Author, Researcher, Historian
Redress – Claytons or Fair Dinkum? In late October/early November I was invited to Sweden along with Associate Professor Jacqui Wilson of Federation University (another Care Leaver) to talk about the state of play with the Australian Royal Commission’s recommendations on redress. We planned to present an essentially negative story about why the Australian government had rejected the Commission’s […]
Lost and Found: Reconstructing a family at war This was the title of a paper I presented at the Australian Catholic University, Melbourne on 13 December 2016 at a conference entitled (Re)Examining Historical Childhoods: Literary, Cultural, Social. The conference was organised by the Australasian Society for the History of Children and Youth. I am working this paper up as […]
The Past is Not a Closed Chapter – It Shapes the Whole Book of Our Lives This was the title of a talk I presented in Adelaide on 30 November 2016 at a workshop as part of the Routes to the Past Project, co-sponsored by the University of Melbourne, CLAN and the Dulwich Centre located in Adelaide. […]
The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse has recently released 55 submissions in response to their ‘Consultation Paper: Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in Out-of-Home Care’ You can download and read the submissions here. This is my submission dated 11 March 2016. I became aware of the above Consultation Paper only […]
This is the inaugural Frank Golding Lecture presented at the Official Opening of the Legacy & Research Centre at Ballarat Child & Family Services (CAFS), 7 May 2016 I solemnly swear to tell you the truth and nothing but the truth about the history of the Ballarat Orphan Asylum (born 1865) and its child, the […]
This is the final draft of my paper for the Biennial European Social Science History Conference of the International Institute of Social History to be held in Valencia, Spain 30 March to 2 April 2016. Read more about the Conference here. Given that there are several papers being presented on related issues, I will revise […]
Of all the things that happened to vulnerable children in institutional ‘care’, the word ‘forgotten’ is so lame and tame. New Comment ‘The forgotten Aussies crying out to be noticed,’ said the headline. ‘They have little influence on the national agenda, they struggle to stay connected and the things they care about are at the bottom […]
A Charter of Rights to Childhood Records: Updated version Following some very helpful, constructive comments on an early draft, this revised draft (3 March 2016) is posted with a further invitation to comment. It is also posted on the CLAN website. We particularly welcome and value comment by Care Leavers, ‘Forgotten Australians’, people formerly placed in foster families, members of […]