Signs of a feast

Shell middens are deposits or mounds of the remains of edible shellfish found at what were Aboriginal camp sites. They are made up of crab, lobster, oyster and abalone shells, fish and animal bones, stone tools, charcoal from campfires and, sometimes, human teeth and bones.

Middens are found all along the Australian coast and in the Woollahra Municipality there are over 12 sites officially recorded. Most are now covered by vegetation now but some are still visible. They give many important clues about what the Eora people of the area ate, how they lived, and how long they lived there and used particular camp sites (in some cases thousands of years).