Phil Creaser was born in England but has lived in Australia since 1965. He lives with his partner Genevieve in Canberra and is happily retired after more than thirty years in the Australian Public Service.

Phil has Honours and Masters degrees in Geology and Palaeontology from ANU in Canberra. Currently he is an Adjunct Senior Lecturer at the University of NSW in Sydney working with colleagues on fossil sites in Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.

He worked on many environmental and heritage issues in his Public Service career which included World Heritage policy, the preservation of Old Parliament House in Canberra and a secondment to the Australian Museum in Sydney.

He is an advocate for the recognition and conservation of geological heritage worldwide and was largely responsible for the World Heritage listing of the Riversleigh fossil site. He is a promoter for a Natural History Museum for Canberra to showcase Australia’s unique animals and plants.

He has also studied the evolution of plants and animals on Pacific islands and the human migrations around the Pacific Rim and across the Pacific Ocean.

Phil’s other interests include Bridge, Trivia contests, Jigsaw puzzles, Orienteering and Rogaining.

MASTERLIST OF NATURAL HISTORY TALKS - 2024
A series of interconnected natural history talks covering a wide range of subjects (particularly geology and the earth sciences, zoology and palaeontology) in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific. In addition there are a number of more general presentations on these subjects.

AUSTRALIA (and KOMODO)

GEOLOGY AND THE EARTH SCIENCES

TIME TRAVELLING THROUGH AUSTRALIA’S GEOLOGICAL PAST
Learn about the oldest continent on Earth with vast areas in Western Australia providing evidence of what Earth was like 3.5 billion years ago. The geology of Australia reveals there were times when it was green and lush, many other times when it was covered by glaciers but today large areas are dry and arid.

AUSSIE DIGGERS: FROM OCHRE TO GOLD
Find out how mining has played a significant role in the history and development of Australia starting with the indigenous Aborigine people tens of thousands years ago. The discovery of gold in Victoria in the 1850s brought wealth and prosperity to Australia and other mining booms have continued to do so in the past and will do so into the future.


ZOOLOGY, PALAEONTOLOGY AND EVOLUTION

AUSTRALIAN ANIMALS: THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY PART 1
Learn about some wild, weird and wonderful Australian animals such as the Fangaroo, the Antechinus and the Lyrebird. The first part covers the mammals (marsupials, monotremes and placentals) and birds

AUSTRALIAN ANIMALS: THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE UGLY PART 2
Discover even more wild, weird and wonderful Australian animals such as the Dinosaur Ant, Peacock Spiders and the Blobfish. The second part also covers snakes, crocodiles, sharks and giant cuttlefish.

SAVING AUSTRALIA’S UNIQUE WILDLIFE: PART 1 – THE THREATS (IN PREP)
Discover that Australia is a megadiverse country, one of only 17 in the world, meaning that it has great biodiversity. However many plants and animals have become extinct mainly due to European settlement due to many factors which still pose a threat today

SAVING AUSTRALIA’S UNIQUE WILDLIFE: PART 2 – THE SOLUTIONS (IN PREP)
With many plant and animal species under threat, there is an increased effort by a wide range of Government bodies, private organisations and individuals to halt further extinctions. Learn about the wide range of solutions currently in place and others that are proposed to save our unique heritage.

RIVERSLEIGH’S WORLD HERITAGE FOSSILS: MESSAGES FROM THE PAST – LESSONS FOR THE FUTURE
Listen to Phil Creaser as he talks about his work over 30 years at the Riversleigh World Heritage fossil site in Queensland and how the site provides important information to help conserve modern day Australian animals. It may have helped to save the now extinct Tasmanian Tiger if we had known the fossil record for this animal.

AUSTRALIA’S UNIQUE MARSUPIALS– DEAD AND ALIVE (IN PREP)
Be surprised by Australia’s unique marsupials many of which are not well known. These include the living Marsupial Mole, the now extinct Marsupial Lion and the Mountain Pygmy Possum which was first found as a fossil before the living species was discovered.

MAGNIFICENT MONOTREMES AND MARVELLOUS MARSUPIALS
Learn about the range of different Australian mammals, but not all arrived in Australia at the same time. Palaeontologists are discovering when these different groups arrived, focusing on the origin of the iconic marsupials and how they got to Australia from overseas around the Pacific Rim.

AUSTRALIAN DINOSAURS, KRONOSAURS AND PTEROSAURS
Discover that, until recently, very few dinosaurs and only a few marine reptiles (such as Kronosaurus) had been found in Australia. This has changed and in the past 30 years, many exciting discoveries have been made throughout Australia and we now have a good picture of Australia 100 million years ago when these gigantic creatures ruled the land, sea and air.

AMBER FROM AUSTRALIA: RECENT DISCOVERIES
Listen to Phil Creaser talk about his involvement in the discovery of Australia’s first major amber deposit on crocodile infested beaches on Cape York. Other significant recent discoveries Australia and New Zealand are also discussed.

AUSTRALIA’S MEGAFAUNA: WHAT REALLY HAPPENED (IN PREP)
Discover when huge kangaroos, giant wombats and massive lizards lived in Australia in the past. They are now extinct. What caused their demise? Climate change, hunting by Aborigines or a combination of both these factors. Recent discoveries could help solve this mystery.

ANIMALS FROM THE RIVERSLEIGH WORLD HERITAGE FOSSIL SITE (IN PREP)
Learn about the diversity of animals (and plants) discovered at the Riversleigh site. While much of the research work has been on the mammals, there are many other animals which were part of an ancient rainforest ecosystem including birds, insects and reptiles.

OPAL FOSSILS FROM AUSTRALIA WHEN DINOSAURS ROAMED (IN PREP)
Be amazed by the diversity and sheer beauty of opalised fossils from places such as Lightning Ridge, Andamooka and Coober Pedy which present a colourful snapshot of life on the land and in the seas of Australia at the time of the dinosaurs 100 million years ago

ISLANDS IN THE STREAM (IN PREP)
Australia has four significant World Heritage islands. Invasive species and feral pests have severely impacted the native fauna on three of these islands. Learn about the efforts of Australian authorities to control and eliminate the introduced plants and animals

EAT PREY LOVE (IN PREP)
Learn about how the attitudes of people who have settled in Australia since 1788 has changed over time

WHY CALL THE TASMANIAN TIGER A TIGER– WHEN IT ISN’T! (IN PREP)
The names of Australian animals is a curious mixture. Some are derived from local Aboriginal names, others are based on a vague resemblance to Northern Hemisphere animals and others are scientific names often Latin or Greek

INVASIVE PLANTS AND ANIMALS IN AUSTRALIA (IN PREP)
Learn about the wide range of invasive and introduced pest species that threaten Australia’s native plants and animals and cause extensive damage to a range of Australian industries, most notably agriculture


THE HISTORY OF LIFE ON EARTH IN ONLY 45 MINUTES: AUSTRALIA’S CONTRIBUTION
Learn about the Australia’s great fossil sites which tell the story of life on earth. Starting as primitive life forms in the sea 3.5 billion years ago, different groups of animals have evolved to live on the land and in the air as well as still living in the sea.


HERE BE DRAGONS! (IN PREP)
Learn about the Komodo dragon from it’s origins in Australia to it’s traits that make it a name that is known and feared throughout the world


WORLD HERITAGE (1 OVERVIEW TALK AND 4 DETAILED TALKS)

WORLD HERITAGE: AN AUSTRALIAN PERSPECTIVE AND OVERVIEW
Learn about the World Heritage Convention and the often complex processes and procedures in getting a place inscribed on the World Heritage List. This subject has been very controversial in Australia in the past but there is now broad acceptance by all levels of government. Possible future Australian nominations are also considered.


PURNULULU, NINGALOO AND THE FANGAROO: NATURAL WORLD HERITAGE SITES IN AUSTRALIA
Learn about Australian World Heritage sites with natural heritage values with a particular emphasis on some of the lesser known sites such as Lord Howe Island, Macquarie Island and Shark Bay.

KAKADU, ULURU AND COCKATOO (ISLAND): CULTURAL WORLD HERITAGE SITES IN AUSTRALIA
Discover the Australian World Heritage sites with Aboriginal and European cultural heritage values, some of which also have significant natural heritage values such as Kakadu, Willandra Lakes and the Tasmanian Wilderness.

FROM SNOTTYGOBBLES TO SNOWBALL EARTH: POSSIBLE WORLD HERITAGE SITES IN AUSTRALIA PART 1 LARGE NATURAL AREAS
Listen to Phil Creaser as he presents his personal list of possible Australian World Heritage sites in Australia. In the first part he considers large natural areas such as Cape York, the Kimberleys and the Nullarbor Plain.

FROM SNOTTYGOBBLES TO SNOWBALL EARTH: POSSIBLE WORLD HERITAGE SITES IN AUSTRALIA PART 2 CUTURAL AND GEOLOGICAL SITES
Hear Phil Creaser talk about his personal list of possible Australian World Heritage sites in Australia. In the second part he discusses the heritage values of Aboriginal sites, the Victorian goldfields and some fossil sites in the Flinders Ranges.


NEW ZEALAND

NEW ZEALAND GEOLOGY – A CHUP OFF THE OLD GONDWANA BLOCK
Discover that unlike Australia, New Zealand is a relatively young country. Part of the ‘lost continent’ of Zealandia, the country known as ‘The Shaky Isles’ faces many geological hazards.

NEW ZEALAND’S UNIQUE ANIMALS: HOW THEY GOT THERE AND EVOLVED
Discover how New Zealand’s unique plants and animals have evolved in apparent isolation from the rest of the world. Where did they come from and how did flightless birds such as the Kiwi and the Moa get there?

NEW ZEALAND’S UNIQUE ANIMALS (IN PREP)
Discover the range of New Zealand’s unique plants and animals

WORLD HERITAGE IN NEW ZEALAND
Discover that New Zealand has a broad range of natural and cultural sites with World Heritage values. There are 3 sites already on the World Heritage List and several others which may be included on the List at a later date.

PEOPLES IN NEW ZEALAND: FROM POLYNESIANS TO PREACHERS
Learn about the history of the Pacific in terms of the waves of people who have explored, settled and colonised the Pacific Rim and the islands in the Pacific Ocean. This talk has a specific focus on New Zealand

SAVING NEW ZEALAND’S UNIQUE ANIMALS: PART 1 – THE PROBLEMS
Learn about the devastating impact that humans have had on New Zealand’s wildlife
since people arrived 750 years ago with many species becoming extinct

SAVING NEW ZEALAND’S UNIQUE ANIMALS: PART 2 – THE SOLUTIONS
Hear about the wide range of Government bodies, private organisations and individuals involved in stopping further extinctions and the wide range of solutions currently in place and others that are proposed to save threatened species.

THE PACIFIC


GEOLOGY OF THE PACIFIC OCEAN – FROM AITUTAKI TO ZEALANDIA
Learn that the Pacific Ocean is relatively young in geological terms. Around the Pacific Rim, the ‘Ring of Fire’ is famous for the earthquakes, volcanoes and tsunamis while the islands of the Pacific reflect a range of different origins.

VOLCANOES IN THE SOUTH WEST PACIFIC (IN PREP)

THE 2022 ERUPTION OF THE HUNGA TONGA HUNGA HA’APAI VOLCANO – WHAT WE NOW KNOW (IN PREP)

WORLD HERITAGE IN THE PACIFIC
Be informed by the broad range of natural and cultural sites on the World Heritage List from island countries in the Pacific and countries with sites around the Pacific Rim. Potential World Heritage sites are also considered.


WATER, WINGS AND WIND: CARRYING ANIMALS AND PLANTS ACROSS PACIFIC ISLANDS
Find out about the various theories have been proposed to explain the origins and evolution of the plants and animals of the Pacific Ocean islands, such as Hawaii and the Galapagos Islands, many of which are several thousand miles away from continental mainlands.

EASTER ISLAND: WAS IT ECOCIDE?
Learn that while a popular theory is that the Polynesians on Easter Island (Rapa Nui) committed ‘ecocide’ (Ecological self-destruction) but recent evidence suggests that this was not the case and that there were several other reasons for the population’s decline, including climate change.

NEW CALEDONIA, VANUATU AND FIJI: UNIQUE PACIFIC ISLANDS
Discover the natural history, heritage and people of these islands.

PEOPLES IN THE PACIFIC: PAPUANS, POLYNESIANS AND PREACHERS
Find out about the history of the Pacific in terms of the waves of people who have explored, settled and colonised the Pacific Rim and the islands in the Pacific Ocean. This is a broad general talk.



GENERAL TALKS ON SCIENCE AND HERITAGE


GEOLOGY AND THE EARTH SCIENCES

MODERN DAY GEOHAZARDS (PART 1): GEOLOGY IS A REAL SCIENCE:
Discover the role earth scientists play in understanding geohazards from volcanoes to earthquakes and tsunami predictions which are all highly relevant to the nations in the Pacific Ocean and all around the Pacific Rim including South East Asia. Other geohazards such as Glacier detachments and asteroid impacts on Earth are also referred to.

PAST GEOHAZARDS (PART 2): BURIED TOWNS AND SUNKEN CITIES
Learn about the geohazards from the past including volcanoes, earthquakes and tsunamis. The impact of similar events today would be catastrophic on our civilization.

GEOSITES AND GEOHERITAGE…WHAT ARE THEY???
Find out how earth scientists try to preserve individual sites with geological heritage values both for scientific research and for future generations to enjoy and appreciate. Related to this initiative is the concept and recognition of Geoparks which can include a range of Geosites and related centres and museums.

GEOTOURISM…ARE YOU A GEOTOURIST???
Learn about Geotourism - a form of natural area tourism that focuses specifically on geology and landscapes. It promotes tourism to such sites and areas as well as associated attractions. There are many such sites around the Pacific Rim and on islands in the Pacific Ocean such as the Hawaii volcanoes and the geothermal areas at Rotorua in New Zealand.

AMBER – TEARS OF THE GODS
Listen to Phil Creaser as he presents a general talk about amber including the physical properties of amber and where major amber deposits can be found. Amongst these are several stunning recent discoveries from Myanmar (Burma)

CLIMATE CHANGE PART 1: MESSAGES FROM THE PAST
Learn about how earth scientists play a vital role in our future by studying past climates. New and improved techniques are providing more accurate and detailed information about past extremes and what we can expect in the future.

CLIMATE CHANGE PART 2: THE COLLAPSE OF CIVILISATIONS
Discover about evidence that is emerging about the impact of climate change on the fall of civilisations and settlements throughout the world such as Angkor Wat, Easter Island and the Viking settlement on Greenland.

ASTEROIDS: CREATING LIFE – CAUSING DESTRUCTION (IN PREP)
Discover how recent finds of meteorites on Earth have helped scientists discover how life evolved on Earth. Together with missions to comets and asteroids in space we are gaining a better understanding of threats to life on Earth like the asteroid that wiped out the non flying dinosaurs 66 million years ago.

RESTLESS EARTH: A GEOLOGICAL HISTORY (IN PREP)
Learn about the birth of our Solar System and Earth about 4.6 billion years ago. Since then several major geological processes and climatic events such as Plate Tectonics, Volcanism and Ice Ages have shaped the world we have inherited.

GEOLOGY AND THE EARTH SCIENCES: THE ROCKS, MINERALS AND METALS THAT HAVE SHAPED OUR WORLD AND OUR CIVILISATION– 2 TALKS (IN PREP)
Hear about how the first human (Homo habilis – Handy Man) selected a particular rock type to use as a tool some 2.6 million years ago. This was followed by our ancestors who used rocks and minerals for a wide range of purposes as building stones and for use as weapons and in ceremonies. As civilization has progressed, we have found new uses for some minerals and elements. As an example, we now use several Rare Earth Elements for our mobile phones, electric cars, batteries and computers.


PALAEONTOLOGY AND EVOLUTION

WHAT A PALAEONTOLOGIST DOES WHEN HE ISN’T CRUISING
Listen to Phil Creaser talk about the range of fossil projects he gets involved with including discovering, owning, collecting, preparing, studying, displaying, valuing, selling, exporting and even stealing fossils.

THE HISTORY OF LIFE ON EARTH IN ONLY 45 MINUTES
Learn about the world’s great fossil sites which tell the story of life on earth. Starting as primitive life forms in the sea 3.5 billion years ago, different groups of animals have evolved to live on the land and in the air as well as still living in the sea.

OUR EARLIEST ANCESTORS PART 1: FROM THE SEA TO THE LAND
Learn about the earliest animal that we call ‘one of us’ appeared about 550 MY ago. This evolved into an animal with a backbone (Vertebra) and eventually into a modern human (Homo sapiens) which is just one of many many vertebrates found in the seas, on the land and in the air of Earth today. The first part of this 4 part talk looks at how the earliest vertebrates made the transition from the sea to the land in less than 200 million years.

OUR EARLIEST ANCESTORS PART 2: EVOLVING ON THE LAND (PART 1)
Discover how new research is providing critical information in the 2nd part of this series. Until recently, few fossils between 250 and 65 million years ago had been found but now we are getting a better picture of our evolution in this period.

OUR EARLIEST ANCESTORS PART 3: EVOLVING ON THE LAND (PART 2)

Learn how one group of mammals evolved on the land started about 70 million years ago which lead to our closest living relatives such as chimpanzees, gorillas and now extinct members of our family tree such as Australopithecus.

OUR EARLIEST ANCESTORS PART 4: HUMANS
Discover that the earliest human (Homo species) is considered to be Homo habilis dated at 2.6 million years old. However, recent discoveries across the world are rapidly changing our knowledge about how we humans got to where we are today and how we have evolved.

BEFORE AND AFTER THE CAMBRIAN EXPLOSION: 200 MY THAT SHAPED LIFE ON EARTH TODAY (IN PREP)
Discover that from about 650 to 450 million years ago, life exploded on earth. Many bizarre animals evolved in this period. Some died out rapidly with no recognisable ancestors, but some are the earliest ancestors of animals we know today. Fossils of this period are the focus of research throughout the world.

MASS EXTINCTIONS: MAJOR TURNING POINTS OF LIFE ON EARTH (IN PREP)
Be informed by new information on several mass extinction events over the past 2 billion years which have had a major impact on our planet’s ecosystem. Causes range from massive volcanic eruptions to asteroids from space. A new cause is the human race which is responsible for the so called ‘Sixth Extinction’.

DINOSAURS: NEW DISCOVERIES – NEW THEORIES (IN PREP)
Discover how dinosaurs were first recognised and named in the 1820s and our fascination with them ever since. With new technologies and scientific techniques we have learnt so much more about these creatures in the last 20 years and it is likely that new discoveries will continue into the future.

THE LAST DAYS OF THE DINOSAURS (IN PREP)
Discover the new evidence about the catastrophic impacts of the asteroid that hit Earth 66 million years ago and changed forever the course of life on Earth, in particular the demise of the dinosaurs.


WORLD HERITAGE

WORLD HERITAGE IN THE SOUTH WEST PACIFIC AND SOUTH EAST ASIA – FROM KOMODO TO KUK AND KOKODA
Find out about the broad range of natural and cultural sites on the World Heritage List from countries as diverse as Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. Other significant heritage sites in the region will also be discussed.

WORLD HERITAGE GEOLOGICAL SITES: ROCKING ALL OVER THE WORLD
Listen to Phil Creaser presenting his personal analysis and description of the range of World Heritage geological sites, many of which are well known tourist attractions and are visited by cruise ships all around the world such as Glacier Bay in Alaska and Halong Bay in Vietnam.


TO BE DONE

TUFA AND TRAVERTINE
THE MOON
MARS
THE ANTHROPOCENE
AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINES
NEW TECHNIQUES IN PALAEONTOLOGY, GEOLOGY AND ARCHAEOLOGY
THE GREAT DYING (P/T)
INTERNATIONAL HERITAGE CONVENTIONS FROM THE UN
WILLIAM DAMPIER – THE FIRST ENGLISHMAN TO VISIT AUSTRALIA
WALLACE’S LINE

ON CRUISE SHIPS

Up to June 2024, I have had the following assignments lecturing on Cruise Ships.

On HAL cruise ships I have spoken on:
• Volendam from Sydney to Singapore in November 2015 (8 lectures in 15 days)
• Maasdam circumnavigation of Australia October 2016 (13 lectures in 28 days)
• Maasdam circumnavigation of Australia again in October 2017 (14 lectures in 32 days)
• Noordam from Sydney to Vancouver in April 2018 (12 lectures in 25 days)
• Noordam from Vancouver to Sydney in October 2018 (14 lectures in 25 days)
• Amsterdam from Callao/Lima to Auckland in February 2019 as part of a Grand World Voyage (15 lectures in 25 days)

On Regent Seven Seas ships I have spoken on
• Voyager from Sydney to Singapore in February 2017 (8 lectures in 14 days)
• Navigator from Sydney to Auckland and then onto Bali in March 2018 (15 lectures in 32 days).

On Celebrity Solstice I have spoken on a 10 day round trip cruise from Sydney in January 2020 (5 lectures)

Viking

Viking Orion in February/March 2020 from Sydney to Auckland,(5 lectures in 15 days)
Viking Star on a World Cruise in January to March 2022 from Los Angeles to Malta (19 lectures in 59 days)
Viking Orion in October/November 2022 from Honolulu to Bangkok (14 lectures in 28 days)
Viking Mars in December 2022 from Bali to Sydney (8 lectures in 16 days)
Viking Mars in January 2023 from Sydney to Auckland (5 lectures in 14 days)
Viking Orion in January/February 2024 from Sydney to Auckland and return (total of 10 lectures in 28 days)

Seabourn

Seabourn Sojourn in March 2023 from Sydney to Fremantle (6 lectures in 14 days)

The following recent Cruise History has been recorded for this candidate.