Finding balance.

Article | Updated 6 years ago

Corioli Souter - Curator, Maritime Archaeology

As a child, what career path did you want to take?

I have always loved stories as well as history. I wanted to be a writer first off and later in high school, an historian.

I come from a family of avid readers so had plenty of encouragement to find out more about the past. I also had a strong interest in the outdoors.

Considering these interests, my main aspiration was to make sure my career choice would include exploration (read-adventure!) of some kind.

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Is that where you ended up? If so why, or why not?

As an archaeologist and curator at the WA Museum, I have been able to live out most of my childhood aspirations.

Archaeology was a very practical, hands-on form of history which has allowed me to bring scholarship and outdoor exploration together. Originally trained as a terrestrial archaeologist, I gained post-graduate qualifications in maritime contexts with the Museum and Curtin University.

I have been very fortunate to have worked throughout Australia as well as overseas on an extraordinary variety of sites ranging from an Archaic Period Greek shipwreck in Turkey through to World War Two merchant vessels in Micronesia.

Similarly, I have also been involved in a number of coastal excavations working with traditional owners and university collaborators.

More recently, after the birth of my son, I have slowed down on the fieldwork commitments and devoted more time to developing exhibitions. Channelling the results of my profession into exhibitions has enabled me to become a storyteller as well.

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Do you have a female role model?

In my field, I was inspired by the work of Honor Frost and often referred to her pioneering book Under the Mediterranean (1963) during my first excavation for the Museum. During that excavation I was responsible for researching a number of stone anchors found in Galle Harbor, Sri Lanka.

The other role model was ichthyologist Eugenie Clarke. I had a copy of her autobiography Lady with a Spear (1953), which followed her marine biology exploits in the Red Sea and Micronesia – both areas where I also ended up working.

It was also an anthropological story of her observations as a woman in a foreign land which was equally intriguing.

Both were pioneering women working in the fields of marine science in the 1950s.

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How has the workplace changed, if it all, in regards to the treatment and level of respect shown to women?

I have spent most of my working life at the Museum, so I have been fortunate to have had supportive and equitable conditions. The Maritime Archaeology Department is family-friendly which has been essential for me to continue in my role as a field archaeologist and curator in a part-time capacity.

I am also lucky enough to have a permanent position in this increasingly contract-based employment era.

For many woman, the decision about when to start a family continues to be dictated by employment status.

If contract periods don’t align, many women risk their jobs not being renewed or find themselves ineligible for paid maternity leave. This disadvantages women both professionally and personally with many electing to put off having children until later, which is not always possible.

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What is one of your proudest work-related achievements?

In light of my previous comments, one of my proudest moments was developing my first exhibition for the Museum, Immerse: Exploring the Deep (2011) around the same time I had my son.

Installing an exhibition while simultaneously learning how to breastfeed a newborn was a new challenge for both me and my very understanding colleagues.

It was also a beautiful example of how work and family life can intersect and I strongly believe this should be an option for women if the opportunity arises.

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