Dr Nick Skilton
Dr. Nick Skilton leads the Australian Museum's Repatriation Program, which has been running for over 40 years. The program is now part of the First Nations Division, with oversight by the Director of First Nations. Nick also manages the Restricted Collections, which include Ancestral Remains and Secret/Sacred Objects held by the Museum.
Nick joined the Australian Museum in 2023 after working for four years as a historian and research consultant at NTSCORP, the native title representative body for NSW. There, he drafted historical reports and spent time on Country speaking with First Nations community members about their ongoing connections to their lands. Before this, Nick worked as a project archivist at NSW State Archives and Records (now Museums of History NSW – State Archives Collection).
Nick's background in research, archival work, and First Nations community engagement is valuable for his current role. These skills help him listen to and understand the repatriation needs of First Nations communities, conduct thorough research on the origin of items in the Restricted Collections, and develop pathways with relevant stakeholders to see Restricted Collections returned to the right community and Country.
Qualifications
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Human Geography, University of Wollongong
- Graduate Diploma in Information and Knowledge Management (Archiving), Monash University
- Bachelor of Science (1st Class Hons) in Land and Heritage Management, University of Wollongong
Publications
- Skilton, N. (2018). "Mining, Masculinity, and Morality: Understanding the Australian National Imaginary Through Iconic Labor", in Mulholland, J., Montagna, N, and Sanders-McDonagh, E. (Eds), Gendering Nationalism: Intersections of Nation, Gender and Sexuality in the 21st Century, Palgrave, Basingstoke, UK
- Skilton, N. (2015). "Reimagining Geographic Labour Mobility through Distance Labour." Australian Journal of Public Administration DOI: 10.1111/1467-8500.12137
- Skilton, N., Adams, M. and Gibbs, L. (2014). "Conflict in Common: Heritage-making in Cape York." Australian Geographer 45(2): 147-166.
