OUR TEAM
Guy Wright PhD
Director / Principal Anthropologist
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Guy has more than 35 years’ experience working as an anthropologist throughout Western Australia. In 2006 he established Big Island Research to provide Aboriginal groups and land developers with comprehensive and high standard ethnographic and archaeological services. Guy was previously a Senior Anthropologist with the National Native Title Tribunal (1994-06), a Senior Assessment Officer with the Department of Aboriginal Sites (1992-1994) and a consultant anthropologist with numerous significant studies to his credit.
Guy also has considerable experience in the social, cultural, and management aspects of Indigenous and non-Indigenous fisheries. He was a mediator in inter-sectoral disputes in fisheries (1998-2002), a member of the Fisheries Objections Tribunal (2003-05), and a sessional member of the State Administrative Tribunal (2005-10).
Wendy Reynen PhD
Director / Principal - Archaeology
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Wendy has worked as an archaeologist in heritage consulting and research across Western Australia for over 15 years. After graduating from the University of Western Australia (UWA) in 2009, Wendy worked as a consultant with various heritage consulting companies before joining Big Island Research in 2011. Since completing her PhD at UWA in 2019, she continues her involvement in academic research (with a part time research position at UWA) whilst leading field and research teams in cultural heritage management with Big Island Research.
Wendy has worked extensively and developed excellent working relationships with Aboriginal communities across Western Australia. She enjoys getting out of the office and working on country with Traditional Owners to identify, record, research, and manage cultural heritage. Wendy continues to publish archaeological research in Australian and international journals, specialising in arid zone archaeology, stone artefact technology and heritage management in north-western Western Australia. She is a member of the Australian Archaeological Association (AAA) and a Full Member of the Australian Association of Consulting Archaeologists Incorporated (AACAI).
Kane Ditchfield PhD
Director / Principal - Archaeology
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Kane has over 10 years of experience working in heritage consulting and research throughout Western Australia. He completed his PhD at the University of Western Australia (UWA) in 2018 and is a specialist in stone artefact analysis, field methods, and chronological analyses as well as coastal and Pilbara archaeology. He has extensive consulting experience across north-western Australia, working with a variety of different groups on survey, excavation, and salvage projects with communities. Kane particularly enjoys spending time on country with Traditional Owners, continuing to learn and contribute towards cultural heritage management. Kane also has a part-time research position at UWA and continues to undertake research throughout north-western Australia with Traditional Owner communities. His research has been published in international and national journals including Australian Archaeology, Archaeology in Oceania, and Journal of Archaeological Science. Kane is a member of the Australian Archaeological Association (AAA) and a Full Member of the Australian Association of Consulting Archaeologists Incorporated (AACAI).
Jo Thomson PhD
Director / Principal - Archaeology and Heritage Management
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As an archaeologist and heritage manager with over 25 years’ experience, Jo is passionate about best practice management and enabling positive outcomes, not only for heritage conservation but for the wellbeing of communities and Country. As an educator and researcher, Jo strongly believes in quality training and capacity building for everyone who works in the heritage space.
Jo has extensive experience in archaeological surveys, heritage assessments, excavation, research, teaching, training, GIS, community engagement, auditing, cultural heritage management systems, policy and procedure development and developing cultural heritage management plans. She has also lectured on heritage studies at the University of Western Australia and has been an intern at the Western Australian Museum and UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre in Paris. Jo holds a Bachelor of Arts (Hons I) in Archaeology, Applied Masters in Cultural Heritage Studies, and a PhD. She also holds Certificate IV in Workplace Assessment and Training and Certificate IV in Business (Frontline Management).
Jo actively volunteers and participates in heritage advocacy and public engagement. She is a Full Member and the current Chairperson of the Western Australia Chapter of the Australian Association of Consulting Archaeologists Incorporated (AACAI), a Full International Member of the International Council on Monuments (ICOMOS), a member of the Australia ICOMOS Indigenous Heritage Reference Group, a member of the Australian Archaeological Association (AAA) and a member of the World Archaeological Congress.
Kieran Forde
Archaeologist
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Kieran has over eight years of experience working as an archaeologist in Western Australia. Before joining Big Island Research, Kieran worked with various other heritage consultancies and an Aboriginal native title representative body. After a hiatus where he worked in the museum and library sector, Kieran joined Big Island Research in 2021 to return to Australian archaeology. Kieran has primarily worked as an archaeologist in the Pilbara region, but also has experience in the Gascoyne, Midwest, Southwest, and Perth Metropolitan areas. He has developed strong working relationships with Traditional Owners, industry representatives, and government officials. Kieran’s research interests lie in community-based heritage, Australian megafauna, stone artefact analysis, and Pilbara stone structures. He is a member of the Australian Archaeological Association (AAA).
Lucia Clayton PhD
Senior Archaeologist
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Lucia has 14 years of experience working in research and consulting across Western Australia, Queensland, and Victoria. Lucia graduated from the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain) in 2008 and obtained both her MA and PhD in archaeology from the University of Western Australia. She has undertaken fieldwork in Spain, Australia, and the Great Basin in the USA. She is currently focused on north-western Australia, where she has worked on historical and Aboriginal archaeological research and consulting projects since 2011.
Lucia’s research interests are arid environments, landscapes, and rock art, particularly the contextualisation of art through spatial and stylistic analyses. She has served on the National Executive Committee of the Australian Archaeological Association (AAA), is currently on the Committee on the Status of Women in Archaeology for the Society for American Archaeology (SAA) and is a coordinator for the Australian Association of Consulting Archaeologists Incorporated (AACAI) WA Safety and Well-being Committee. Lucia is a member of AAA, SAA, and an Associate Member of AACAI.
Hamish MacGregor
Archaeologist
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Hamish completed his Bachelor of Arts and Honours at the University of Western Australia in 2022. He has participated in field survey, research and excavation projects in the Pilbara, south-west Western Australia, and the Perth metropolitan area. Since joining Big Island Research in 2022, Hamish has undertaken fieldwork across the Pilbara, in Cape Range and the Goldfields. He has focused his research primarily on stone artefact analyses (particularly in the coastal northwest of Western Australia) and Pilbara Holocene archaeology. He is a member of the Australian Archaeological Association (AAA) and has applied to become an Associate Member of the Australian Association of Consulting Archaeologists Incorporated (AACAI).
Mirka Skoršepová
Archaeologist
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Mirka graduated with an MSc. in Anthropology from Masaryk University (MU) in Czech Republic in 2018. Her specialisation is in biological anthropology, zooarchaeology and comparative osteology. During and after her studies, Mirka worked for the Institute for Archaeology of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Moravian Museum (Anthropos Pavilion) and attended various archaeological excavations in South Moravia. Mirka moved to Australia in 2020 and has been involved with excavations in regional Victoria led by Flinders University. More recently, she joined Big Island in 2023 to work with Traditional Owners and communities across Western Australia.
Bonnie Hughes
Business Manager
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With over 15 years of administration experience, Bonnie oversees Big Island Research’s business management and daily operations, ensuring that Big Island Research operates smoothly. With a keen eye for detail and a strong focus on efficiency, Bonnie plays a key role in optimising processes and implementing solutions to drive our business forward.
Jane Balme PhD
Zooarchaeology Specialist and Advisor
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Jane Balme is a specialist advisor for Big Island Research, particularly on zooarchaeology. She is an Emerita Professor of Archaeology at the University of Western Australia (UWA), where she was also Head of School for a time. In November 2018 Jane was elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities. Her interest in archaeology began while working for the Western Australian Museum on cave sites in southwest Australia. Jane is an expert on Indigenous archaeology across Australia and, and over the last 50 years, has worked in New South Wales, the Northern Territory and Western Australia. Her current research projects are on the archaeology of dingoes and Indigenous Australians, and on carved boab trees. Jane also has a long involvement with the Australian Archaeological Association, serving as secretary, and as chair of the Australian National Committee for Archaeology Teaching and Learning.
Jane has authored many journal articles, a textbook Archaeology in Practice: A Student Guide to Archaeological Analyses with Alistair Paterson, and the edited volumes Gendered Archaeology with Wendy Beck, and More Unconsidered Trifles: Papers to Celebrate the Career of Sandra Bowdler with Sue O’Connor.
Chae Byrne PhD
Archaeobotany Specialist
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Chae is an archaeobotanist and specialist for Big Island Research on plants, charcoal and ethnobotanics. She studied fine art and archaeology at the University of Western Australia (UWA) before completing a PhD in 2022 on Pilbara and Western Desert archaeobotany. Her analyses led to the first local paleoenvironmental records for these regions and the first application of anthracology (wood charcoal analysis) to a historical site within Australia.
Chae has over 13 years of experience working across various regions of north-western Western Australia in applications of archaeobotany, both in research and consulting. Her interests include microscopy and ethnobotanical survey, along with anthracology and wood anatomy of species like Acacia. In her current part-time Post-Doctoral Project Manager role at UWA, Chae enjoys providing professional support to a multidisciplinary team including collaborations with over ten Aboriginal Corporations in north-western Western Australia. Chae is also involved in the UWA “Desert to the Sea” linkage project researching the connections and histories of fire, plants and people. Chae is a member of the Australian Archaeological Association (AAA).