Maddy McAllister, PhD: Ghost Stories, Shipwreck Mermaid, and Maritime Archeology (#92)

Maddy McAllister is the Senior Curator for Maritime Archaeology at James Cook University and the Museum of Tropical Queensland (Queensland Museum Network). In her words, Maddy is a maritime archeologist and a shipwreck detective. In today’s episode we chat about the ghost story that inspired Maddy’s career, how technology has helped shape the archeology field, how to identify a shipwreck, and why telling these stories is so important.Maddy completed her archaeological education with a Bachelor of Archaeology and a Master of Maritime Archaeology from Flinders University in South Australia. She graduated with her PhD at the University of Western Australia with a focus on investigating the influence of digital 3D modeling on underwater shipwreck sites in Australia. Maddy was awarded the prestigious Cecelia Connelly Memorial Scholarship in Underwater Archaeology from the Women Divers Hall of Fame.

Connect with Maddy: instagram

Quick Links
Museum of Tropical Queensland
The Mary Celeste
Marine Archeology
The Batavia Shipwreck
Excavation Techniques
Epiphyte
The HMS Pandora
Shipworm
Marine Magnetometer
Georges Valentine Shipwreck
Mel Fisher Museum
Sea Lions
St. Augustine Lighthouse

Show Notes

0:14 From dreaming of becoming a marine biologist in Antarctica to doing marine archeology, Maddy talks about how she combined her love for the ocean and history into one career. She explains what her role entails as a curator for the Museum of Tropical Queensland in Australia.

2:29 Maddy shares the nautical legend of Mary Celeste from the late 1800s and shares how her fascination with ocean stories inspired her career choice.

4:08 Becoming a marine archeologist is a niche but diverse field. Maddy talks about what kind of education is required to get into the field and some of the interesting specializations out there.

5:37 Maddy completed her master’s degree studying American whaling ships. She gives us a glimpse of what life could have looked like on one of these ships all those years ago.

8:42 With an opportunity to work on a project at the Western Australian Museum and get her PhD Maddy took the chance to dive further into research.

10:50 Maddy talks about how marine archeology has changed over the past few decades what kind of technology is being used now. One of the main technologies she discusses is 3D modeling of shipwrecks after excavation. 

14:25 Maddy explains excavation including the differences between land and underwater excavation and the main tools involved.

18:26 Archeology is not all excavation! Maddy explains her day to day which involves a lot of recording. She talks about what it is like to work as a marine archeologist around the great barrier reef specifically where marine life dominates the sites.

21:56 The oldest wreck that has found on the Great Barrier Reef is the HMS Pandora which sank in 1791. Maddy explains that shipwrecks can be preserved for thousands of years in the right anaerobic conditions buried under sediment.

26:18 Maddy talks about how they go about finding shipwrecks in the first place. Investigating a reporting using remote sensing tools is a big part of it.

29:06 Identifying shipwrecks is done by using clues left behind and searching through archives to find a match. 

33:23 Shipwrecks all have a story and can be haunting. Maddy talks about what it is like working on a gravesite. 

37:06 Maddy tells the story of the HMS Pandora.

46:33 Although the marine life around the shipwrecks is incredible, Maddy says that when she’s diving on a wreck its hard not to focus on the task at hand.

48:10 Wreck treasure is not just silver coins and gold. The other treasure is preserved artifacts that really give us a glimpse into the history of those who lived with the ship.

55:53 Maddy’s favorite sea creature is a sea lion!

56:53 To Maddy, the ocean means more than the physical parts of it. She sees it as a place of human connection that we are all fascinated by but don’t truly belong to.

58:01 With a blank check, Maddy would love to continue with her work and run a project to search for all the undiscovered wrecks on the Great Barrier Reef.

59:03 Maddy’s favorite field story to tell is her crazy dive on a wreck trying to avoid swells. She also fondly remembers one of her first wreck dives on the job where she felt a deep connection to the history of the ship because of its pristine preservation.

1:02:54 Maddy’s conservation ask is to learn more about local shipwrecks and to think about them as non-renewable resources that must be kept preserved. Reporting shipwrecks to those who can help preserve them is important.

1:06:16 Connect with Maddy!