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About Rupert GerritsenIntroduction This site provides detailed information on Rupert Gerritsen’s background, research, publications, professional career and consultancy service. It is also intended to provide better access to the body of research he has produced. Research and Publications This site lists the areas of research he has been engaged in, and it is intended to make almost all published and unpublished works accessible. Many of these works can be downloaded for free. However, some books have been published by commercial publishers and can only be obtained from them. Where this is the case a précis of the book and a link to the publisher is provided. Some other works can be purchased as e-publications through this site. Consultancy – Community Services Rupert has been involved with a wide range of community services over a period of more than 35 years. This has encompassed everything from basic service delivery, community development, management and governance, through to chairing organisations. He specialises in innovation, and in program design and implementation. As part of this Rupert has had a major role in the creation and development of a number of new organisations at the state/territory and national level. Further details are provided in his RESUME. In working with individuals face-to-face, those he has assisted include:
focussing on help-seeking behaviour, problem solving, recovery planning and individual empowerment. through:
If you wish utilise his expertise, and to find out more about the consulting services Rupert can provide, go to the CONSULTANCY button on this website. Early Australian History and Prehistory While Rupert Gerritsen has broad research interests, they have predominantly focussed on early Australian history and prehistory. Much of this work attempts to break new ground and, where necessary, challenge conventional thinking, with a view to advancing our understanding of aspects of history and prehistory of Australia and the world. The intent is not only to contribute to the sum of knowledge and inform anyone with an interest in these domains, it is to make ordinary Australians aware that there is another narrative in Australian history. It is one that recognises that Indigenous Australians originally discovered Australia, that our recorded history began in 1606, and that many significant events took place prior to the explorations of Captain Cook and the arrival of the First Fleet. The topics that Rupert researched and publishes in include: ° Australian history ° Australian and world prehistory ° Ethnohistorical historiography ° Historical ethnography ° Reconstructive ethnography ° Ethnogeography ° Historical linguistics ° Palaeoeconomy ° Archaeology ° Maritime archaeology ° Archaeological field research ° Historical cartography ° Military history ° Historical ornithology Consultancy – History and Historical Heritage With such a broad ranging, in-depth, research record Rupert has developed a high level of skills and expertise in research and writing in history and areas relating to that, such as archaeology, heritage and prehistory. He is available for research and writing in any relevant area, including: ° Local history ° Family history ° Heritage history ° Organisational history ° Research ° Artefact preservation ° Exhibitions ° Native Title ° Archaeological studies ° Ethnohistory ° Publications ° Documentaries and films ° Scriptwriting ° Legal issues ° Service history If you wish utilise his expertise, and to find out more about the consulting services Rupert can provide, go to the CONSULTANCY button on this website. Biographical Notes Rupert Gerritsen was born in Geraldton, Western Australia in 1953, of Dutch parents. Growing up in Geraldton he experienced firsthand the excitement of the discovery of the wreck of the Batavia in 1963 and came to know some of those involved in its discovery. For a period he was involved in radical politics and social activism, and continues to have a healthy interest in social justice and empowerment. Professionally he has been engaged for many years in Western Australia and the ACT in youthwork, community work and mental health, and specialises in developmental work. Rupert’s first published work, in 1989, was on alcohol and drug use by street-present Aboriginal young people in Perth. His first book, And Their Ghosts May Be Heard, (1994, 2nd edition in 2002), a detailed exploration of the fate of the Dutch mariners castaway on the Western Australian coast in the 1600s and early 1700s has been widely read and has created a new research agenda. Since the appearance of Ghosts, he has produced a range of papers, monographs and another book, Australia and the Origins of Agriculture, published in the United Kingdom in 2008. He continues to research and write, with a number of papers, monographs and books due to be published. He is currently a Petherick Researcher at the National Library of Australia. Rupert was co-founder, along with Peter Reynders, of Australia on the Map: 1606 – 2006, and was that organisation’s National Secretary. I am currently Chair its successor organisation, the Australia on the Map Division of the Australasian Hydrographic Society which aims to make Australians more aware of the early history and heritage, beginning in 1606. Contact Rupert can be contacted through the CONTACT button for further information on relevant activities, published and unpublished works, research questions, consultancies and speaking engagements. Acknowledgement I would like to acknowledge the assistance of Bill Woerlee in the construction of this site.
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