raw, but the presence of burnt shell indicates they were just as frequently cooked in hot coals. Heat from fires opened bivalves slightly, whereas meat from whelks and turbo shells had to be prised out.
While many Aboriginal shell midden sites are the sole result of shell fishing, a diverse range of activities took place at other sites. Habitation sites were sometimes located in resource-rich environments where wetlands, estuaries, lakes and open woodlands occur close to the shore. Middens associated with such sites can include a greater range of cultural material including bone, stone tools and hearth remains. Such middens can be extensive and consist of stratified (multiple layer) deposits.
A midden at Thunder point in Warrnambool (Dauwurd Wurrung / Gunditchmara country).
Sometimes it is difficult to tell the difference between naturally accumulating shell beds and culturally formed middens. Natural shell beds can accumulate as a result of wave action on the shore. Over time, some of these natural shell beds can be raised through coastal uplift, or as a result of sea level changes. Several characteristics indicate when a shell bed is natural. Natural shell beds are frequently found on old uplifted terraces, or very old landforms. The shell beds sometimes consist of a single species in a range of sizes including small shells that would have provided little food. Shells in natural beds will show signs of damage consistent with water rolling. They will not show signs of burning, or damage from having been deliberately opened. Bones and cultural materials such as hearths and stone artifacts will be absent. Natural shell beds can be large, deep and dense, but will not have dark, ashy, organic sediments like Aboriginal middens.
Shell middens provide valuable information about Aboriginal use of the coast and can show changes in diet, behaviour, activities and settlement over the last 12,000 years.
One of the most important features of midden sites is that the shell can easily be dated using the radiocarbon method of dating. The oldest known Aboriginal shell midden site on the Victorian coast is nearly 12,000 years old. At this time sea levels were lower because icecaps at the north and south poles were much larger than today. The shoreline was many kilometres away from its present position, at times creating a land bridge with Tasmania. Sea levels stabilised between 6 and 7000 years ago,and most middens along the present coastline were formed since that time. The dates of middens, their location and their contents, indicate that different areas of the coast were used at different times, generally when they were most productive. There were changes in shellfish species that were used, stone tool types and raw materials. The presence of exotic stone in sites is evidence of contact between people from different areas.
Coastal shell middens provide Aboriginal people today with an important link to their culture and their past. Shell middens which contain burials are particularly significant.
Aboriginal shell middens are amongst the most fragile cultural sites. They can be exposed by wind and water erosion; or degraded by human or animal interference. Sites close to the high tide level are increasingly prone to wave action due to recent and ongoing sea level rise caused by global warming. Burrowing animals disturb sand and damage the vegetation. People often destabilise the ground surface by using unregulated walking tracks or off-road vehicles. Once exposed, middens can rapidly deteriorate.
Effective management of these sites consists of stabilising the surface by encouraging a mature and diverse vegetation cover and allowing low impact or restricted access.
Aboriginal Affairs Victoria records the location, dimensions and context of Aboriginal coastal midden sites, so that we will have a permanent written and photographic record of this important part of the heritage of all Australians.
Do not disturb the area or remove any material from the site. Check whether the site has the typical characteristics of an Aboriginal coastal shell midden. If it does, record its location and write a brief description of its condition. Note whether it is under threat of disturbance.
Please help to preserve Aboriginal cultural places
by reporting their presence to Aboriginal Affairs
Victoria.
In particular, contact AAV if you observe that artifacts such as stone tools
a have been exposed by erosion.
All Aboriginal cultural places in Victoria are protected by law. Aboriginal artifacts are also protected. It is illegal to disturb or destroy an Aboriginal place. Artifacts should not be removed from sites.
The presence of an Aboriginal coastal midden on private land will not affect ownership, and in general will not stop existing land uses from continuing.
Please preserve Aboriginal coastal middens by conducting environmental, agricultural and other activities in a manner that does not impact on them. Such areas are likely to cover a very small area relative to the size of most properties and avoiding disturbance should therefore have little effect on productivity. The presence of such a place will greatly enhance the value of an appropriately implemented environmental project and is likely to be assist applicants seeking funds for environmental projects.