I am a historian specialising in Australia’s engagement with the Pacific, with particular research interests in colonial encounters and their enduring legacies in Papua New Guinea. Alongside my academic work, I have professional experience in policy development and grant management, gained through roles in the local government sector.

My Honours thesis, Enchanted by the View: The Story of Australian Miners on the Woodlark Island Goldfield, 1897, examines the journey of five miners from Castlemaine, Victoria, who travelled to the Woodlark Island (Muyuw) goldfield in British New Guinea in 1896. Ill-prepared for the island’s harsh, swampy conditions, four of the five succumbed to fever within a week of arrival. The sole survivor, Charles Dale, returned to Australia in a state of severe illness and delirium, eventually reaching Castlemaine after a period of recovery in psychiatric care. The study highlights both the optimism and the vulnerability of Australian miners in unfamiliar colonial environments.

My doctoral research, Historical Samarai: Colonial Outpost to Pacific Ghost Town, explores the history of Samarai, a former Australian colonial township in present-day Papua New Guinea. Often characterised as a “ghost town,” Samarai instead emerges as a site of continuity and change, where local communities have acted as custodians of its past while reshaping its identity in the post-colonial era.

In 2024, I founded J-History, a consultancy focused on historical research, policy development, and grant writing. My recent work includes developing a grant submission policy for Your Library Ltd. (2025), designed to support branch managers in accessing government funding, and contributing to curriculum development in collaboration with the Deakin Centre of Contemporary History and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). This work supported the Australia Awards Certificate of Achievement in International Relations short course, PNG and Australia: Shared History and Shared Future, delivered to students in both Australia and Papua New Guinea.

I am currently undertaking a heritage assessment of Samarai Island and preparing my doctoral research for publication. I welcome opportunities for collaboration—please feel free to get in touch.