Lynette Ross was born in 1954 and grew up in the South Island of New Zealand. She moved to Australia in her 20s and after living in various parts of the country settled in Tasmania where she undertook a Bachelor of Arts degree majoring in History and Archaeology; the latter through the University of New England. Her Honours degree in History featured a thesis on convict death at Port Arthur which led to a re-interpretation of the Isle of the Dead.
Employment includes working as Heritage Officer at the Port Arthur Historic Site, research and other positions at UTAS, co-ordinator of operations at the historic Saumarez Homestead in NSW and operating as a private contractor. Her special interest is the history and archaeology of Australia’s colonial period.
Hobbies over the years have been horse riding, scuba diving, travel, subjects related to the past, reading and the natural world.
Lynette is retired and is busy completing writing projects related to the colonial period. Her history of Launceston’s Government Cottage is in press (2024). She also volunteers at QVMAG in Natural Sciences working on special projects.
Lynette joined the Royal Society of Tasmania in 2017 and the Northern Branch Management Committee the following year. She was a member of the Northern Branch’s centenary subcommittee, celebrated in 2021.
