In 2023, ASHA has been continuing on with our free online seminar series, this time predominantly focusing on current archaeological research in New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. The next stop on our virtual tour will venture to Australia.

The fifth and final seminar for 2023 will be on Judy Birmingham and the origin of Australian Historical Archaeology, presented by Andrew Wilson on Wednesday 22 November 2023. The seminar will start at 6pm AEDT/ 8pm NZDT.

The seminar will run for 45 to 50 minutes, followed by a Q&A session. All bookings will be through Humanitix. A Zoom link will be sent to your registered email address closer to the date of the seminar. We look forward to seeing you – virtually!

'I want a really good man and I have written to Professor Mallowan …’ Judy Birmingham and the origin of Australian Historical Archaeology

Andrew Wilson, The University of Sydney

Judy Birmingham is well known for her roles in the development of historical archaeology and cultural heritage management in Australia. Yet she was appointed to The University of Sydney in 1961 based entirely on her credentials as a Near Eastern archaeologist. The ongoing process of cataloguing the University’s archaeological collections has revealed contemporaneous documents that throw a fascinating light on the circumstances of her appointment and identify for the first time the origin of Historical Archaeology in Australia.

About the Speaker, Andrew Wilson

Andrew Wilson's major interest has always been historical archaeology, analysing either the adaptations made by the invaders or their interaction with First Nations peoples. He taught with Judy Birmingham and directed the teaching excavation at Regentville for more than a decade and co-directed the Central Australia Archaeology Project from 1992 to 1997. He is the Archaeological Collections Registrar at the University of Sydney, establishing a permanent home for the collections so they are preserved and made available for further research.

Judy Birmingham recording gravestones at St Stephen’s Church, Camperdown - Gadigal and Wangal Country (Gavin Souter, Sydney Morning Herald 1965)

Judy Birmingham with students — Judy Birmingham (centre) with student members of the Central Australia Archaeology Project on Arabana country at The Peake, a pastoral, telegraph and mining site in remote South Australia. (Andrew Wilson 1997)