Dr Gary Presland

Dr Gary Presland is an archaeologist, historian and prize-winning writer, with particular interests in both pre-contact Aboriginal history and the natural history in the Melbourne region. He is an accomplished public speaker of more than 20 years' standing, on a range of related subjects in these areas. Gary's published works on Aboriginal history include First residents: the Eastern Kulin of Melbourne, Port Phillip and central Victoria (2011) and For God's sake send the trackers (1998). His publications on natural history include The Place for a Village: how nature has shaped the city of Melbourne (2008), which won the 2009 Victorian Community History Award for Best Book; The Natural history of the Footscray District (2009), and The Whitehorse Landscape : as seen by the first settlers (2011). Gary is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society of Victoria, and an Honorary Associate of Museum Victoria. He is a member of a number of local historical societies including Box Hill, Footscray and Avoca. In his spare time he writes the occasional poem and is an Editor of The Victorian Naturalist, the long-running journal of the Field Naturalists Club of Victoria.