 Significantly, this is a "minimum age constraint for human presence in Victoria", and also could be interpreted as evidence for the Gunditjmara oral histories which tell of volcanic eruptions being some of the oldest oral traditions in existence.An axe found underneath volcanic ash in 1947 was also proof that humans inhabited the region before the eruption of Tower Hill.The beginnings of contact with "ngamadjidj" (white people) date as far back as 1810, when whalers and sealers began to use Portland as a base area for their operations.