Staff Profiles
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Eleanor Cornish
Project Archaeologist - Faunal and Ceramics Specialist - Lithics Specialist
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Eleanor began working at CWHC almost six years ago when she was just 18. At that time she was enrolled in an accounting degree, which she subsequently completed. However, the CWHC team wore her down and, rather than pursuing a career as an accountant, she switched to archaeology. Eleanor completed her Graduate Diploma of Arts (Classics and Archaeology) at the University of Melbourne in 2023.
In her time at CHWC, Eleanor has gained a wide range of experience working on historic and Indigenous projects and has become an integral part of the team. Eleanor has participated in a great deal of fieldwork, including surveys, excavations, salvages, monitoring, site mapping and recording and as trench supervisor on a recent historic excavation, and has undertaken report writing and editing of CHMPs and other Indigenous archaeological reports. She has also achieved a high level of expertise in identifying and cataloguing Indigenous lithic artefact and developed a training manual for the identification of artefacts in the field. In 2024 Eleanor ran training sessions for DEECA and Parks Victoria staff on the identification of Indigenous heritage in the field. For the past three years, Eleanor has also assisted in running the recurring series of lithic artefact and zooarchaeological lectures that CWHC provide to the University of Melbourne’s Interpreting Material Culture study unit within the Archaeology Programme. As if that wasn’t enough, Eleanor also has considerable experience cataloguing of historic artefact collections, particularly ceramic artefacts and faunal assemblages, and is currently CWHC’s resident faunal expert.
Arguably Eleanor’s greatest contribution to the CWHC team is the creation of a searchable ceramic transferware pattern database that contains over 400 named patterns that CWHC have identified on Australian historic sites. This database includes images and information regarding dates, makers and site locations. Eleanor presented a poster on this topic at the ASHA conference in 2021 and won the ‘best poster’ prize for her efforts.
In her time at CHWC, Eleanor has gained a wide range of experience working on historic and Indigenous projects and has become an integral part of the team. Eleanor has participated in a great deal of fieldwork, including surveys, excavations, salvages, monitoring, site mapping and recording and as trench supervisor on a recent historic excavation, and has undertaken report writing and editing of CHMPs and other Indigenous archaeological reports. She has also achieved a high level of expertise in identifying and cataloguing Indigenous lithic artefact and developed a training manual for the identification of artefacts in the field. In 2024 Eleanor ran training sessions for DEECA and Parks Victoria staff on the identification of Indigenous heritage in the field. For the past three years, Eleanor has also assisted in running the recurring series of lithic artefact and zooarchaeological lectures that CWHC provide to the University of Melbourne’s Interpreting Material Culture study unit within the Archaeology Programme. As if that wasn’t enough, Eleanor also has considerable experience cataloguing of historic artefact collections, particularly ceramic artefacts and faunal assemblages, and is currently CWHC’s resident faunal expert.
Arguably Eleanor’s greatest contribution to the CWHC team is the creation of a searchable ceramic transferware pattern database that contains over 400 named patterns that CWHC have identified on Australian historic sites. This database includes images and information regarding dates, makers and site locations. Eleanor presented a poster on this topic at the ASHA conference in 2021 and won the ‘best poster’ prize for her efforts.