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Cleere, Barry Kemp, Derek Roe, W.Y. Adams, Helen Clarke, Thurstan Shaw, Robert Bednarik, Georg Kossack, H.G. Niemeyer, Gina Barnes, Peter White, J. Jefferson Reid, David Webster, Warwick Bray, Anna Roosevelt, Miriam Stark, Heinrich Härke, and T. Patrick Culbert.
The administrative and secretarial staff of the Archaeology Program at La Trobe University, Stella Bromilow and Ros Allen, have been a tower of strength during the project.
I have said before that it was Kristi Ward (then of ABC-CLIO) who made it possible for me to publish the kind of book that these five volumes have turned out to be. Her successor at ABC-CLIO, Kevin Downing, has carried the brunt of all the pressure that this kind of project generates. He has been an excellent editor—patient and impatient, understanding, never losing sight of the destination and being prepared to use (most) means to get us there. It was an entirely unexpected bonus to see him converted to the wonder of Australian Rules football. Of course it would have been perfect if he had chosen to support Essendon rather than Geelong, but the cup is half full anyway.
Three other people have been instrumental in getting the project to completion. Wei Ming, the technical officer in the Archaeology Program at La Trobe University, is responsible for the maps. Their quality is testimony to his great skill, but they do not of themselves reveal Wei Ming’s patience and ability to perform miracles. I am very fortunate indeed to have in him such a talented and dedicated colleague.
Susan McRory was responsible for the production side at ABC-CLIO. Her organizational abilities, and her commitment to getting the details as right as we could make them, are awe-inspiring. There is absolutely no doubt that we would not have these books without her.
The same can be said of Susan Bridekirk. Susan has performed the role of research assistant and editor with tremendous skill and dedication. During the past four years of the project she has worked in libraries in England, France, and Australia researching the history of archaeology, and she has made a fundamental contribution to the writing and editing of many of the texts in these volumes. I am deeply grateful to the Vice-Chancellor of La Trobe University (Professor Michael Osborne) and the Dean of its Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences (Professor Roger Wales) for making it possible for Susan Bridekirk to join the project.
My family have borne the distractions of the past ten years with more grace and good humor than I deserve, and I hope that by dedicating History and Discoveries to them I can give something back.
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