David Clark
02/03/2020
Firstly, my apology for not posting any blogs recently, but I have been busy trying to finish writing the book about the Carrolup child artists. Very close to finishing that now, so I’m back blogging. In my last blogs, I focused on Mrs Florence Rutter’s visits to Carrolup […]
06/02/2020
The documentary Bringing them home: separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families, found on the Australian Human Rights Commission YouTube channel, ‘was produced in 1997 and forms part of the Bringing them home education resource for use in Australian classrooms. This resource is based on […]
02/02/2020
In yesterday’s blog, I described the first two days of the visit of Florence Rutter and Vera Hack to Carrolup Native Settlement. Mrs Rutter’s words show clearly how highly she thought of the boys of Carrolup! ‘During the three days we spent at Carrolup we were able to […]
01/02/2020
Seventy years ago yesterday, Mrs Florence Rutter and her friend Vera Hack arrived for their two and a half day visit of Carrolup Native Settlement. This visit was not only special in its own right, but it triggered a series of important events over the following two years, […]
31/01/2020
Mrs Rutter returns to Perth after her tour of Australia and New Zealand in January 1950. She is approached by Mrs Vera Hack, who informs Florence that she is willing to drive her down to Carrolup and stay there with her as long as she likes. Florence then […]
30/01/2020
In the run-up to a special 70th Anniversary on the 2nd February this year, I have been telling the story of Florence Rutter’s involvement with the child artists of Carrolup in a series of blogs. In the first blog, I describe how Florence first visited Carrolup in July […]
29/01/2020
In my last blog, I described Mrs Florence Rutter’s first visit to Carrolup in July 1949. Whilst there, Mrs Rutter bought £5 worth of Carrolup drawings and designs. When she returned to Perth, Mrs Rutter had the drawings mounted on cardboard and covered with cellophane for protection. She […]
28/01/2020
One of the fascinating elements of the Carrolup Story is that the Aboriginal child artists had an ‘ambassador’ for their work, a 71-year old Englishwoman, Mrs Florence Rutter. Mrs Rutter was given permission by the Western Australian government to exhibit and sell the children’s art, first around Australia […]
21/01/2020
In a previous blog entitled Community Building, I introduced Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) as a way of facilitating healing in communities. I pointed out that the most common approach to ‘helping’ communities (and individuals) has involved focusing on the community’s needs, deficiencies and problems. This approach leads to […]
16/01/2020
John and I are now back in Perth after our trips to visit family in New Zealand and the UK, respectively. For me, it was wonderful to see my four children and grandson, as well as catch up with old close friends in Wales, England and Sweden. However, […]
20/11/2019
Just wanted to let you know that we have added a slideshow on our Home Page, which contains old and new photographs, as well as copies of some of the Carrolup children’s artworks. The photos change every six seconds, or you can look through the collection quickly by using […]
19/11/2019
I often think about the young Aboriginal children of Carrolup, particularly when I am working on the book I have been writing. I think of the Carrolup children’s legacy, not just their artworks, but also their amazing story. I think of their children and grandchildren, and reflect on […]
13/11/2019
Some time ago, I found a great biography on encore.org of a very special Native American, Don Coyhis. I first uploaded this biography onto my Recovery Stories website back in April 2014, but it’s time this biography is on our website as a celebration of Don’s amazing healing work […]
10/11/2019
Today, is the first anniversary of the launch of our Storytelling, Education and Healing online resource, The Carrolup Story. It is also the 86th birthday of Noelene White, the daughter of Carrolup School teachers Noel and Lilly White. Happy Birthday, Noelene! Noelene was 12-years old when her family moved to Carrolup […]
07/11/2019
In past blogs, I have described the enormous impact that Judy Atkinson and her book Trauma Trails: Recreating Song Lines – The Transgenerational Effects of Trauma in Indigenous Australia had on my personal beliefs and on the work I do. The book inspired me to develop the educational […]
05/11/2019
I’d just like to remind you that you can read a 12-part summary of the story of the Carrolup child artists in the Story section of our website, which starts with Colonisation. The Department of Native Affairs in Western Australia closes Carrolup School in December 1950 with little, if any, […]
30/10/2019
In his interesting book Healing the Mind Though the Power of Story: The Promise of Narrative Psychiatry, Dr Lewis Mehl-Madrona, who I hold in very high regard, emphasises the importance of story. In this blog, I’m going to describe some of his reflections about story (pp. 2 – […]
24/10/2019
When I came to live in Australia in December 2008, I knew little about the past government policy of removing Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families. This policy was introduced by Federal and State government acts in order to assimilate Aboriginal and Torres Strait […]