Mike Smith (1955 – 21 October 2022) was an Australian archaeologist, scholar, historian, researcher and author. He was instrumental in the development of Central Australian archaeological research and establishing the antiquity of Aboriginal presence in the inland desert 35,000 years ago.[1]
Smith was born in Blackpool, England and came to Australia at age 6 in 1961. His father worked as an electrician spending some months in remote Ceduna where young Mike developed his interest in arid outback Australia.[2]
At age 15, having written to the South Australian Museum about reptiles, he was invited to join museum excavations at Roonka on the lower Murray and Koonalda Cave in the Nullarbor, which Alexander Gallus was involved with. On these he met archaeologist Rhys Jones who inspired him to follow archaeologist. In 1973 he enrolled at the Australian National University studying archaeology with John Mulvaney.
Smith was married and had two children.
Smith obtained his Bachelor of Arts (First Class Honours) in 1977 and Master of Arts in 1980 both at the Australian National University. His MA thesis was on Saltbush, sampling strategy and settlement pattern: A systematic archaeological survey of Plumbago Station Historic Reserve, South Australia.
He obtained his Doctor of Philosophy at the University of New England (Armidale NSW) in 1988 with his PhD thesis The Pattern and Timing of Prehistoric Settlement in Central Australia.[3]
His career has included:
At the National Museum of Australia hecontributed to exhibitions collections, educational materials, public programs, archival development, publications, research, and online content. He commenced at the Museum in 1996 as head of the People and Environment section and became Director of Research and Development.
He established the Research Centre and scholarly journal, reCollections and in 2004 developed Extremes: Survival in the Great Deserts of the Southern Hemisphere exhibition.
He was a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London and Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities.[4]
Much of his research revolved around the Puritjarra rock shelter.
2006 Rhys Jones Medal for outstanding and sustained contribution.
2013 Member of the Order of Australia for significant service to archaeological scholarship in Australian desert regions.
2010 Verco Medal, Royal Society of South Australia.
30 years symposium February 2013.[5]
2014 Museum Director’s Award for Excellence.
His major work, The Archaeology of Australia’s Deserts (2013), was praised as a landmark in Australian history.[6]