When you mention a weekend in Hobart most people consider a visit to MONA a must. Often overlooked is the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG). Growing up in Tasmania this was a favourite place and for me a weekend in Hobart is not complete unless I pay a visit. It has changed greatly over …
A few people have asked how to submit a blog post. I could just write the instructions down and post those but…. that would be dull! So I have written a short blog as an example. Meet Mr Sweetser This week I have been cataloguing some miscellaneous artefacts for a project in Parramatta. Amongst the …
Kindly sent in and written by Dr. Richard Tuffin After nearly three years of careful gestation, the latest ASHA book has hit the shelves. Magisterially titled, Recovering Convict Lives: A Historical Archaeology of the Port Arthur Penitentiary, it is sure to be filling stockings this Christmas. Wrought with love by Richard Tuffin, David Roe, Sylvana Szydzik, …
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Written by Susan Wrigley. Readers who have excavated or worked in museums around Sydney will enjoy trying to identify the fictional characters in the latest book by prolific author Pamela Hart titled Digging Up Dirt, a murder mystery set in the Inner West which starts with the most Sydney of preoccupations, a renovation. When a …
In October 1942, during the Kokoda Campaign in Papua New Guinea (PNG), two Japanese soldiers died in a small pit in the Eora Creek valley opposing the Australian Army’s advance north. Archaeological work between 2011 and 2019 has recovered their remains, identified their role in the battle and more recently uncovered what probably killed these …
David Frankel has written a great blog featuring Judy Birmingham on the AAIA website. It deals with historical archaeology and has some really great photos. The link is below if you would like to check it out https://aaia.sydney.edu.au/judy-birmingham-impressions-and-influences/
While ASHA is celebrating its 50th this year one of its founders, Judy Birmingham, is celebrating her 90th. Judy arrived in Australia in 1961 as a specialist in Mediterranean and West Asian archaeology appointed on the recommendation of Max Mallowan. In less than a decade she was participating in the beginnings of Australian historical archaeology, …
ASHA members will have been pleased with the announcement that a large section of central Sydney has been added to the National Heritage List as the Governors’ Domain and Civic Precinct. (https://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/places/national/governors-domain-civic-precinct) The 100-hectare area includes Macquarie Place, First Government House site, Government House, the Conservatorium of Music, Parliament House, the Mint, Hyde Park Barracks, …
Authors: Matthew Kelly and Alexandra Thorn (Curio Projects, Sydney) In 2013 AHMS Pty Ltd (now Extent Heritage) completed an archaeological excavation at 478 George Street in Sydney’s CBD known as the ‘Mick Simmons’ site-after the famous sporting goods store which traded there until 2012. The excavation yielded evidence of European occupation, from perhaps as early …
Since March 2020 the Port Arthur Historic Site Management Authority (PAHSMA), in collaboration with Richard Tuffin, a postdoctoral researcher from the University of New England, have been undertaking an excavation of the Port Arthur workshops complex. Situated on the original waterfront since 1830, these workshops housed the trades-focussed activities undertaken at the penal station. Over …
