Images(5)

Trochus shell

Datec 1997

Object number00030057

NameShell

MediumShell

DimensionsOverall: 70 x 70 mm, 100 g

ClassificationsAnimals and animal products

Credit LineANMM Collection

Terms

DescriptionThis unpolished trochus shell was collected by the Bardi people from One Arm Point on the Dampier Peninsula, Western Australia. It is the shell of the sea snail Trochus niloticus, and is found in the shallows of tropical reefs. Its inner layer of mother-of-pearl makes it attractive for use in jewellery, and its flesh is eaten.HistoryThe Indigenous Bardi people from One Arm Point on the Dampier Peninsula, Western Australia are the only people licenced to commercially exploit trochus in the state. The Bardi people and other coastal Aboriginal communities living along the peninsula traditionally collect the trochus from inshore reefs at low tide. The trochus is eaten locally, and remains an important food source. Since the 1990s, the crafts people of the Bardi Aboriginal community have been producing both traditional and contemporary arts and crafts with trochus shell for the art market, becoming a valuable source of income for the community. In the early 2000s Ardyaloon hatchery was established at One Arm Point to farm trochus for the sale of the mother-of-pearl shell. The Bardi-run hatchery also farms juvenile trochus for sale to the aquarium industry, and to restock the local trochus population.SignificanceThis trochus shell collected by the Bardi people of the Dampier Peninsula, Western Australia is an example of the Indigenous Australian tradition of trochus gathering. In the 21st century this tradition has has also been commercialised with the establishment of the Ardyaloon trochus hatchery.