About the Author

Wally Johnson is an honorary associate professor in the Department of Pacific Affairs, College of Asia and the Pacific, The Australian National University. He worked for many years for the Australian Government’s geoscientific agency in Canberra, Geoscience Australia, first as a volcanic geologist and research scientist and later in senior management roles as a division chief. Most of his research career has focused on the volcanology of Papua New Guinea, much of which was undertaken in close association with colleagues at the Rabaul Volcanological Observatory, headquarters of the national volcanological service of Papua New Guinea. Johnson was secretary general of the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth’s Interior (IAVCEI) from 1991 to 1999. He is an honorary life member of IAVCEI and an honorary fellow of the International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG). His previous book with ANU Press was Fire Mountains of the Islands: A History of Volcanic Eruptions and Disaster Management in Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands (2013).