Piers Kelly

Lead researcher (DECRA)

Dr Piers Kelly’s research is on graphic codes in small-scale societies. As an ARC DECRA fellow, Piers is examining rare message sticks in world collections and conducting fieldwork with senior knowledge holders in Arnhem Land and the Tiwi Islands.

Lorina Barker

Research Associate

Dr Lorina Barker is a Muruwari and Wangkumara oral historian at the University of New England and CI of the Songlines of Country ARC Discovery Indigenous project. She has worked with Dr Kelly and the Australian Museum on the identification of Muruwari and Wangkumara message sticks, including participation in the First Inventors documentary series. She is reconstructing traditional styles and techniques of manufacture.

Michael Brogan

Research Associate

Michael Brogan is a Budtjala/WakkaWakka scholar and media specialist with 25-years experience working across education, visual and performing arts. He actively engages with contemporary Indigenous worldviews expressed through new media and digital technologies across a host of creative fields such as film, literature, theatre, music, art, dance. Mr Brogan’s professional work in Aboriginal education and creative practice has enabled him to actively foster an extensive network with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education and creative professional s across a broad range of occupations, community organisations, government departments and education institutions.

Robert Forkel

Data Scientist

Robert Forkel is responsible for maintaining the public interface of the Australian Message Stick Database. He is a scientific programmer, focusing on software to aggregate, curate and publish large databases for linguistic and cultural research. He is also interested in how data is used in research, in particular regarding aspects like reproducibility, and contribute to software packages such as LingPy.

Junran Lei

Data Scientist

Junran Lei has been involved in many system development projects in Humanities research. She developed AUSTLANG, an Australian Indigenous language database with GIS mapping features,  OZBIB, a linguistic bibliography database, i‐Dig, a Fedora based search engine for harvested  collections, OCCAMS, an online cultural collection analysis and management system and a semantic web for museum prototype system.

Nitzan Rotman

Research Assistant

Nitzan has been designing websites for the academic and private sectors for more than 10 years. He holds an MA in Public Policy & Management and is currently also involved in an AgTech project – the development and implementation of a robotic platform for glasshouses.

Past team members

Hans-Jörg Bibiko

Data Scientist

Hans-Jörg Bibiko worked as a computer scientist since 2004 with a focus on knowledge visualisation, applied computer science in the humanities, and digital cartography/GIS. It is with the greatest sadness that we mourn his unexpected passing on 8 December 2024. Hans was responsible for building the public version of the Australian Message Stick Database. He was a true colleague and a friend to many. A memorial page is here.

Dr Alexandra Roginski

Alexandra Roginski

Collections and Data Manager

Dr Roginski is an experienced Australian historian with expertise in provenance research. She analysed original sources including collection registers and other textual materials to populate the OCCAMS database. Dr Roginski also liaised with international institutions to ensure that collection data was accurately and ethically represented before it being stored securely online. She is currently employed at Museums Victoria.

A message stick from East Blythe River made by Jackie Djabalada and traced by Piper Young as a line drawing

Piper Young

Work Experience (volunteer high-school program), Image Editor

Ms. Piper Young has developed workflow and instructions for editing images of message sticks including photographs of conserved objects and historical sketches.

Indigenous Knowledge Holders

We acknowledge the individual creators of the message sticks included in the Australian Message Stick Database. In almost all cases their names are not recorded. Named creators in the database are as follows with recording spellings preserved; the Country or clan associated with their message sticks is included in parentheses. Most of these Indigenous Knowledge Holders have passed away but there names may now be represented. Some are living and working with the project.

Abadjera (Anindilyakwa), Alwyn Doolan (Gooreng Gooreng and Wakka Wakka), Andrew Galitju (Dhuwal), Andy (Mutumui), B. Burruwal (Kune), Barney Two (Tiwi), Belay (Muruwari), Berak (Woiwurrung), Billy (Gunggari), Billy Brookes (Djirbal), Bindjalbuma (Djapu), Bob (Wunambal), Bununga (Dhangu), Clive Yunkaporta (Wik Ngatharr), Damon Miri Anderson (Gamilaroi, Kullilli, Bundjalung and Wakka Wakka), Dick and Linday Roughsey (Lardil), Fred Jarrarr (Lardil), Harry Carpenter Manilukini (Tiwi), Harry Mahkarolla (Yolngu), Jack Gerambay (Djirbal), Jakie Unung (Burarra), Jimmy Njiminjuma (Kuninjku), July (Tiwi), Kangaroo (Wangkayutyuru), Kaawirn Kuunawarn (Giraiwurung), Kainaraui (Mengerr), Kunganooay (Muruwari), Madi (Warndarang), Mary (Yirandali), Matarman (Dhangu), Mauwulan (Dhangu), Merai (Warndarang), Mickey (Yirandali), Micky (Yan-nhangu), Miljirina (Mengerr), Mungarui (Dhangu), Munjena (Wirangu), Nanee (Muruwari), Natjiyalma, Ngarkaya and Maaw (Yolngu), Ngaradjin (Dhangu), Nowwanjung (Warrgamay), Nundjan Djiridjarkan (Noongar), Old Peter (Gureng Gureng), Paddy (Djirbal), Sandy (Warluwarra), Spider (Larrakia), Taballah (Muruwari), Tuprukamiri (Tiwi), Un-Tu-Looie (Tiwi), Walter Coulthard (Adnyamathanha), Wondjuk (Dhangu), Wonggu Mununggurr (Djapu), and Wyma (Yirandali).

The following Indigenous knowledge holders contributed crucial knowledge that has informed the inclusion of variables and approaches to data description and interpretation: Lena Yarinkura, her late husband B. Burruwal (name represented with permission), Stanley Rankin, Kevin Djimarr, Bede Tungutalum, Roy Barker, Gwen Barker, Paul Gordon and Rick Elwood.

Other specialists

The following experts (Indigenous and non-Indigenous) provided archival information, visual data, or expert advice: Alice Beale (South Australian Museum, Adelaide), Michael Brogan (Taragara Research, Armidale), John Carty (South Australian Museum, Adelaide), Dorothea Deterts (Ethnologisches Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin), Robert Dooley (Museums Victoria), Matthias Hofman (Museum der Weltkulturen, Frankfurt am Main), Philip Jones (South Australian Museum, Adelaide), Eliza Kent (Taragara Research, Armidale), Cynthia Mackey (Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology), Rita Metzenrath (AIATSIS), David Moore (University of Western Australia), Howard Morphy (The Australian National University), Melanie van Olffen (Australian Museum, Sydney), Eva Raabe (Museum der Weltkulturen, Frankfurt am Main), Birgit Scheps (Grassi Museum für Völkerkunde, Leipzig), Philipp Schorch (Grassi Museum für Völkerkunde, Leipzig), Mariko Smith (Australian Museum), Hilke Thoda-Arora (Übersee Museum, Bremen), Paula Waring (Department of the Senate, Australia), and Renate Wolf (Grassi Museum für Völkerkunde, Leipzig). We thank those who contributed message sticks from private collections: Amber Griffiths-Marsh, Yingiya Mark Guyula (with thanks to Anneke Myers), Guan Lim, David Moore and Katrina Wright.

Olena Tykhostup entered data into the earliest version of the AMSD museums and provided expert guidance on German sources and translations. Julia Bespamyatnykh entered data in a second phase of expansion and translated sources. Together with Rebecca Keim and Piper Young she traced significant artefacts as vectors.