It is now a respectful—even required—practice to report the finding of a site that may be a coastal shell midden. Next, Aboriginal advice and permission are mandatory before disturbing or altering any such site [State Government website: https://tinyurl.com/y7uj8e6u].

While it is easy to dismiss a designated midden as ‘just a pile of shell fragments’, to an Aboriginal, it can represent a sacred site … a site where ancestors gathered to cook and eat their catch of fish, crabs, and shellfish and to tell the stories that are known as ‘song lines’. But, as these Aboriginal sacred sites seem to multiply, year-on-year—with the majority found along our coastal fringe—they are now close to beyond counting. Moreover, as most aboriginal sacred land quickly becomes ‘off limits’ to those who cannot claim aboriginality, the coastal ‘no-go land’ is fast metastasising. In turn, this often places a significant brake on the aspirations of a developer.

While there are middens at several sites in or near Lorne, two are at [or near] the Point Grey redevelopment site. Though the first is unlikely to be affected—it lies back along the Doug Stirling Track on a broadening sliver of foreshore near the hospital—the other is more vulnerable. Positioned behind the current Co-Op building, it will demand developer awareness—and Eastern Maar approval—if it comes under threat. It is my understanding that GORCAPA is aware of this.

What can be so special about a non-descript pile of broken shells that, to most, might seem inconsequential—something to brush aside in the haste to build a new edifice? Why do Aboriginal groups fight so tenaciously to protect what might seem ‘useless’ barren land?

The Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority [AAPA] asserts that a significant sacred site to an Aboriginal might include particular hills, rocks, waterholes, trees, plains, lakes, billabongs and other natural features that, to a non-Aboriginal, might seem of little consequence … see: AAPA website https://tinyurl.com/y7tvfj9e.

The State Government website further describes coastal middens as: ‘… containing the remains of shellfish eaten in the same location over many years, but may also contain the remains of fish, seal and kangaroo. Charcoal and hearth stones from fires, grinding rocks and bone artefacts may also be present. Middens may present as layers of shells exposed in dunes, banks or cliff tops, as scatters of shell on other eroded surfaces in dunes, coastal scrub, rock shelters, and exposed cliff tops with good vantage points, or in sheltered places near coastal wetlands, inlets, estuaries, bays and river mouths.’

After feasting at a gathering site [later to archeologically become a midden], elders would recount their people’s age-old oral histories and reinforce them through dance. Commonly called ‘song lines,’ these narratives have become the cultural bedrock of Aboriginal memory. A midden, therefore, is far more than a pile of spent shells—it sits at the cultural centre of an Aboriginal people.

A typical non-indigenous response [including, once, my own] to the word ‘midden’ can be: “…a sacred site? … why sacred? … after all, it’s just a barren coastal depression hidden in the dunes or a windswept promontory covered by marram grass. A sacred site? … really?”

Well, yes! … to an Aboriginal, ‘really’ is ‘really and truly’. Let me try to explain.

Until several personal ‘pilgrimages’ to Scotland in recent decades, I would likely have been among the ‘it’s just a heap of broken shells’ doubters myself … but then my perspectives subtly altered. My experience of two particular sites in Scotland—both barren, windswept stretches of apparent ‘nothingness’ but that strangely brimmed with ‘everything’—turned my once-sceptical perspective on its head.

Suddenly, I understood. I now know what it is to feel the presence of the past … to hear sounds, see sights, and sense spirits from long ago. I now ‘get’ that a place, a space, an ethereum … derived from the Latin for ‘ether’—the ‘upper, pure, bright air’ that fills all space and makes up all bodies … can be truly sacred.
A rocky knoll stands at the tip of the Mull of Kintyre, its grassy, windswept surface scored by the ruin of the now long-gone Clan MacDonald stronghold, Dunaverty Castle. In 1647, the infamous Massacre at Dunaverty occurred at the peak of the Civil War between the Royalists loyal to Charles I and the Covenanter armies of Oliver Cromwell when the conflict spilled into Scotland. After a siege and a negotiated surrender where assurances of clemency were given, some 500 MacDonald men, women and children were put to the sword. Dunaverty was later demolished as a ‘lesson’ to Clan MacDonald—as if the massacre was not enough! Only two, an infant—my direct ancestor—and his wet nurse managed to escape. Standing on the knoll, the sounds and sights of the massacre assault my imagination, just as if I had been there. It is a powerful place, abundant in ghosts of the past. It is my midden #1.

Even more emotive is Culloden Moor … my midden #2. A windswept moor just south of Inverness, it has been called ‘the place where Scotland died’. On each of my many visits, I am inevitably drawn to the battlefield’s eastern edge to sit pensively beside a smooth, triangular stone marked ‘Clan Donald’. Unabashed, tears flow. Lost in a powerful affinity for my Scottish roots, I leave a clutch of wildflowers. Others report similar emotions and similar responses when visiting the fields of Flanders or Gallipoli, yet how such empty spaces can so overpower transcends understanding.

And so, I now ‘get’ that Aboriginals feel, sense, value, and seek to protect places that may seem, to others, ‘just a pile of shells’… and, sometimes, not even that. The powerful affinities I have felt at Dunaverty and Culloden whisper of similar passions. Intangible emotions, they nevertheless demand our attention and understanding. Come to think of it … perhaps most of us will have a special place, a ghosted echo, that touches a midden in our memory, deep within.

Finally, I ‘get’ why the middens of Lorne matter—perhaps not so much to me, but certainly to those of Aboriginal heritage—for I now better understand that ancestry does speak and should be heard.

John Agar
Feature Writer

A word from the chairman

Hello

This week saw the release by GORCAPA (the Great Ocean Road Coast and Parks Authority) of the results of the Point Grey Community Values Survey.  The survey which was conducted in March/April 2024, “sought to formally capture what community members and visitors have expressed about Point Grey over many years, and to understand any changes in sentiment” and received an extraordinary 1,141 responses, substantially more than any other survey conducted by GORCAPA, or its predecessor GORCC.  The report can be found here https://tinyurl.com/lorne-point-grey.

For many of us who have lived with the Point Grey Precinct redevelopment over many years, there was nothing surprising in the survey results, which were remarkably similar to a previous survey conducted in 2018 (yes, 6 years ago!).

The main findings highlighted in the report were:

• The importance of views from the public open space.
• The recognition and preservation of the precinct’s fishing history and character.
• The importance of maintaining green open space.
• Two separate buildings for the Aquatic Club (LAAC) and new “food and drinks premises”.
• The need for modest and environment-respectful building design, and incorporation of building materials from the Fishing Co-op building.

Whilst not highlighted in the report, or its publication (not mentioned in “key findings”), less than 1% of respondents favoured a one-building solution, or moving the Aquatic Club building!  While this outcome may not suit some in the bureaucracy, it is an emphatic statement of the community’s sentiment and must be respected.

The report states that the Aquatic Club has developed into a very important part of the Point Grey precinct, serving as a “recreational and social hub for many locals and visitors to the area”.  The LAAC was referred to as a “pillar of the community”, with a clear consensus that any relocation or major changes would lead to a “disconnection with Lorne”.  No surprises there!

This month, the CRG (Community Reference Group) was to hold its fifth meeting since its formation in late 2023.  To date, the meetings have involved information-gathering by the project architects and consultants, and the CRG members gaining an understanding of the myriad regulations and approvals that will be required to bring the project to fruition.  We were hopeful that we would start to see some real plans on the table so that the project can progress along its already tight timeframe.  Unfortunately as a result of some requests for further work by the GORCAPA Project Reference Group, the meeting with Community Reference Group has been postponed for a few weeks.  Watch this space.

*****

Surf Coast Shire have received some extra funding for Positive Ageing Month in October, to assist with running more inclusive events and activities and are looking to once again run their very popular Wiser Driver Courses.

The courses comprise 4 two-hour sessions over the month and are funded by VicRoads and Surf Coast Shire Council so they are free to participants. It is a refresher course, no driving is required, and in no way is this an attempt to take your driver licence from you.

For further information or to register for the course, please contact Rose Salvo, Age Friendly Officer, Surf Coast Shire Council 5261 0600.

Cheers

John

Lorne Ward Events Calendar

July

13th – Lorne Dolphins Football and Netball V Irrewarra-Beeac, at Stribling Reserve, juniors match from 9am, seniors at 2pm

27th – Lorne Dolphins Football and Netball V Apollo Bay, at Stribling Reserve, juniors match from 9am, seniors at 2pm

August

17th – Lorne Dolphins Football and Netball V Alive, at Stribling Reserve, juniors match from 9am, seniors at 2pm

17th – Surfcoast Wonderfalls Trail Run, Starting at Cumberland River/Lorne from Distances: 5km 13km 25km 42km 52km

September

15 – Amy’s Gran Fondo, cycling event on the Great Ocean Road www.amysgranfondo.org.au