Community
3 July, 2026
Unusual find prompts call for sharing stories
A SEARCH for fresh water in Bookaar over the last 10 years has resulted in a very special find for one resident.
Joan Mahony had a bore dug at her property near Lake Bookaar in December 2017, with the bore drilling process uncovering a rare find 45 metres below her feet.
She said sea shells were uncovered in the dig, dating back millions of years when the Corangamite area was shallow sea.
“There was coral in the deep bore as well, just little broken up fragments of it,” Ms Mahony said.
“It’s fascinating what’s down there; I’m sure there’s lots of things in this area we haven’t fully explored.
“I think there’s things still to find – because it’s a volcanic area, you have the chance to uncover interesting things.
“When the lake was dry, we went around the lake bed and we could look back and see where there was a lava flow coming in from the Darlington roadside.
“I didn’t know it was there – it was about the width of a driveway and reasonably long, but I had no idea it was there because the lake usually covered it.”
Isha Paasse, a friend of Ms Mahony’s, researched the shells and coral to identify them.
She said the species identified through standard Australian fossil identification frameworks showed the marine life which lived in the shallow, warm ocean in the Corangamite area.
“The elongated, coiled snails resemble Turritella, a classic marine sea snail commonly found in these deep Victorian fossil beds,” Ms Paasse said.
“The fan-shaped, heavily ridged shells shown in the middle are marine bivalves – which include species such as clams and mollusks – resembling species like Glycymeris or ancient scallops.
“The circular fragments with intricate, web-like patterns are likely fossilised marine bryozoans (lace corals) or solitary stony corals rather than traditional shells.
“The various smooth and ridged tube-like pieces drawn across both images are likely scaphopods (tusk shells like Dentalium) or fossilized marine worm tubes (Ditrupa).”
Ms Mahony said she was pleased to get the fresh water but was also thrilled with the extra discovery made.
“It’s always fascinated me that sort of stuff, but to get the shells identified was very good – Isha researched and found out what they were,” she said.
“We’ve got interesting things around Lake Bullen Merri and even Colongulac’s got all the megafauna fossils that people have found years ago.
“I think lots of people have got information that the general public doesn’t always know about, so it’d be good if people came forward with their stories.”
Have you made an interesting discovery and would like to share it?
If so, send your photos and information to camperdownchronicle@wdnews.com.au or phone our office on 5593 1888.