Neil and Judy Baker Shell Museum

This extraordinary shell collection is one of the largest in Australia. Collected over the last 70 years by fisherman and boat builder Neil Baker, the shells come from all over Australia and the Indian Ocean. For Neil, collecting seashells began as a childhood fascination, and grew over time to become a vast collection of over 5000 shells. Housed in its new home provided by the Shire of Ashburton, the collection tells the story of the extraordinary diversity of their favourite beach molluscs. Neil collected most of them dry-shelling on equinox tides on the reefs around Onslow and the Montebello islands. Large and small, their beauty appeals to young and old.