Biography

Ben is a vertebrate palaeontologist and science communicator. He is the Curator of the Prehistoric Bayside display at the Beaumaris Motor Yacht Squadron.

Ben has been launching expeditions to retrieve fossil whales, sharks, and other megafauna across Victoria (Australia) for the last decade, working with a group of citizen scientists to locate this material for the state collection.

His primary focus is on the preparation, extraction, identification, and conservation of fossil Cenozoic tetrapods from southern Australia. His work takes him across the state, in working quarries and underwater. He has retrieved hundreds of scientifically important specimens for the state collection.

In 2024, Ben was the Visiting Curator for Prehistoric Bayside exhibition, a 3-month palaeontology-based exhibition at the Bayside Gallery and Bayside City Council. Hundreds of scientifically valuable specimens were displayed. The exhibition broke all attendance records for the gallery.

Ben also works at Glen Eira City Council as the Community Climate Action Specialist, where he works with the community on issues related to climate change. With over a decade of experience in communicating science for a general audience, Ben has worked at Parks Victoria, numerous local councils, Healesville Sanctuary (Zoos Victoria), Museums Victoria and SEALIFE Melbourne Aquarium.

Ben regularly appears on the radio and TV spruiking his work across the state, and was recently featured for an entire episode on ABC’s Play School, where he danced and sang on stage.