The Once Known Truth Talks series offer a space where shared history can be confronted honestly, and where truth supports healing, education, and ongoing cultural continuity.
In conversation with Wajarri Nyarlu/Menang Yok, Community Engagement Facilitator JCG, Patricia Ryder
Once Known at the Old Perth Boys’ School presents reproductions of the delicate and culturally significant artworks created by Aboriginal children forcibly taken from their families and detained at the Carrolup Native Settlement in the 1940s. Lost overseas for over 60 years, these artworks came home to Noongar Boodja, providing the opportunity for sharing truth, healing, and reconciliation.
Today, truth-telling is carried forward by Aboriginal knowledge through lived experiences. Truth Talks invite not only remembrance, but reckoning – creating a space where shared history can be confronted honestly, and where truth supports healing, education, and ongoing cultural continuity.
Patricia Ryder will introduce the concept of truth-telling at an international, national, and local level, and discuss the individual response. She will speak to why truth-telling in Australia is the vital first step in moving toward genuine reconciliation, fostering healing, promoting justice for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and building a more accurate shared national identity.
Event Details
Thursday 2 April 2026
10am – 12pm
Free event, open to the public.
Location: Once Known at Old Perth Boys’ School; Curtin 139 St Georges Terrace, Perth
Photography
This event may be photographed and/or videoed, and images may be used for promotional and marketing purposes, including social media. If you do not wish to be photographed or videoed, please notify staff.
Accessibility
Everyone is welcome. Plan your visit to Curtin 139 St Georges Terrace.
Header Image: Once Known at Curtin 139 St George’s Terrace. Photo by Marnie Richardson.
Proudly part of the Lotterywest Boorloo Heritage Festival: 1 April – 30 April.
