.jpg/:/rs=w:1353,h:1353)
About the Cinematographer
Harry Vincent
Harry Vincent is an Australian documentary filmmaker and environmental communicator whose work explores the intricate relationships between people, wildlife, and the landscapes they share. Over the past decade, he has built a career at the intersection of conservation, environmental storytelling, and documentary production, driven by a deep fascination with apex predators and the critical roles they play in maintaining healthy ecosystems.
The creation of On The Fence became an extraordinary journey across Australia, taking Harry to every mainland state and territory. Over three years, he travelled thousands of kilometres along the vast Dingo Fence, immersing himself in some of the country's most remote and challenging landscapes. Along the way, he spent countless hours filming, tracking, and observing dingoes in the wild while documenting the diverse and often deeply personal perspectives of the people whose lives and livelihoods intersect with them.
As founder of Yellow Tail Films, Harry is dedicated to creating films that inspire curiosity, challenge preconceived ideas, and foster meaningful dialogue about the natural world. His work seeks to bridge divides, illuminate complexity, and encourage a deeper understanding of the often-contentious relationships between people, wildlife, and Country.
Through compelling storytelling and a commitment to thoughtful exploration, Harry's films invite audiences to look beyond simple narratives and engage with the nuanced realities of conservation in modern Australia.
Canis dingo
Cuts through longstanding myth and political noise to offer a deeper understanding of the dingo.
Canis dingo is a captivating exploration of one of Australia’s most iconic and polarising species. Drawing on two decades of scientific research, historical records and firsthand fieldwork, Bradley P. Smith traces how a wild canid became entangled in myth, law and livestock conflict, revealing what is at stake in the way Australia treats its apex predator.
As new scientific discoveries unsettle entrenched views, and awareness of the dingo’s ecological and cultural value grows, Australia is being forced to confront uncomfortable questions. Is the dingo a native species or a feral intruder? A wild canid or domestic dog gone rogue? A threat to biodiversity or one of its last remaining guardians? The answers matter, because they flow into real-world decisions that determine whether dingoes are protected or killed across much of the continent.
Blending field science, published research, historical evidence and expert perspectives, this book cuts through longstanding myth and political noise to offer a deeper understanding of the dingo and its place in modern Australia.
Reviews
"Beautifully written and literally bursting with factual information." – Lyn Watson, Founder-Director of the Australian Dingo Foundation
"This is the book that all Australians who care about the dingo have been waiting for. Canis dingo is a deep and stimulating exploration of the environmental and cultural significance of the dingo, and its complex and contested place in Australian life. Written by one of Australia's key scientific experts on dingo behaviour, the book is based on a wealth of scholarly research, brought to life by Smith's many years of personal experience of dingos in the wild and captivity. Read this book to discover what a remarkable animal the dingo is, and for an informed perspective on the debates that surround it."
Professor Chris Johnson, ecologist and conservation biologist, University of Tasmania
"Canis dingo is, perhaps, this century's most important book on the relationship between humans and animals. It is essential reading for anyone who cares about canines. With an accessible style, Smith invites readers to grapple with the true identity of the Australian dingo: are they the clever, enigmatic spirit of wild Australia, or a villain and pest? At stake is not only how we see dingoes, but how we understand ourselves and our relationship with all dogs. As a leading authority on the Australian dingo, Smith confronts these questions by synthesizing a remarkable breadth of scientific research that will challenge and engage even the most knowledgeable dog experts. He demonstrates that dingoes are neither wolves nor domestic dogs, but a distinct species shaped by nature. The result is a powerful new understanding of these extraordinary predators and an urgent call for coexistence that can enrich our shared world. This is a book that truly matters, and a gift to anyone concerned with the future of the natural world on which we all depend." Professor Brian Hare, evolutionary anthropologist, Duke University, and New York Times bestselling author.
"Mirrigan and Country are inseparable. They play a role in dreaming, companionship, hunting and they help care for Country. Importantly, this book brings together diverse knowledges, and begins to reframe an ongoing and contentious issue, how we manage Dingo in this country. It asks the question of us, can we collectively work through generations of stigma and misinformation to respectfully work with Mirrigan to heal Country?"
Jack Pascoe is a Yuin man living on Gadabanut Country, Co-Chief Councillor of the Biodiversity Council, and Senior Research Fellow at the University of Melbourne
"I closed Bradley Smith's remarkable Canis dingo stunned at the similarity of the dingo story he tells to that of the coyote in North America. In America coyotes are held sacred by Native people, Old Worlders destroyed them by the millions as pests, yet the animals are now replacement predators for eradicated wolves. On the other side of the world the dingo exists in that same cultural and ecological soup. Perhaps the thylacine will return, but the dingo will forever be Australia's coyote, its own special wild canid."
Dan Flores, author of the New York Times Bestseller, Coyote America: A Natural and Supernatural History
About the Author
Dr Bradley Smith
Dr Bradley Smith is a leading researcher in dingo behaviour, human-dingo interactions, and non-lethal management. He is a Senior Lecturer in Psychology at CQUniversity Australia, Scientific Director of the Australian Dingo Foundation, and a member of the IUCN Species Survival Commission Canid Specialist Group’s Dingo Working Group.
Over the past two decades, he has conducted research on captive and free-ranging dingoes across Australia, examining their behaviour, ecology, cognition, taxonomy, and interactions with people and livestock. Dr Smith has published more than 100 scientific papers and regularly works with government, conservation organisations, mining companies, and Indigenous ranger groups to explore evidence-based and ethical approaches to dingo management.
He is the author of Canis dingo: Understanding Australia’s Apex Predator (CSIRO Publishing, 2026), and lead editor of Wildlife Research in Australia (CSIRO Publishing, 2022), and The Dingo Debate (CSIRO Publishing, 2015).
https://www.howlingdingo.com.au/
https://staff-profiles.cqu.edu.au/home/view/536
We are honoured that Brad will be presenting at DingoFest. He will be available for book signings of Canis dingo, that will be available for sale and he will be participating in the Panel of Experts Q and A Sessions.
Panel of Experts
Lyn Watson
Lyn has dedicated more than three decades to the conservation of Australia's dingoes. A lifelong dog enthusiast, she bred champion dogs across numerous breeds and remains a highly respected accredited international all-breeds judge. Her extensive knowledge of domestic dogs led her to recognise that dingoes are fundamentally different in their physical characteristics, behaviour and cognition—an insight that sparked a lifelong commitment to their preservation.
As founder of the Australian Dingo Foundation, Lyn has played a pivotal role in advancing dingo science, mentoring researchers in Australia and internationally, including collaborators from Yale University's Canine Cognition Center. Under her guidance, the Foundation has supported research spanning archaeology, behaviour, biology, cognition, evolution, reproduction, parental care, vocalisations and non-lethal management.
Lyn leads a dedicated volunteer team caring for more than 40 dingoes while delivering education programs, supporting media engagement and advocating for evidence-based dingo conservation. She has also helped drive ground-breaking DNA research that is reshaping understanding of wild dingo populations and challenging long-held misconceptions.
Through unwavering dedication, Lyn has become one of Australia's most influential voices for dingo conservation, working to ensure this iconic apex predator is recognised, respected and protected for future generations.
Professor Euan Ritchie
Euan Ritchie, Professor of wildlife ecology and conservation, leads the Applied Ecology and Conservation Research (AECR) Group, within the School of Life and Environmental Sciences at Deakin University. AECR’s work spans diverse research fields, including behavioural, community, population and landscape ecology, conservation biology, and wildlife management. Their work has a strong focus on the significance of species interactions and ecological functions of Australian mammals, fire, invasive species, and ecosystem management. This research is aimed at more effective environmental policy, management actions, and biodiversity conservation. Euan is also the President of the Australian Mammal Society, a Councillor within the Biodiversity Council, and a passionate and prolific science communicator.
He has:
- published over 200 scientific articles, cited more than 23,000 times
- written over 100 The Conversation articles read over 2.5 million times
- received the AERA award in 2021 https://www.ecolsoc.org.au/news/professor-euan-ritchie-2021-aera-winner/, the 2024 Eureka Prize for promoting understanding of science and was part of a team that received a Eureka Prize for environmental research in 2013 for work on dingoes. He has also been a Eureka Prize finalist on three other occasions.
- He was listed among the ABC Science Show’s Top 100 Australian Scientists in 2024 and named an Australian Science Superhero in 2017, by Australia’s Chief Scientist.
Dr Kylie Cairns
Dr Kylie Cairns
Dr. Kylie Cairns is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), specializing in wildlife and conservation genetics. Her trailblazing work focuses on the genetic makeup of dingoes, investigating their evolutionary history, taxonomy and ecological role in Australia. Dr. Cairns has contributed significantly to understanding the origins and identity of dingoes and their relationship to domestic dogs and wolves. More recently she has begun using environmental DNA to investigate how predators interact with their environment and other species. Her research aims to inform conservation strategies that protect these iconic animals while balancing ecosystem health, biodiversity and agricultural impacts. Kylie is passionate about engaging the public in science and conservation efforts. She frequently collaborates with Indigenous communities to integrate traditional ecological knowledge into her research. In her spare time, she enjoys camping with her family, spending time with her two poodles and gardening.
For more information about Kylie and her research see: https://www.kyliecairns.com/
Kelly Ann Blake
Machelle Vaughan-Cartner
Dr Kylie Cairns
Kelly Ann Blake is a proud Wadawurrung woman honoring Dja Dja Wurrung Kinship connection, small business owner of Kaal Kaal Murrup Cultural Consultancy, Honorary Adjunct Research Fellow, La Trobe University. Kelly Ann Blake shares her cultural journey, knowledge and perspectives on the deep relationship and ongoing cultural connection of Dingoes [Darrwal] to Aboriginal / First Nations people and Country.
Kelly Ann Blake (Dingo Spirit), lives on Dja Dja Wurrung country in central Victoria, and acknowledges, and pays her continuous respects to Dja Dja Wurrung people and their Country.
Kelly Ann has authored numerous research publications, including her Masters Thesis: 'Barrat-car-loon ngarrwabi-nhuk burduauan Darrwal baap Kaal' (Reawakening the sleeping cultural knowledges of Dingo in South Eastern Australia).
Machelle Vaughan-Cartner
Machelle Vaughan-Cartner
Machelle Vaughan-Cartner
Machelle is the founder of Highlands Dingo Rescue Ltd, driven by her passion for dingoes that ignited during her childhood in the Myall Lakes Region of NSW, specifically in Bulahdelah and Hawks Nest. She spent countless days captivated by wild dingoes, laying the foundation for her lifelong commitment to these incredible animals. With 24 years of experience caring for domestic and wild-born dingoes, she moved to the Pilbara, WA, with her partner 19 years ago. They began rescuing orphaned wild-born pups, which led to the establishment of Desert Dingo Rescue, dedicated to providing care and advocacy for dingoes in need. Four years ago, they returned to the east coast, bringing five adult dingoes and setting up a puppy care clinic with enclosures for adult dingoes on our five-acre property in Tenterfield, NSW. They currently care for 12 dingoes and have rescued 97 wild-born pups, with more expected as puppy season begins. By monitoring den areas for living parent dingoes, they’ve successfully kept 28 wild-born pups in their natural habitat, ensuring they remain part of the ecosystem. Their mission also involves raising awareness about the alarming trend of pups being taken from the wild unnecessarily. Each removal disrupts family structures and has detrimental effects on the ecosystem, as dingoes are crucial for maintaining ecological balance. Over the years, they’ve provided education on dingoes through social media, schools, and communities in WA and NSW. Machelle would like to express her gratitude to her partner, Ross Cartner, for his invaluable support. We look forward to Machelle sharing her incredible journey at DingoFest and raising awareness about dingo conservation.