Kia ora, I am a historian from Dunedin, now living in Melbourne and writing a cross-cultural history of land and inheritance in Aotearoa New Zealand.
I have a PhD in History (2014) from the University of Otago. My thesis examined a Presbyterian migration scheme that permanently migrated 130 Anglo-Indian adolescents to New Zealand in the early 20th century. My grandmother was one of these ‘Kalimpong Kids’. This personal connection has shaped the way I do history, putting families and communities at the centre of my research.
From 2014 to 2020 I was Lecturer in South Asian, Migration and Global History at the University of Otago.
Museum roles
Prior to postgraduate study, I worked in administrative and museum roles, applying my undergraduate degrees in History (BA, 1996) and Textile Sciences (BCapSc, 2005).
I held fixed-term positions as Collection Management Assistant in the Department of Clothing and Textile Sciences at the University of Otago, and as Archives Assistant at North Otago Museum, before taking up an ongoing position as History Technician at Auckland War Memorial Museum.
I also lived in China for 18 months, working as an English teacher in Xi’an, and a visitor host at the 2010 Shanghai Expo.