Board Members

Mark Hosking- Maritime Museum of Tasmania (TAS)

President - Appointed Institutional delegate (re-appointed 2021)

Mark arrived in Tasmania in 2004 following half a career in Transport Management in the tourism sector in the UK and, for a short time, Sydney. As the Maritime Museum of Tasmania’s part-time Operations Manager, Mark works with a dedicated team of volunteers and finds himself involved in all aspects of the museum’s life.

Inland Rivers appointment tbc

Vice President - ABoard Member - Appointed Institutional delegate

A director to replace the late Rob Bowring, to represent the Inland Rivers, is to be advised.

Sharon Babbage - Australian National Maritime Museum (National)

Secretary - Elected Institutional delegate (Re-elected 2021)

Sharon has worked at the Australian National Maritime Museum (ANMM) since 2011. She coordinates the Maritime Museums of Australia Project Support Scheme (MMAPSS) grants and internships program. She is currently in the role of Project Coordinator Regional Programs, working closely with the Temporary and Touring Exhibitions / Interpretation and Design Team. Prior to this she was Project Officer to the Assistant Director, Operations for over seven years.

Richard Wesley - Australian National Maritime Museum (Assistant Director)

ANMM Directors delegate

Richard Wesley has occupied a variety of senior museum posts, both in Australia and overseas since commencing his career in the 1980’s. Prior to being appointed to his current position at the Australian National Maritime Museum he spent ten years developing and expanding the Hong Kong Maritime Museum between 2010 and 2020. Other relevant experience includes Director of the Norfolk Island Maritime Museum and Site Manager, Port Arthur Historic Site. For over a decade Richard has been an Executive Member of the International Congress of Maritime Museums, a highlight of which was hosting the 2016 Congress in Hong Kong and convening the Academic Committee for the 2022 Halifax Congress.

In his current position he is responsible for guiding the Conservation, Registration and Fleet sections of the Australian National Maritime Museum. Richard holds a Master of Arts degree, a Diploma of Museum Studies and has spoken extensively on maritime museum related subjects over his career.

Jared Archibald OAM

Elected Institutional Member/Delegate representing MAGNT & the Northern Territory

Jared Archibald has worked in the museum sector for over 30 years. He spent 16 years as the taxidermist at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory (MAGNT), and has been employed there as the Curator of Territory History for the past ten years. He also oversees the Maritime Collections and has a passion for wooden vessels. He has a keen interest in Northern Territory history, with special emphasis on its rich military history. He was part of the team that developed the Defence of Darwin Experience at East Point and was the lead curator for the Unruly Days: Life in the Territory 1911-1921 exhibition at MAGNT. Researching and telling the stories of the people, places, events, and objects that have shaped the Northern Territory into what it is today is his primary research focus.

Robert de Jong - Maritime Museum of Townsville (QLD)

Board Member - Elected Institutional delegate

Born in Haarlem, The Netherlands, Robert immigrated with his parents to South Africa in 1962. He studied at the University of Pretoria and was conferred a PhD in Cultural History in 1990. He also completed a Post-Graduate Diploma in Museum Studies in 1979.

From 1983 till 2005, Robert was employed as a museum professional by provincial and national museum organisations in South Africa, ending his museum career in this country as Manager of the Tswaing Meteorite Crater, a 2,000-hectare conservation area north of Pretoria featuring a 200,000-year old meteorite impact crater of international geological and environmental significance.

In 2005 he became a full-time heritage consultant running his own business, specialising in heritage impact studies, heritage management planning and heritage training with numerous projects in South Africa.

After immigrating to Townsville in 2011, Robert was employed at the Museum of Tropical Queensland as Project Officer and thereafter at the then Queensland Department of Environment and Heritage Protection as Heritage Officer. After working full-time as heritage consultant in 2015, he became Curator of the Maritime Museum of Townsville in February 2016. In May 2018, he became Managing Museum Curator.

Robert has extensive experience in all aspects of museum management, such as collections management, conservation, exhibitions, education programs, community engagement, security, human resources management, training, strategic planning and research.

Jason Fair - Western Australian Museum (WA)

Board Member - Appointed Institutional delegate (re-appointed 2021)

Jason has worked at the Western Australian Museum at an executive level since 2007. In his current position as Director Engagement, Jason is responsible for the Museum’s public engagement areas, comprising exhibitions and programming development, learning and education, marketing, media, and commercial activities, including venue hire. He also leads the WA Museum Boola Bardip and the Fremantle Museums, including the WA Maritime Museum and the WA Shipwrecks Museum.

Jason has extensive experience working within customer service and commercial environments in both the private and government sectors. He has held management roles since 1993, with 27 of those years in senior or executive management roles.

His experience crosses multi-disciplinary areas, including retail, product development, project management, hospitality services, financial management, marketing, digital and online development, store planning, venue management, facilities management, exhibition and public programming.

Jason joined the Museum in 2006 as Commercial Manager, before taking on a number of roles in the Museum’s executive team, including Director Commercial, Director Finance and Business Development, and Director Fremantle Museums and Business Development. He regularly represents and acts in the role of Chief Executive Officer. His current role, Director Engagement commenced with the opening of the WA Museum Boola Bardip. In 2022, Jason was bestowed and Knighted the Order of the Star of Italy (OSI) for ongoing and consecutive development with Italian community.

Jason is a Board member of the Australian Maritime Museums Council, and a member of the Museum’s Executive Management Team.

Paul Rees - South Australian Maritime Museum (SA)

Board Member - Appointed Institutional delegate (re-appointed 2021)

Paul is the Head of Museums, Marketing & Major Events at the History Trust of South Australia. The South Australian Maritime Museum is one of a network of museums managed by the History Trust, including the National Motor Museum Australia, the Migration Museum (SA) and the Centre of Democracy.  Paul is a museum specialist and accomplished leader and manager in the arts and cultural sector with skills in initiating and developing positive workplace cultures, leading high-performing teams, creating artistic and cultural content for public programs and events; and developing and implementing strategies that support organisational development and business excellence.

Diana Lorentz - Jervis Bay Maritime Museum (NSW)

Board Member - Appointed Institutional delegate (re-appointed 2021)

Diana has a passion for museums and having worked in the sector for over 20 years. She is currently the Director of the Jervis Bay Maritime Museum & Gallery, a not-for-profit organisation featuring the iconic Lady Denman ferry [1911], the last surviving wooden Sydney Harbour ferry.   Diana’s main interests within the sector are exhibition communication and visitor engagement and making museums accessible to diverse audiences.

Dr Ian MacLeod (WA)

Board Member - Appointed Institutional delegate (re-elected 2021)

Dr Ian MacLeod AM is a Fellow of the Western Australian Museum and of five other academies and institutions. Ian maintains his passion for decay in all its forms and how the layers of altered metals and glass can tell environmental stories going back for centuries. He is actively working with shipwreck colleagues in Croatia and Bulgaria  and training emerging conservators. He is an active member of the Metals Working Group of ICOM-Committee for Conservation and has now published more than 300 research papers. He is a director of the Australasian Corrosion Association Foundation and is an active bellringer at St George's cathedral and at the Bell Tower in Perth, where he serves as a Board member.

Queensland appointment tbc

Board Member - Appointed Institutional delegate

A director to replace Emma de Muzio of Queensland Maritime Museum, who resigned, is to be advised.

Joanna Gair- Bass Strait Maritime Centre

Representative of Bass Strait Maritime Centre in puniller panner country/Devonport, lutrawita/Tasmania.

Joanna is an entrepreneurial cultural administrator, with 20 years of experience in Tasmania's Museum, Arts and Tourism sectors.

Throughout her career, she has championed Tasmania's unique, cultural identities.

Previously, Joanna managed the Makers' Workshop & Gallery at the University of Tasmania and coordinated exhibitions for the renowned Ten Days on the Island festival.

Notably, she was awarded the Tasmanian Premier's Young Achiever Award for Tourism in recognition of her work managing Australia's largest handmade paper mill.

Since 2022, Joanna has served as the Coordinator at Devonport's Bass Strait Maritime Centre, a regional Tasmanian museum passionate about it’s connection to Bass Strait.

There, she is spearheading the development of a new permanent exhibition titled "Our First Mariners – Sea Country People,"  honoring the maritime histories of lutrawita’s palawa.

Jen Bane - Albany's Historic Whaling Station (WA)

Jen, General Manager of Albany's Historic Whaling Station, brings over 25 years of tourism industry experience, both internationally and locally. She leads a passionate team of staff and volunteers dedicated to preserving Western Australia's maritime heritage, with a strong focus on exceptional and educational tourism experiences. Originally a local, her deep connection to the region adds to her passion for highlighting its beauty and important history. Albany's Historic Whaling Station, operating as a museum and a not-for-profit organisation, plays a vital role in showcasing the maritime history of Western Australia, offering visitors a unique glimpse into the region's seafaring past. The site includes the heritage-listed Cheynes IV vessel, adding to its historical significance.

Board Member - Elected Institutional delegate

Martin Dixon - Melbourne Maritime Heritage Network Ltd (MMHN) (VIC)

Board Member - Elected Institutional delegate (elected 2020)

Martin is a Board member of the MMHN appointed to lead a Special Advisory Group on Tourism. Martin was a teacher, principal and educational administrator for 19 years before being elected to the Victorian Parliament as the Member for Dromana and then Nepean for over 22 years before retiring in 2018. During his parliamentary career Martin served as Opposition Whip, Shadow Minister for Education, Skills, Tourism and Employment as well as other portfolios. He was Minister for Education from 2010 - 2014. Since his retirement Martin has pursued his interests in travel, boating and aviation. He has also mentored new Members of Parliament in the Pacific region as part of the UN Development Plan. Martin is also a member of Off Shore Ships Australia (OSSA).

Peter Rout - Australian National Maritime Museum (National)

Ex-Officio

Peter was appointed Assistant Director, Operations at the Australian National Maritime Museum (ANMM) in August 2005.  In this role he was responsible for HR, IT, facilities, capital works, security and the museum’s historic fleet.  Peter retired from the ANMM in December 2019 but continues to represent the ANMM on the AMMC Board.  

Before joining the Australian National Maritime Museum he managed a privately owned facilities management company with a range of NSW government contracts.

Before this appointment, he worked for 22 years in the ship repair and refit industry, (at Garden Island, NSW), performing a range of roles, including the management of the of Captain Cook Graving Dock; management of the ship production group comprising 450 trades and technical staff; and the project management of the last main refit of an Oberon Class submarine completed in Australia, ($150 m/1.6 m man hours).

He is a professionally qualified Naval Architect, BE (Naval Architecture) UNSW and has completed a Masters of Engineering Science (Construction Management) UNSW.

Alan Edenborough - Sydney Heritage Fleet (NSW)

Alan Edenborough - Ex-officio AMMC Board member

Alan has more than 50-years involvement with Sydney Heritage Fleet and maritime heritage, including terms on the SHF Board. He led the discovery and salvage from southern Tasmania of the Fleet’s now restored 1874 barque James Craig.

Alan began his career as a television news journalist and documentary maker with Sydney’s Channel 7. From there he moved to a political PR firm handling major corporate accounts. Then followed an invitation to join TIME Magazine and more than a decade as marketing director in three TIME areas of the world; South Pacific, Canada and finally Europe, Middle East & Africa based in London.

Throughout these years Alan maintained regular contact with the SHF while being closely involved with historic ship preservation and operation in the international arena.

On his return to Australia he resumed full-time involvement with Sydney Heritage Fleet, until retiring in 2024. He continues as an occasional volunteer and is an Honorary Life Member.

Alan is the immediate Past-President of the AMMC; a member of the Council and Steering Committee of the Australian Register of Historic Vessels (ARHV); he is a retired member of the Executive Council, and was a former Secretary General, of the International Congress of Maritime Museums (ICMM); and founder of ICMM’s standing Ships Committee of which he remains a member. 

Alan as immediate AMMC past-president is an ex-officio member of the AMMC Board.