Aboriginal Heritage Office Staff

David Watts, Aboriginal Heritage Manager

David has been the Aboriginal Heritage Manager for 11 years. He has extensive experience in managing, surveying and assessing development impact on Aboriginal Sites. He has participated in many site excavations and assessments of potential Aboriginal Sites as well as over seeing all duties carried out at the AHO.

He has been involved with Aboriginal Site Care and management for many years and has provided specialist management and cultural tourism advice, including the development of several Aboriginal Heritage Walks within the northern Sydney region.

He has delivered Aboriginal Cultural Awareness programs for over 16 years and has been invited to Greenland, Boulder University in Colorado and Native North American Communities throughout the US, to visit and lecture on Aboriginal Culture/Sites and Indigenous Land Management.

Phil Hunt, Archaeologist

Phil has been archaeological advisor to the Aboriginal Heritage Office since 2003. He has over 15 years' experience in all aspects of Aboriginal heritage management.

He has been involved with cultural and natural heritage conservation for many years, with participation in such diverse projects as mapping areas of cultural heritage in Peru and Russia and surveying endangered snow leopards in Mongolia, as well as leading Aboriginal site surveys and preparing site management plans in many regions of Australia.

Phil presents Aboriginal Sites Awareness courses to community groups, schools and Councils and also has experience in video and documentary production.

Geoff Hunt, Geologist

Geoff Hunt is a geologist who has worked with archaeologists over the last 10 years.

Projects he is involved in include Professor Isabel McBryde's ground-edged hatchet head study of south-eastern Australia and the Vanuatu Lapita project run by Professor Matthew Spriggs and Dr Stuart Bedford.

He also copy edits the journal and monographs for Aboriginal History Inc.

Viki Gordon, Archaeologist

Viki is our newest consultant and recent addition to the Office. She has spent time in Arnhem Land studying some of the oldest Rock Art in the world.

Viki is primarily involved in the location and monitoring of Aboriginal Heritage sites but also looks after our Heritage site volunteer monitors and assists with the education programme.

Karen Smith, Education Officer

Karen is a Darug woman of the Boorooberongal clan from the Hawkesbury (Derrubin) area. Her family has been living in the Manly area for many years.

As the Education Officer, Karen will bring to AHO her knowledge and experience of the local area and Aboriginal History and Culture. She looks forward to meeting the many schools and community groups in the area to help increase awareness of Aboriginal Heritage.

Kiyomi Juillerat, Intern

Kiyomi Juillerat is visiting us from Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey. She will be entering her senior year this September as an undergraduate in pursuit of a bachelor's degree in Anthropology with a minor in French and Asian studies. She is interning at the office for July and August of 2011 to gain knowledge for her future career in Museum Studies. Kiyomi will be assisting the office in all aspects of Aboriginal heritage but will be concentrating on our Museum/Keeping place.