The University of Western Australia

Dr Liam Brady

ARC Postdoctoral Fellow
Archaeology

Contact details

Address

Archaeology
The University of Western Australia (M405)
35 Stirling Highway
CRAWLEY WA 6009
Australia

Phone

6488 1807

Fax

6488 1023

Email

liam.brady@uwa.edu.au

Location

Room 1.74A, Economics and Commerce Building, Crawley campus

Qualifications

BA W.Laur., PhD Monash

Biography

I am an anthropological archaeologist and specialize in rock-art research, island and coastal archaeology, and material culture studies. I developed a strong interest in Indigenous archaeology during my undergraduate studies in socio-cultural anthropology at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Canada. In 2001 I began my doctoral research into the rock-art from the Torres Strait islands in far northeastern Queensland as part of the broader “Western Torres Strait Culture History Project” led by Dr. Ian McNiven and Dr. Bruno David. My PhD thesis, “Painting Patterns: Torres Strait Region Rock-Art, NE Australia” (2006), revealed patterns of interaction between Torres Strait Islanders, southern Papua New Guinea communities, and Aboriginal groups from the tip of Cape York based on shared forms of artistic expression. This project, and all of my past and current projects in Australia and Canada, was carried out as part of collaborative, community-based research partnerships with local Islander and Aboriginal communities; research aims and questions were negotiated according to both the community’s and the researcher’s agendas.

My current research focuses on 1) archaeological investigations in the Kaurareg Archipelago in the south-Western Torres Strait islands; 2) rock-art research from semi-arid (inland Pilbara, WA), and coastal and island regions (inland Pilbara [WA], Pellew Islands, Gulf of Carpentaria [NT]); and 3) investigations into the nature of late 19th century collections drawings by Torres Strait Islanders. In addition to my research I also teach or co-teach units on rock-art, Indigenous archaeology, and cultural heritage management.

Key research

Archaeology of Indigenous Australia; Rock-Art Research; Island and Coastal Archaeology; Material Culture Studies; Cultural Landscapes and Seascapes; Anthropology of Art; Politics of Heritage; Ethnoarchaeology

Publications

MONOGRAPHS

Brady, L.M. 2010. Pictures, Patterns, and Objects: Rock-Art from the Torres Strait Islands, NE Australia. Melbourne: Australian Scholarly Publishing (Series: Studies in Indigenous History and Culture)

BOOK CHAPTERS

Brady, L.M., & Gunn, R.G. Under Contract. “Digital enhancement of deteriorated and superimposed pigment art: methods and case studies”, in A Companion to Rock Art (eds. McDonald, J., & Veth, P.) Oxford: Blackwell Publishing (Series: Blackwell Companions to Anthropology) (July 2011)

McNiven, I.J., & Brady, L.M. Under Contract. “Rock Art and Seascapes”, in A Companion to Rock Art (eds. McDonald, J., & Veth, P.) Oxford: Blackwell Publishing (Series: Blackwell Companions to Anthropology) (July 2011)

Brady, L.M., & Crouch, J. 2010. “Postcolonial Archaeology with Indigenous Communities: partnership research and ancestral engagement in Torres Strait, NE Australia”, in Handbook to Postcolonialism and Archaeology (eds. Lydon, J., & Rizvi, U.). Pp. 413-428. Walnut Creek: Left Coast Press

Brady, L.M. 2008 “Mua’s Rock-Art: design patterning and interregional interaction”, in Gelam’s Homeland: cultural history on the island of Mua, Torres Strait (eds. David, B., Manas, L., & Quinnell, M.) pp. 503-524. Brisbane: Queensland Museum [Memoirs of the Queensland Museum, Cultural Heritage Series]

JOURNALS

Brady, L.M. In Press. Adding Value: rethinking late 19th century Torres Strait Islander drawings in anthropological enquiry. Visual Anthropology (March 2012)

Brady, L.M., Delaney, W., & Robins, R. Submitted. A Report on Archaeological Investigations to Ngiangu (Booby Island), Western Torres Strait, NE Queensland. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum, Cultural Heritage Series

Brady, L.M., Thorn, A., McNiven, I.J., & Evans, T.E. 2010. Rock-Art Conservation and Termite Management in Torres Strait, NE Australia. Rock Art Research 27(1):19-34

Brady, L.M. 2009. (Re)engaging with the (Un)known: collaboration, Indigenous knowledge, and reaffirming Aboriginal identity in the Torres Strait islands, NE Australia. Collaborative Anthropologies 2:33-64

McNiven, I.J., Brady, L.M., & Barham, A. 2009. Kabadul Kula and the Antiquity of Torres Strait Rock-Art. Australian Archaeology 69:29-40

Brady, L.M. 2008. Symbolic Language in Torres Strait, NE Australia: images from rock-art, portable objects and human scars. Antiquity 82(316):336-350

McNiven, I.J., Crouch, J., Kemp, N., Martinez, L.C., Stanisic, J., Orr, M., Brady, L., Hocknull, S., & Boles, W. 2008. Tigershark Rockshelter (Baidamau Mudh): seascape and settlement reconfiguration on the sacred islet of Pulu, western Zenadh Kes (Torres Strait). Australian Archaeology 66:15-32

Brady, L.M., & Kaurareg Aboriginal Community 2007. A Middle Ground? Recent Archaeological Investigations from the Kaurareg Archipelago, south-Western Torres Strait, Queensland. Australian Archaeology 65:17-29

Brady, L.M. 2007. A Different Look: comparative rock-art recording from the Torres Strait using computer enhancement techniques. Australian Aboriginal Studies 1:98-115

Brady, L.M. 2006. Documenting and Analyzing Rock Paintings from Torres Strait, NE Australia, with Digital Photography and Computer Image Enhancement. Journal of Field Archaeology 31(4)363-379

Brady, L.M., David, B., Manas, L., Mualgal (Torres Strait Islander) Corporation, & McNiven, I.J. 2004. Rock-paintings of Mua Island: initial results from Torres Strait. Rock Art Research 21(1):27-46

David, B., Mura Badulgal Native Title Association Committee, McNiven, I.J., Crouch, J., & Brady, L. 2004. The Argan Stone Arrangement Complex, Badu Island: initial results from Torres Strait. Australian Archaeology 58:1-7

David, B., McNiven, I.J., Mitchell, R., Orr, M., Haberle, S., Brady, L. & Crouch, J. 2004. Badu 15 and the Papuan-Austronesian Settlement of Torres Strait. Archaeology in Oceania 39(2):65-78

David, B., McNiven, I.J., Manas, L., Manas, J., Savage, S., Crouch, J., Nelleman, G., & Brady, L. 2004. Goba of Mua: archaeology working with oral tradition. Antiquity 78(299):158-172

David, B., McNiven, I., Bowie, W., Nomoa, M., Ahmat, P., Crouch, J., Brady, L., Quinnell, M., & Herle, A. 2004. The Archaeology of Torres Strait Turtleshell Masks: the Badu Island cache. Australian Aboriginal Studies 1:18-27

McNiven, I.J., David, B., Brady, L., & Brayer, J. 2004. Kabadul Kula: a rock-art site on Dauan Island, Torres Strait. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum, Cultural Heritage Series 3(1):227-256

Brady, L.M., David, B., Manas, L., & Mualgal (Torres Strait Islander) Corporation. 2003. Community Archaeology and Oral Tradition: Commemorating and Teaching Cultural Awareness on Mua Island, Torres Strait. Australian Journal of Indigenous Education 31:41-49

McNiven, I.J., David, B., & Brady, L. 2002. Torres Strait Rock-Art: an enhanced perspective. Australian Aboriginal Studies 2:69-74

CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS

Allen, W., Brady, L.M., & Decontie, P. 2008. “Honouring the Spirits of the Sacred Pictographs”, in Proceedings of a Conference, Symposium 2007 – Preserving Aboriginal Heritage: technical and traditional approaches, Ottawa, Canada, September 24-28 2007 (eds. Dignard, C., Helwig, K., Mason, J., Nanowin, K., & Stone, T.), pp. 287-299. Ottawa: Canadian Conservation Institute

Funding received

2010-2012 $210,000 Australian Research Council “Seascapes, Sea People, and Indigenous Knowledge” (with John Bradley, Amanda Kearney, Ian McNiven)

2010 $2,000 Crowther-Beynon Fund, Cambridge University “Islander Drawings, Islander Stories”

2009 $28,636 University of Western Australia “Rock-Art and Social Networks from the Inland Pilbara Region (northwestern Australia)”

2009 $25,922 Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies “Documenting Yanyuwa Rock-Art Sites, Sir Edward Pellew Group of Islands, Northern Territory” (with John Bradley and Amanda Kearney

2009-2012 $378,000 Australian Research Council “The Kaurareg Archaeological Project, south-Western Torres Strait, Australia”

2008 $30,000 Monash University “Where Cultural Worlds Collide: Archaeology in Far Northeast Queensland”

2007 $16,159 Department of the Environment and Water Resources “Termites and Rock-Art Conservation at Kabadul Kula, Dauan, Torres Strait” (with Ian McNiven)

2006 $12,998.25 Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies “Documenting Kaurareg Cultural Heritage Sites (Torres Strait)”

2006 $5,210 Monash University “The Jabiluka Rock-Art Project”

2005 $450 Monash University “Travel Grant”

2004 $1,815 Monash University “Cambridge University Museum Research & Archives Project”

2003 $10,975.02 Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies “The Kaurareg Rock-Art Recording Project (Torres Strait)” (with Roney Wasaga)

2003 $10,000 Environmental Protection Agency “Rock-Art Recording on Muralag’s Southwest Coast (Torres Strait)”

2003 $400 Monash University “Travel Grant”

2002 $11,631 Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies “The Moa Rock-Art Project” (with Louise Manas)

2001 $400 Monash University “Travel Grant”

Languages

English

Memberships

Australian Archaeological Association
Australian Rock Art Research Association

Honours and awards

2010 Nominated, Faculty of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences Teaching Award

2008-2009 Membership Secretary, Australian Archaeological Association

2008 Dean’s Commendation for Excellence in Teaching, Monash University

2007 Mollie Holman Medal of Excellence for Best Doctoral Thesis, Monash University

2001-2005 Monash University Graduate Scholarship

2001-2005 Monash University International Postgraduate Research Scholarship

Previous positions

2007 Postdoctoral/Teaching Fellow, Centre for Australian Indigenous Studies, Monash University

2006 Research Fellow, Centre for Australian Indigenous Studies, Monash University

2002-2004 Tutor, School of Geography & Environmental Science, Monash University

Teaching

ARCY 2204 - The Archaeology of Rock-Art

Current external positions

2008-2010 Honorary Research Fellow, Centre for Australian Indigenous Studies, Monash University

Current projects

2010-Present: Rock-Art and Social Networks in the Inland Pilbara Region, Northwestern Australia (with the Palyku Native Title Group)

2009-Present: Seascapes, Sea People and Indigenous Knowledge, Borroloola, Northern Territory (with John Bradley, Amanda Kearney, Ian McNiven)

2009-Present: The Torres Strait Islander Drawings Project: investigating late 19th century artistic expression in NE Queensland (with Anita Herle, Alick Tipoti)

2005-Present: Kaurareg Archaeological Project (with the Kaurareg Land & Sea Management Corporation)

Research profile

Research profile and publications