What archaeological projects are you working on at the moment?
I am currently working on my PhD in which I’m investigating gold mining sites in Western Australia. My research area is near Cue, 650km northeast of Perth.

Tell us about one of your most interesting archaeological discoveries.
Last October I spent two weeks up in Cue with a colleague and when doing some reconnaissance of the next site I intend to record one of the locals took us on a bit of a tour. We came upon what looked like nothing more than a rock outcrop but on getting a little closer we realised it was a small community of stone miners’ huts and one was completely intact! Even the local man we were with hadn’t seen it before.

Tell us about a funny/disastrous/amazing experience that you have had while doing archaeology.
On my last trip to Cue I took my own vehicle and as I’d been busy getting ready for the trip I’d neglected to get a spare car key cut (the previous one had been lost by someone who will remain nameless!). Anyway the key I had with me was a little twisted but being the eternal optimist I thought ‘she’ll be right’. After visiting with a local resident I opened the car door and low and behold my key snapped off in the lock! I was understandably distressed but having made a few friends in town they came to my assistance. I naively thought ‘oh we can get a spare’ (for a 1988 BMW in a mining town, yeah right!) so my knight in shining armour proceeded to remove the steering column and fix it so I could start the car with a screw driver. Now this was of course all fine and dandy until two days later the Cue police decided to do some random breath testing. I pulled up and got asked the usual questions but when I went to get my licence I realised it was in the back of the car which meant I would have to stop the engine (with the screw driver in front of two policemen!!!!) and hop out. After a moment’s pause I laughed and admitted that I was currently equipped with only a screwdriver ignition to which the policeman replied ‘this is your car isn’t it?!’

What’s your favourite part of being an archaeologist?
The fieldwork; I love the people, the sites, and generally just exploring whether it’s the stories of the locals, the archaeology, or the social aspects of the town e.g. the pub! I’ve also been lucky enough to have some brilliant volunteers join me in the field so getting to know them has also been a pleasure.

Follow up reading:
I haven’t published anything as yet but a few things are in the pipeline.