David has been associated with the Museum since the age of 7 and was a Curator (Antarctica and Archive collections) between 1975 and 1986.
He then held positions with the Antarctic Heritage Trust, as Research Officer compiling education resources for Antarctic Division (DSIR) and Christchurch International Airport Ltd (International Antarctic Centre – Visitor Centre), and then as Executive Officer.
As an historian and geographer, his interests are wide-ranging. His primary areas of research and writing are the history of New Zealand’s Antarctic programme including Scott Base and science; the physical geography, history and science for islands in the Ross Sea region; historical archaeology in Antarctica; the Cape Adare historic site including climatology and geomorphology, early New Zealand mountaineering and past alpine erosional processes.
In the summer of 2000/01 he was an environmental scientist for the University of New South Wales with Australia’s Antarctic programme (ANARE) in the Larsemann Hills of East Antarctica. Over the last 20 years his knowledge of Antarctica has benefited through working with specialist colleagues on various vessels charted by companies for tourism. He has especially enjoyed lecturing, on-shore interpretation and compiling extensive logs sent electronically to thousands of tourists.
As an independent researcher, he is affiliated with Scott Polar Research Institute Cambridge, a member of the New Zealand Archaeological Association (since 1958), Heritage New Zealand, Canterbury Mountaineering Club, a Life Member of the New Zealand Antarctic Society and a Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Fellow.