John Clegg

John Clegg (11 January 1935 – 11 March 2015

Move to Australia

Clegg undertook excavations with Eric Higgs and Charles McBurney, both of whom were influential on his studies. After these studies he worked as a school teacher, and in 1963-4 he excavated at Coygan Cave in South Wales as a contract archaeologist. In 1964, Clegg moved to Brisbane, Queensland and took up a position in archaeology in the Psychology Department of Queensland University. involved an analysis of the Bare Hill rock art site located near Cairns in Queensland. This was the first study in Australia to examine rock art from an archaeological perspective. He was awarded the University Medal for this work. Clegg went on to produce over 60 archaeological papers and books, and was an eccentric and respected lecturer, who added drama and humour to his teaching. In the 1980s he took up a teaching position in the Archaeology Department of the University of Sydney. He produced a popular Field Guide to the Rock Art of Sydney (Stanbury & Clegg 1990)