Matthew Kelly - Recent research on a Kokoda Trail battlefield at Eora Creek, PNG by Australian National Maritime Museum

Matthew Kelly Senior Archaeologist, EXTENT Heritage Pty Ltd

‘Multiple voices and multiple places of the Kokoda Trail Campaign: Recent research on a Kokoda Trail battlefield at Eora Creek, PNG’

Matthew Kelly is an experienced historical archaeologist with 30 years of excavation and survey experience both in Australia and Europe. Matthew has been involved as an archaeological consultant in Australia for most of his professional life. He has excavated a number of major historic sites such as: the military sites of Fort Denison, Bradleys Head, and Goat Island; Convict sites such as the Convict Lumberyard and Palais Royale sites in Newcastle, Castle Hill Heritage Park; and early colonial sites in the Sydney region such as, Rouse Hill House, Mean Fiddler Inn, Macquarie Fields House, and Norfolk House, Parramatta. In 2002 he undertook a survey of the industrial and military sites on Christmas Island. More recently his international work has been focussed on the survey of WW2 battlefield and defence sites in PNG near Eora Creek on the Kokoda Track and Hombrom Bluff - outside Port Moresby. He is also currently surveying WW1 sites, at Mouquet Farm and Vaulx Vraucourt, in Northern France, colonial and WW2 sites in East New Britain and is heading an archaeological team endeavouring to identify and repatriate five Australians killed on Nauru during WW2 by the Japanese.