Dr Sophie Collins

Director and Principal Archaeologist, COLCO Cultural Heritage Management Pty Ltd.

Dr Sophie Collins is a PhD-qualified archaeologist with 25 years’ experience in Aboriginal and historic cultural heritage. She has assessed heritage from inside the ACT regulator, is an approved Excavation Director for State Heritage Register sites in NSW, and has authored more than 200 heritage reports across the ACT, NSW, Tasmania and Queensland.

Why the regulator experience matters to you

Between 2008 and 2009 Dr Collins worked as a Senior Archaeological Conservation Officer in the ACT Heritage Unit’s Aboriginal Heritage Unit — assessing significance against the criteria in the Heritage Act 2004, reviewing other consultants’ methodologies and conservation plans, and advising the ACT Heritage Council and the Minister. In short: she has sat on the assessing side of the desk. For a proponent, that means reports built to satisfy the regulator first time, fewer requests for further information, and fewer delays.

Credentials

• PhD, Archaeology — Australian National University. Doctoral research in the identification and interpretation of Aboriginal stone artefacts.
• Post-Doctoral Fellowship — Department of Archaeology and Natural History, Australian National University (2006–2008).
• BA (Hons, First Class), Archaeology — Australian National University.
• NSW-approved Excavation Director — for both historic and Aboriginal sites on the National, State and Local heritage registers.
• Former ACT Heritage assessor — Aboriginal Heritage Unit, ACT Government.
• 25 years’ consulting experience — 200+ regulatory heritage reports authored.
• Fully insured — professional indemnity and public liability.
• Site-ready — White Card (construction induction) and asbestos-awareness certified.

Specialist expertise

Dr Collins is one of Australia’s most experienced stone artefact analysts, having analysed assemblages of every size — cumulatively in the millions of artefacts — including major programs such as Boral’s Peppertree Quarry and an audit of the ACT Heritage Unit’s entire collection (over 20,000 artefacts from more than 800 sites). She is also one of only a handful of specialists in Australia in the analysis of worked-glass artefacts, central to identifying contact-period sites in contact archaeology. Her experience extends to sites on the State Heritage Register, and she has designed and taught educational and training programs in stone artefact analysis for archaeologists and Traditional Owners. Where a site is complex or an assessment is contested, this depth means the analysis underpinning your approval will withstand scrutiny.

Selected publications

• Collins, S.J., R. O’Sullivan & S. Huys (in press). Archaeological Investigations of a Contact Site in Brighton, Tasmania. ANU Press.
• Wallis, L.A. & S.J. Collins (2013). “Just passing through: a late Holocene open site in the Mitchell Grass Downs.” Queensland Archaeological Research 16:45–54.
• O’Connor, S., K. Aplin & S.J. Collins (2008). “A small salvage excavation in Windjana Gorge, Kimberley, WA.” Archaeology in Oceania 75–81.

Working with Aboriginal communities

Aboriginal cultural heritage assessment is done with Aboriginal people, not on their behalf. Cultural values are spoken for by Aboriginal community representatives — Registered Aboriginal Parties in NSW and Representative Aboriginal Organisations in the ACT. Dr Collins’ role is the rigorous archaeological assessment, and the proper running of consultation, that lets communities and regulators make informed decisions. COLCO remains independent of the parties it consults — that impartiality is exactly what keeps an assessment credible to regulators and communities alike. Dr Collins has delivered community-based artefact analysis, education and training programs with Traditional Owners across multiple states.