Professor Graeme Hugo

Geography and Environmental Studies, University of Adelaide, and Director of GISCA, the National Centre for Social Applications of Geographical Information Systems, is overseeing the development of the computer database and the application of the GIS data; he has been supervising Andrew Fyfe (see below) as a post-graduate student in his department and is now supervising him as a post-doc University Research Associate.

Professor Andrew Pawley

Linguistics, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University, has provided the most up-to-date knowledge of the languages in the region under study.

Dr Bryant Allen

Department of Human Geography, RSPAS, ANU, has provided the relevant data for population, agricultural systems and environment. Email Dr Allen.

Dr Ari Verbyla

Director, BiometricsSA, University of Adelaide, has provided advice on statistical methodology.

Dr Barry Craig

Curator of Foreign Ethnology, South Australian Museum, is providing overall liaison for the research team and the participating institutions and individuals, is assisting with the coding and analysis of the data, and is closely supervising Andrew Fyfe. 

Andrew Fyfe

Enrolled as a PhD candidate in Professor Hugo’s department at the University of Adelaide. He developied the database and the data collection methods, travelled to the various institutions and individuals to record the data for the objects in the study, determined and applied the statistical methodology and interpreted the results. In March 2009, he was awarded a PhD for his thesis on the project.

Jack and Jill Bolton (Technical Advisors)

Both now retired, Jack taught Art and Design and specialized in teaching Aboriginal and Oceanic Art at matriculation level. Jill worked in the Mining and Exploration industry and both traveled in PNG and Oceania collecting examples of the arts and crafts. Jill has also worked at R.M.Williams P/L where she gained skills in the craft of leatherworking and braiding. Since the mid-1970s she has been an avid spinner, weaver, dyer and knitter and is a member of the Hand Spinners and Weavers Guild of S.A.

Involvement with the Upper Sepik/Central New Guinea Project began after Andrew Fyfe sought Jill’s expertise in braiding and weaving. Together they have identified several classes of looping and braiding techniques. Since then Jack and Jill have been personally responsible for recreating some of the techniques used in looping string bags and binding arrows.