After graduating in Pacific and African history from Otago University, I studied at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa and worked as an archaeologist and for Television New Zealand, before completing my MA at Otago and PhD at ANU. I teach courses in Pacific, environmental, and Asia Pacific history, and taught at Otago, Victoria University of Wellington and James Cook University in Queensland before joining ANU. My current research focuses on the problems and benefits of interdisciplinary collaboration, Asia Pacific visions of history and development issues, and the history of conflict and conflict resolution in the Asia Pacific region, especially conflicts over natural resources with particular reference to the Pacific Ocean.