Ron Vanderwal (7 August 1938 – 19 July 2021)Foreword to Vanderwal and David Horton's Costal Southwest Tasmani
/ref> was an American-Australian archaeologist who specialised in the prehistoric archaeology of the Pacific and New Guinea in particular. He worked at

La Trobe University La Trobe University is a public university, public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia. Its main campus is located in the suburb of Bundoora, Victoria, Bundoora. The university was established in 1 ...

and the

Museum of Victoria Museums Victoria is an organisation that includes a number of museums and related bodies in Melbourne. These include Melbourne Museum, Immigration Museum, Scienceworks, IMAX Melbourne, a research institute, the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Roya ...

. Vanderwal died on 19 July 2021, at the age of 82. Vanderwal studied anthropology at

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

(BA in 1961) and the

University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UW–Milwaukee, UWM, or Milwaukee) is a Public university, public Urban university, urban research university in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. It is the largest university in the Milwaukee metropo ...

(MA in 1969). From 1965 to 1969 he was archeologist in

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long spit (landform), sand spit which connects the town of Por ...

where he help establish a museum at the

Institute of Jamaica The Institute of Jamaica (IOJ), founded in 1879, is the country's most significant cultural, artistic and scientific organisation:Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...

and subsequently taking on a role at the

Tasmanian Museum The Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery (TMAG) is a museum located in Hobart, Tasmania. The museum was established in 1846, by the Royal Society of Tasmania, the oldest Royal Society outside England. The TMAG receives 400,000 visitors annually. ...

. He was the first in 1969 to excavate the Yule Island site of Opposisi where the first millennium AD decorated Early Papuan pottery style horizon was defined. He taught archaeology and prehistory at

in 1978 with

David Frankel David Frankel (born April 2, 1959) is an American filmmaker. He directed '' The Devil Wears Prada'' (2006), '' Marley & Me'' (2008), '' Hope Springs'' (2012), '' Jerry & Marge Go Large'' (2022), and the first and fourth episodes of the Netflix mi ...

in Australian coastal archaeology including fieldwork in remote places such as his pioneering work on the Papuan coast into prehistoric pottery, also with Nigel Oram on the history of the material culture exchange system. In 1981 he excavated the artificial mounds in the middle of Kinomere Village on Urama Island in the Papuan Gulf. He also undertook research at the

Victoria Archaeological Survey The Victorian state government established the Archaeological and Aboriginal Relics Office under the Chief Secretary's Department, following the enactment of the Archaeological and Aboriginal Relics Preservation Act 1972. One of the original aims o ...

compiling ethnographic records and editing their records.Vanderwal, Ronald L.; Records of the Victoria Archaeological Survey. Number 8, November 1978 / honorary editor: R. Vanderwal. 1978; Aboriginal Victoria - History - To 1834, Victorian Aborigines : John Bulmer's recollections 1855-1908 / compiled by Alastair Campbell; edited by Ron Vanderwal
/ref> Vanderwal began work at the Museum of Victoria on 31 August 1981 and was Senior Curator of Anthropology (Oceania) at Melbourne Museum up to his retirement in August 2009.Museum Victoria "A chance to catch up" 28 August, 2009
/ref> He established the Pacific Islands Advisory Group to include Islanders in the development of the museum exhibitions. In 2009 he received the Award for International Relations by the Australian branch of the

International Council of Museums The International Council of Museums (ICOM) is a non-governmental organisation dedicated to museums, maintaining formal relations with UNESCO and having a consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council. Founded in 1946, ...

in recognition of his twenty years of work promoting the cultural rights of Pacific Islanders in collaboration with the

Fiji Museum The Fiji Museum is a museum in Suva, Fiji, located in the capital city's botanical gardens, Thurston Gardens. Background The museum is a statutory body and is under the administration of the Fiji Museum Act and the Preservation of Objects of A ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vanderwal, Ron 1938 births American anthropologists Australian archaeologists Michigan State University alumni University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee alumni Australian National University alumni 2021 deaths