Dr Marita Bradshaw ‘History of Australia in Seven Rocks’

Marita, a leading petroleum geologist, will identify seven rocks that have had a wide-ranging and profound influence on Australian society, historical events and biology.  These include: the mineralization of Mount Isa; the Cretaceous shales of the former inland sea which gave us the Great Artesian Basin; and the Cenozoic limestones of the south coast.

Abstract
Marita identifies seven rocks that have had a wide-ranging and profound influence on Australian society, economy and biology. Among these, she notes the mineralization of Mt Isa and Broken Hill that produced inland cities with distinctive cultures; the Cretaceous Shales of the former inland sea that gave us the Great Artesian Basin and the pastoral industry; the Cenozoic limestones of the south coast that profoundly affected our flora - as well as the wine industry; as well as considering the rock we are making now in the Anthropocene.

Biography
Dr Marita Bradshaw
Marita is a petroleum geologist with over 30 years of experience in government and industry. With Geoscience Australia she had a series of technical, managerial and executive roles with a focus on revealing and promoting the petroleum prospectivity of Australia.  This included leading a program of new data acquisition in offshore frontier basins and establishing the continent-wide framework of Australian petroleum systems. Marita worked in exploration and resource assessment for a number of multi-national and Australian companies, including ESSO Australia and WMC.

She has a BSc Hons from the University of Sydney, a PhD from the University of Western Australia; and has been awarded the Lewis G Weeks gold medal by APPEA and was recently recognised by the Australian Geoscience Council as a National Geoscience Champion.