Researcher Summary
I am a professional historian specializing in (a) nineteenth century colonial history with a focus on aspects of ethnicity and migration and (b) public history, both as a practitioner and teacher, with expertise in televisual histories, museums and heritage. The field of public history explores the uses of the past by the state and civil society. Those of us working in the field are variously located, in tertiary institutions and heritage parks, on local council teams or galleries, and in businesses or consultancies. We have our own professional organization: the Professional Historians’ Association of New Zealand (PHANZA). Much of my research takes place in this area, with recent work including the successful on-line Kiwi Sceptics series (for Air New Zealand) that featured the comedian Rhys Darby; the most recent series of Santer (BBC Northern Ireland), where I assisted with historical research and screen time; and the soon-to-be screened documentary The Nearest Place to Home (on the new Irish diaspora to several locations, including New Zealand).
