The AAA Awards Sub-committee is delighted to announce the 2021 recipients of this year's awards and prizes:

Rhys Jones Medal - Professor Ian McNiven
Bruce Veitch Award - Fiona Hook
Life Membership Award - Carly Monks
Best Overall Poster - Nikola Ristovski - "Precise Temperature Estimation of Burnt Bone from Two Northwest Australian Sites"
Best Student Poster - Georgina Wye - "Going on a Limb: A Faunal Analysis from a Mortuary Tree in Southwest Queensland"
Best Paper in Australian Archaeology for 2020/21 - Sally May, Daryl Wesley, Joakim Goldhahn, R. Lamilami and Paul Taçon - "The missing Macassans: Indigenous sovereignty, rock art and the archaeology of absence"

These awards were presented at our Annual General Meeting that took place on December 3rd, during our AAA conference. The AAA NEC and Awards Sub-committee would like to extend their sincere congratulations to the recipients.

Rhys Jones Medal

The Rhys Jones Medal for Outstanding Contribution to Australian Archaeology is presented each year to someone who has made a substantial and consistent contribution to the Australian archaeology discipline over many years. This year we are pleased to award the Rhys Jones Medal to Professor Ian McNiven for his contributions to Australian archaeology over many decades. Ian’s research has been broad, including investigations into how European arrival influenced First Nations societies across Australia; research into the complexity of socially and culturally constructed environments on the Australian mainland and across Torres Strait; and demonstrating the importance of building strong partnerships with Indigenous Aboriginal communities, emphasising the ever-evolving nature of archaeological research in building an understanding of the worldviews of Indigenous Australians. Ian is also well-known for his tireless work on the world’s largest Native Title sea claim, recently won by Torres Strait Islander peoples, and his instrumental work for the UNESCO World Heritage listing of the Budj Bim Cultural Landscape on Gunditjmara Country. Congratulations Ian. You are a very worthy winner of this award.

Bruce Veitch Award

The Bruce Veitch Award for Excellence in Indigenous Collaboration is presented each year to a person or group of people who have demonstrated excellence in Indigenous collaboration over time. The award was named in memory of Bruce Veitch, whom some of you will remember as a tireless advocate for involving Aboriginal people in all elements of cultural heritage management. Bruce died from motor neuron disease in 2005. The award has been championed by Fiona Hook, Bruce’s wife. This year it is my very great pleasure to present this award to Fiona herself. Fiona and Bruce set up the consultancy Archae-aus in 1996. From the outset, Fiona has worked in partnership with many different Aboriginal groups across Western Australia. She is passionate about working with Traditional Owners to achieve results that fulfil community needs and aspirations, as well as promoting both the scientific and Aboriginal value of Aboriginal places. Some of the communities with whom Fiona has worked have said of her work: “Fiona has formed unparalleled bonds of friendship, reciprocity, and trust with our mob” and “Fiona has worked with us on a sensitive find of human remains in Kwinana. She has worked very hard to ensure this elder is treated with respect and sensitivity in accordance with community wishes”. Fiona has always led by example in promoting excellence in engagement with Aboriginal people and these values underpin all her work. Congratulations, Fiona, on winning this award.

Life Membership for Outstanding Contribution to the Australian Archaeological Association

This award is given to someone who has gone above and beyond the basic requirements of their portfolio in working for the Australian Archaeological Association. This year the award goes to Carly Monks. Carly has been Membership Secretary of the Association for many years, but she has also worked on a range of other Association projects, including being on the conference organising committee; working with the social media team to advertise a range of AAA events; helping with finding sponsorship for conferences; and contributing to the wording of a range of submissions the NEC has been asked to write, ranging from legislative comment to input into politically charged matters relating to Aboriginal sites, burials, and cultural heritage management generally. Carly has also reviewed a number of papers for the AA journal and has recently agreed to join the journal’s editorial advisory board. Welcome, Carly, to the ‘lifers club’!