Award-winning, four decades running
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A family oyster farm on the east coast of Tasmania, growing Pacific and Angasi oysters in Great Oyster Bay and the Swan River. Visit the shack, eat them where they grew, and meet the family behind the farm.
Don and Anne started the farm in 1984. Their son Ian runs the production today. His wife Cassie runs the shack. Their boys Charlie and Archie are the third generation already learning the oyster lines on weekends.
Pacific (the silver) all year round, briny and sweet from Great Oyster Bay's cold waters. And the rare Angasi -- our native gold-shell oysters -- for four months in the cooler season.
Meet the oysters →Open weekdays, 10 til 4. Eat freshly shucked oysters at the picnic tables, with a chilled Tasmanian Riesling, looking straight across to Freycinet. Self-cook seafood kebabs, mussels, octopus salad and more.
Plan a visit →For restaurants, fish markets and oyster lovers further afield. Wholesale enquiries, Melbourne shipment updates and seasonal availability all start with the farm.
Order & supply →Hands down the best oysters I have ever had in my life. The golds are truly divine. I'm from Tassie but live in Melbourne — every time I come home, Melshell is the first place I visit.
Ian, Don and Anne built the first oyster rack in Great Oyster Bay in 1984. The cement painter spelled "Melshell" with one L on the back of the truck -- they liked it, and they kept it.
Cassie joined the farm in 2000. The boys, Charlie and Archie, are already learning the lines. Don and Anne are still here every week, pottering around, checking on the seed stock.
"We strive to serve our customers, our staff, and our natural world."
Two leases, two ways. The methods are different because the water is different -- long lines suit Great Oyster Bay's cold currents and tides; cylinder baskets suit the calmer Swan River. Both produce oysters with their own particular character.
Long lines, suspended in the cold open water. The current works the oysters, the cold thickens the shell, and the result is a deep, briny, sea-forward flavour. The bay the company is named after, and the bay you can see from the shack tables.
Cylinder baskets in calmer water -- the oysters tumble as the tide moves, which thickens the meat and rounds the shell beautifully. Sweeter, creamier oysters with a lingering finish. The cylinders are checked, rotated and turned by hand.
Visitors from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, overseas and around the corner from Swansea keep singling out the same things: the drive, the view, the family welcome, and oysters eaten close to the water they grew in.
"So worth the drive out to MelShells. Tried a mix of the gold and silver oysters with a glass of bubbles overlooking Great Oyster Bay. They were the best. Wonderful family history — you can tell the owners take great pride in their work."
"An unmissable experience for anyone who loves oysters. And even if you don't, you should go. I thoroughly enjoyed mine — the sliminess I had associated with oysters in the past was because I'd never eaten truly fresh oysters. These had been shucked only an hour or so earlier."
"The biggest and tastiest oysters I've ever consumed. Shucked fresh at the location, this gem is roughly 9 kms off the main road. We stopped to taste a half dozen gold oysters and a plate of mussels. So fresh. So good. Beautiful location and excellent service. A mandatory stop on the east coast."
Two hundred and twenty-five photographs uploaded by visitors. A small selection here. They tell the story better than we ever could.
Open hours, shipment updates, seasonal Angasi availability and family news.
The shack is fifteen minutes north of Swansea, on the way to Coles Bay. No reservations needed for the cellar door — just turn up. For tours, group bookings, nearby stays or wholesale enquiries, drop us a line.