Trevor Leaman

Trevor Leaman is a PhD candidate in the School of Humanities & Languages, UNSW, researching the astronomical traditions of the Wiradjuri people of central N

SW under the supervision of A/Prof. Duane Hamacher (UMelb)) and A/Prof. Daniel Robinson (UNSW). Originally from the UK, he emigrated to Australia with family as a 9-year-old in 1973. His passion for cultural astronomy and space science was ignited from a young age, vividly remembering a visit to Stonehenge in 1972, and the live broadcasts of the Apollo launches on the BBC a couple of years earlier. He earned Diplomas in Civil & Mechanical Engineering (TAFE Tasmania), Degrees in Biology (QUT) & Forest Ecology (UQ), and an MSc in Astronomy (Swinburne University), which included a major project examining the astronomy of the Aboriginal people near Ooldea, South Australia, based on the archives of Daisy Bates. He has also worked as an Astronomy Tour Guide at Ayres Rock (Uluru), and educator and program presenter at the Launceston Planetarium, and Sydney Observatory. In his spare time he runs his own Astronomy Education & Tour Guiding business, Dark Skies Downunder, based in Orange, Central West NSW, showcasing the Cultural night sky for schools, community groups and private functions.

Refereed Papers

Duane W. Hamacher, Robert, S. Fuller, Trevor M. Leaman and David Bosun (2020). Solstice and solar position observations in Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander traditions. Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage, 23(1), 89-99.
Trevor M. Leaman and Duane W. Hamacher (2019). Baiami and the Emu Chase: An Astronomical Interpretation of a Dreaming Associated with the Burbung. Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage, 22(2), 225-237.
Trevor M. Leaman and Duane W. Hamacher (2018). A methodology for testing horizon astronomy in Australian Aboriginal cultural sites: a case study. Mediterranean Archaeology and Archaeometry, 18(4), 431-438.
Trevor M. Leaman, Duane W. Hamacher and Mark T. Carter (2016). Aboriginal Astronomical Traditions from Ooldea, South Australia, Part 2: Animals in the Ooldean Sky. Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage, 19(1), 61-78.
Trevor M. Leaman and Duane W. Hamacher (2014). Aboriginal Astronomical traditions from Ooldea, South Australia, Part 1: Nyeeruna and the “Orion Story”. Journal of Astronomical History and Heritage, 17(2), 180-194.

Book Chapters

Trevor M Leaman (2020). Harmonising the Land and Sky in Aboriginal Dreamings. Ch. 28, Pp. 397 – 406 in: N. Campion (Ed.) The Harmony Debates. Sophia Centre Press, University of Wales Trinity St. David.

Magazine Articles

Trevor M Leaman (2019). Reading the Indigenous night sky to interpret wildlife patterns. Wildlife Australia Magazine, 56(2), 18-20.

Seminar Presentations

Using Stellarium as a Research and Educational Tool for Aboriginal Astronomy – “Illawarra Aborigines Before Colonisation”, University of Wollongong (2015)
The Seven Sisters are Rising. The Dingoes Now Have Pups – University of Sydney (2014)

Print, TV and Radio

How I Get My Kicks, with Trevor Leaman – Orange City Life (2019).
Wiradjuri Constellation Artworks Exhibit at Parkes, with Scott ‘Sauce’ Towney & Trevor Leaman- WIN News Central West (2017)
Aboriginal Star Maps, with Bob Fuller, Willy Stevens & Trevor Leaman – ABC Radio National (Sept ’15)
Aboriginal Astronomy, with Bob Fuller, Willy Stevens & Trevor Leaman- ABC News 24 (2014)