Mark is a historian with 20 years work experience in Sydney's history, heritage and archaeology. He has completed a Master's in Applied History and a Ph.D. in the history of colonial race and class relations in the NSW convict colony. His book, The Convict Valley (2020) was shorlisted for the Australian Prime Ministers Literary Awards for Australian History. He was the Chair of the Professional Historians Association, a member of the NSW Heritage Council and previous President of the History Council of NSW. Until recently he hosted a regular history segment on radio Fbi 94.5 in Sydney (https://scratchingsydneyssurface.wordpress.com/) and has acted as a consultant for the family history television program 'Who Do you Think You Are? Australia'.