Beaumaris cliffs and reef
These enigmatic red sandstone cliffs are important for their scenic impact and for scientific study of our ancient geology and ongoing fossil finds, some of which date back 5 to 6 million years
The adjacent reefs contain some of the nation’s richest and most diverse assemblages of fossils of marine and terrestrial mega fauna, including sharks’ teeth. Remnants of the oldest known Australian albatross have been found as well as a variety of sharks’ teeth and bones of marsupials, seals and penguins.
The Bunurong found these cliffs a great place to camp, with fresh water wells all year round as well as fishing and shellfish gathering.
The vertical cliffs of Black Rock sandstone end at Mentone Corner and softer Red Bluff sandstone descends to the side of the Beaumaris monocline, forming the pale, receding cliffs featured in Tom Roberts’ 1887 painting Slumbering Sea, Mentone.
“Internationally, this site is recognised as a reference site for all other rock sequences of this age in Australia. This site has yielded one of the most diverse assembles of marine fossil mammals recorded in Australia”Dr Erich Fitzgerald, Museum Victoria
