ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage

ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage Want to be kept up to date with our blockbuster discoveries?

Now is the time to tell a culturally inclusive, globally significant environmental history of Australia

We like to call it Australia’s Epic Story. Australia has been shaped as a nation by its natural, historic and Indigenous heritage. To adapt successfully to future changes, we must dramatically improve our understanding of Australia’s past. The ARC Centre of Australian Biodiversity and Heritage

(CABAH) will undertake research that will safeguard our national heritage, transform research culture, connect with communities and inform policy. By tracking the natural and human history of Australia, Papua New Guinea and eastern Indonesia, we will be able to fill vast gulfs of knowledge to help us protect our national assets. Opened at Parliament House, Canberra, on 22 June 2017, the centre is funded by a $33.75 million grant from the Australian Research Council, $1 million from the NSW Government, and $11 million from participating universities, museums, and organisations. The funding will support around 40 new research positions and more than 50 new research students over the 7-year life of the Centre. CABAH will be at the forefront of discovery and education, inspiring Australian children to engage in science and connecting with the broader Australian and global community through a comprehensive outreach program. We will help build Australia’s research capacity by equipping future generations of researchers with a range of interdisciplinary skills, and implement initiatives to nurture the careers of Indigenous and female researchers. We’re building a impressive online resource to tell Australia’s Epic Story. Like our page!

26/06/2025

Introducing Deep Time Detectives, a free, open-access education resource that brings Australia’s deep history to life through a simulated archaeological excavation.

Developed by scientists in collaboration with Traditional Knowledge holders, this curriculum-aligned program focuses on archaeology and palaeoecology disciplines essential for uncovering Australia’s long and complex past.

The resource includes a handbook for teachers and students, worksheets, and explainer videos. Importantly, the program can
be scaled up and down to adapt to suit classroom needs.

Find out more: https://bit.ly/4l3RjlC

The Deep Time Detectives project has been led by Associate Investigator Dr Georgia Stannard (La Trobe University), postdoctoral researcher Dr Erin Mein (Flinders University) and Chief Investigator Associate Professor Vera Weisbecker (Flinders University) in collaboration with Anaiwan Elders from NSW.

13/06/2025

🐾 Ozboneviz and scanning Australia's bones 🐾: a digital story by researchers Vera Weisbecker, Erin Mein, Jacob van Zoelen, Pietro Viacava, Thomas Peachey and The Conversation Digital Storytelling Team.

Flinders University

16/05/2025
08/04/2025

We have an amazing group of guest panellists confirmed for our Q&A discussion & Land Bridge documentary screening in Bairnsdale, Gippsland, this Saturday.

Check these bios out!

Wayne Thorpe: a Gunnai man and cultural custodian of the language of song, story and dance. He has dedicated his life to raising cultural awareness and inspiring people in the understanding of Indigenous cultural messages.

Grattan Mullett: identifies as a Kurnai man from the Gunaikurnai Nation. He is General Manager of Culture at the Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation. Growing up at Lake Tyers, he has worked On Country for many years in land and cultural heritage management.

Dr Runjie Yuan: a coastal geomorphologist studying the dynamics of Victorian coastlines. He is working as an Associate Lecturer at the University of Melbourne.

Tim Ziegler: Collection Manager, Vertebrate Palaeontology at Museums Victoria. He is a regular visitor to Gunaikurnai Country, investigating the fossilised remains of Ice Age megafauna preserved in the area’s caves.

When: 6pm-8pm, Saturday 12th April, 2025
Where: The Forge Theatre and Arts Hub, 80 McKean Street, Bairnsdale, VIC 3875
Entry: Free entry, but please book using the humanitix link to let us know you are coming
Bookings: https://events.humanitix.com/the-land-bridge

The Land Bridge project was produced by Wind & Sky Productions and received funding through the Australian Government’s Our Marine Parks grant program.

(Image credit: a curious fur seal checks out the autonomous underwater vehicle surveying Bass Strait. Courtesy Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies - IMAS)

GLaWAC Parks Australia ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies - IMAS Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre Bunurong Land Council Aboriginal Corporation Parks Victoria

18/03/2025

CABAH and Deakin Motion.Lab, in collaboration with Larrakia Traditional Owners and knowledge holders, have created a short documentary exploring the Gulumoerrgin seven-season calendar recognised by the Larrakia community near Darwin in the Northern Territory.

Told through the voices of Larakia women Lorraine and Stephanie Williams, the film highlights how weather patterns, animal behaviour, and food sources mark the changing seasons—beyond the familiar European four-season cycle. It’s a celebration of deep connection to Country and an invitation to observe the natural rhythms of Australia through an Indigenous lens.

The full video is also available on YouTube in 4K: https://bit.ly/3DrXkIr

This work was produced by CABAH and Deakin MotionLab and was made possible with the contributions of Larrakia Traditional Owners and knowledge holders. Filming was partly undertaken on Wulna Country, with the support of the Wulna People.

17/03/2025

A full house, a powerful story, and a night to remember!

The creators of The Earth Above—the planetarium experience that toured Country last year—took the stage at Adelaide Fringe recently to share how the project came to life. They explored how Gunaikurnai knowledge, deep memory, and cutting-edge technology combined to tell of the mulla-mullung of Cloggs Cave. While the show itself played just down the road, this conversation offered audiences a deeper insight into the stories, the creative process, and the impact of sharing culture in new ways.

On stage, Uncle Russell Mullett, Bruno David from Monash University , and the remarkable Pappin family from Mutthi Mutthi Country reflected on what it means to carry these stories beyond Country and into new spaces.

A huge thank you to Adelaide Fringe, The Hawke Centre at University of South Australia , and the incredible support from Nathan and Martin at ARC Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage and Deakin Motion.Lab for bringing this project to life!

Read the full story here: https://bit.ly/4hvtnos

A catalogue for ‘Unseeded’ by UK Frederick for the CABAH Art Series is now available for purchase through the CABAH webs...
27/01/2025

A catalogue for ‘Unseeded’ by UK Frederick for the CABAH Art Series is now available for purchase through the CABAH website.

‘Unseeded’ by UK Frederick comprises 35 hand-blown glass boab nut-shaped forms—one for each site with evidence of human occupation that researchers surveyed on an archaeological survey trip to the Ningbing Range with CABAH Chief Investigator Sue O’Connor from The Australian National University, Miriuwung Gajerrong Rangers and Traditional Owners, archaeologists from The University of Western Australia, and volunteer ecologists.

The catalogue features images of the landscapes and fieldwork that inspired the artwork and written contributions by the artist as well as Paul Collis, Lynette Russell, Sue O’Connor, Jane Balme, Peter Veth, Deborah Ely, Jane Lyndon and Rodney Harrison.

https://bit.ly/3BCcI3N

Images: Cover art for the 'Unseeded' catalogue with images of one of the artwork's glass forms and members of the survey team during the fieldwork trip that inspired the artwork. Images supplied by the artist.

01/01/2025

Look back at 2024: The discovery of ancient ceramics confirmed sophisticated pottery-making techniques used in the Great Barrier Reef. READ MORE: https://bit.ly/3xyclF9

19/12/2024
18/12/2024

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