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Clybucca Aboriginal Area
| Source: |
Go to the Register of the National Estate for more information. |
| Identifier: |
3484 |
| Location: |
South West Rocks |
Local
Government: |
Kempsey Shire |
| State: |
NSW |
| Country: |
Australia |
Statement of
Significance: |
The Clybucca Aboriginal Area is significant because it contains an unusually high concentration of large midden deposits (Criterion A.3). Unlike most middens along the New South Wales coast, the Clybucca deposits are largely undisturbed. As such they provide a rare example of intact estuarine middens (Criterion B.2) and are extremely good examples of this type of site (Criterion D.2). The Clybucca Aboriginal Area is significant from both a scientific and an educational perspective. The middens have the potential to yield valuable information about coastal lifestyles during the late Holocene period (Criterion A.4). In addition, the Clybucca midden complex acts as an important reference site and educational resource (Criterion C.2). |
| Description: |
Clybucca Aboriginal Area contains a series of extensive and well preserved midden deposits which are amongst the largest in New South Wales. The area is largely low lying with a few sand ridges and the vegetation consists of a mixture of tea tree scrub and casuarina and eucalypt open forest. The main midden deposit is a linear feature which extends for almost 3.5km. This consists of a band of midden deposits which lie parallel to Anderson's Inlet and which appear to be a single, albeit discontinuous feature. In addition to the main midden, intermittent deposits of shells occur throughout the remainder of the place. These range from isolated mounds to small linear features. On the surface oysters (CASSOGSTREA COMMERCIALIS) appear to be the dominant species, with smaller proportions of cockles (ANADARA TRAPEZIA) and whelks (PYRAZUS EBENINUS) also present. However, excavations have revealed that oysters are only common in the upper midden layers with cockles being dominant in the lower layers. The Clybucca middens are part of a larger complex which includes the Stuarts Point shell middens located immediately to the north. It has been estimated that the Clybucca-Stuarts Point midden complex has a total volume of between 150,000 and 200,000 cubic metres. This makes it more than four times larger (in volume) than the middens at Ballina, the next largest midden complex in New South Wales. The Clybucca-Stuarts Point complex is relatively undamaged compared with other mounded midden complexes (including the Ballina sites) and as such it is a significant archaeological resource. Archaeological evidence and radiocarbon dates from the Clybucca- Stuarts Point middens indicate that exploitation of the estuarine resources of the western margin of the lower Macleay River valley began around 5,000 years ago and continued for about 3,000 years. Sullivan and Hughes (1978) have linked the cessation of midden formation at this location around 2,000 years ago and changes in the species of shellfish exploited to environmental change. Following sea level stabilisation the large open estuary of the lower Macleay valley began to fill with sediment and swampy lowlands with migrating river channels developed which in turn filled to form alluvial plains. The Clybucca-Stuarts Point middens would originally have been located along the shoreline of an open estuary. Cockles, the species of shellfish most suited to this type of environment, would have been abundant and this isconsidered to explain the dominance of these shellfish in the lower midden layers. Over time the surrounding environment changed and narrow channels lined with mangroves developed. Oysters would have been more abundant than cockles in this environment and this is considered to explain their dominance in the upper midden layers. The process of infilling continued and estuarine resources (both shellfish and fish) would have become increasingly scarce until they were no longer locally available. It has been proposed that the estuarine environment exploited by the occupants of the Clybucca-Stuarts Point middens disappeared around 2,000 years ago which explains the abandonment of the middens at this time. |
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