Susan Walter originally qualified as an Agricultural Scientist, and worked in the fields of Quality Assurance and Technical Management in horticulture and organic waste-management. After researching and writing up family history as a hobby, this expanded into an interest in local history through a desire to know more about her home landscape. This involved joining Malmsbury Historical Society, 86 km north-west of Melbourne, in 2002 and later taking on the challenge of managing their research services in 2006. After researching and writing local Malmsbury history on a voluntary basis, she is currently combining her passions for natural landscapes, landuse history and science in a PhD thesis at Federation University Australia entitled 'Malmsbury Bluestone and Quarries: Finding Holes in History and Heritage'.

Author email: susanwalter@students.federation.edu.au