Dr Jeff Brownrigg is a cultural historian who has spent at least 60 years recovering and making accessible, the lives of vanished Australians. 

In 1971 he moved to the UK to pursue graduate studies.  Returning to Australia in 1974 he spent several years developing curriculum to improve aural and visual literacy for young people.

He began working at the National Film and Sound Archive (NFSA) in 1986. After 20-odd years at the NFSA in various roles -  first as Head of Sound and Radio Collections and later, Head of Research and Academic Outreach - in 2005 he moved to the University of Canberra as an Adjunct Professor of Cultural Heritage Studies.

More recently, he has worked in the Australian Studies Institute (ANU) where the research goes on.