David Clark

11/10/2021

Development of the Carrolup Art: Charles Crabbe’s Letter

I first wrote about local Department of Education school inspector Charles ‘Sammy’ Crabbe back in March 2020. He played a pivotal role in helping Noel White connect with the Aboriginal children of Carrolup, and in the development and promotion of the Carrolup children’s art. Noel was a close […]
07/10/2021

Revel Cooper’s Reflections on Carrolup

One of the most important resources I have found during my research of the Carrolup story is a ‘letter’ written by Revel Cooper where he reflects on his time at Carrolup Native Settlement. Back in 2015, my close friend Michael (Mike) Liu and I were researching Revel’s life, as […]
07/10/2021

Community Capacities & Community Necessities

I have previously posted articles about Asset-Based Community Development (ABCD) entitled Community Building and Sustainable Community Development: From What’s Wrong to What’s Strong – Cormac Russell. The ABCD approach focuses on a community’s assets, capacities and abilities. Historical evidence indicates that significant community development takes places only when local community […]
06/10/2021

Our 250th Blog Post… A ‘Random’ Celebration

Last week, when I posted the article Factors Facilitating Addiction Recovery: A Summary in our Healing Blog, I did not realise that it was the 250th blog post on our website. I thought we should have a belated celebration of this milestone today. To do something different, I decided […]
05/10/2021

The Repair of Early Trauma: A Bottom Up Approach

‘Told to us through the voices of children, this unique animation teaches us that by putting together the seven-piece jigsaw puzzle of ‘Developmental Trauma’, we can understand how a child’s adverse childhood experiences have shaped their emotional world and outward behaviour. Once we understand this, we can then […]
04/10/2021

Development of the Carrolup Children’s Art: Noel White’s Role

It is important to emphasise again that teacher Noel White was not teaching the children of Carrolup to draw from his own skills as an artist. He did not paint or draw. However, he no doubt influenced the children, as both Sammy Crabbe and he describe. The following […]
01/10/2021

The Politics of Belonging: George Monbiot

I love the writings of George Monbiot and look out for his articles in the Guardian.  I enjoyed reading his new book Out of the Wreckage: A New Politics for an Age of Crisis and it made me reflect upon the way that western society has been going. […]
30/09/2021

Factors Facilitating Addiction Recovery: A Summary

Some of you will know that I run two other websites, one of which, Recovery Stories, focuses on addiction and mental health recovery. Over the period from March to August I posted about 100 articles on my blog, but had to stop for a time while I was […]
29/09/2021

Revel Cooper’s School Science Note Book

The Aboriginal children of Carrolup Native Settlement received their first newspaper coverage when Max Praed published an article entitled Aboriginal Children Show Amazing Skill in Art in the Sunday Times of 13 July 1947. The reporter first became interested when teacher John Placid Stokes showed him some of […]
28/09/2021

Stress, Trauma, and the Brain: Insights for Educators – Bruce Perry

One of the most amazing things that happened at Carrolup Native Settlement was the ability of Noel White to create an environment in his classroom that literally transformed his Aboriginal pupils. Quite simply, their behaviours and emotions changed markedly in a positive manner and their creative abilities were […]
27/09/2021

Marion’s Film Story, Part 2

I continue the series of films made by Mike Liu and I when we spent a day with Professor Marion Kickett, Director of the Centre for Aboriginal Studies at Curtin University, in York in September 2103. Marion is a Noongar from the Balardong language group. The first six […]
23/09/2021

Aims – Approach to School Work: Noel White

In a previous blog, I provided a list of basic needs that we as humans need satisfying in order to function normally. These needs were not satisfied for the children of Carrolup in the environment created by the Department of Native Affairs prior to the arrival of Noel […]
22/09/2021

Marion’s Film Story, Part 1

I first became interested in Aboriginal culture and in Indigenous healing after reading Judy Atkinson’s wonderful book Trauma Trails: Recreating Song Lines – The Transgenerational Effects of Trauma in Indigenous Australia. I developed the educational initiative Sharing Culture which aimed to help Indigenous peoples heal from historical trauma. That website […]
22/09/2021

On Relationships and Connectedness: Bruce Perry

In two previous blogs, which you can find here and here, I have described the book What Happened to You?: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing, written by Bruce Perry and Oprah Winfrey. It’s one of the most important books I have read in the many years I’ve […]
21/09/2021

Facilitating Healing at Carrolup, Part 2

I continue my article focused on the process of healing that occurred at Carrolup Native Settlement. These sections are taken from my eBook Connection: Aboriginal Child Artists Captivate Europe. ‘Prior to November 1946, the children had been closeted away on the Settlement. However, they were taken to the […]
20/09/2021

Facilitating Healing at Carrolup, Part 1

Some of you will know one of the main reasons I became involved with the Carrolup story was because of my interest in the healing of trauma and its consequences (e.g. mental health problems, addiction). I was looking for a story about the healing of trauma amongst Aboriginal […]
15/09/2021

Oprah Winfrey & Dr. Bruce Perry in Conversation: SXSW EDU 2021

‘Oprah Winfrey and leading child psychiatrist and neuroscientist Bruce Perry, MD, PhD explore the impact of childhood trauma on who we become, the decisions we make, and how healing must start with one question ‘what happened to you?’ in anticipation of a new co-authored book of the same […]
14/09/2021

Learning About Noel White: A Shock

In a previous blog post, I described the pivotal role that teacher Noel White played in the development of the art of the Aboriginal children at Carrolup Native Settlement. I have also written about Noel White’s life from the time he came to Western Australia from the Eastern […]
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