In the early days of the local industry, oyster beds were made from an array of materials including shale laid out in rows on top of stone in the intertidal region, set about 5.7 to 10 cm off the bottom. Another similar method was the use of saplings (called “peg sticks”) of around 12.5 to 15 cm in diameter pushed into the mud to hold the shale off the bottom. At times other available material was substituted – for example, Ben & Alma Baddeley of Pambula are known to have used empty bottles pushed in to the mud. These are methods seldom practiced today.

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