Simon commenced at the Museum in 1994, initially as part of the Invertebrate Survey Department as part of a team looking at the diversity of native insects in various vegetation types in North Central Victoria. Simon was involved in other surveys including a 3 year project to provide a baseline fauna of Victoria’s Box-Ironbark region and has undertaken field work in Central Australia, Victoria’s mallee region and worked extensively in South Gippsland on the endangered Giant Gippsland Earthworm and species of threatened freshwater burrowing crayfish. A highlight was working with David Attenborough on his documentary Life in the Undergrowth which incorporated the Giant Gippsland Earthworm.
Simon then became a collection manager and has been involved in a number of projects such as the image capture for the Pest and Disease Image Library, (PaDIL), a website designed to provide people with diagnostic images of invertebrate species which we are trying to keep out of Australia. This website has now broadened to also look at biodiversity.
The Arachnology and Entomology collections comprise more than 2.5 million specimens stored in 70% alcohol or as pinned specimens housed in historic and modern cabinets. Museum Victoria holds a number of important historic collections and many thousands of scientifically irreplaceable ‘type’ specimens, specimens used in the scientific description of species. Simon works to ensure the collection is made as accessible as possible while at the same time securing its long term preservation.