Doug grew up in Port Germeine, a sleepy seaside town near Port Pirie in South Australia where he has fond memories of fishing, caving and hunting with his brothers. Being brought up on the land is perhaps why Doug has such a deep connection to country and the spiritual side of healing.

“Spiritual and cultural wellbeing is just something that Aboriginal people grow up with,” he says. “You know, we learn about the circularity of life and the links that exist between everything around us, from the animals and the plants and the winds and even those annoying little insects. They’re all so important in their own way, but together … well, that’s the beauty of all this life: we all contribute in some way to this rich mosaic culture of knowledge.”

Doug joined the Flinders Rural Health SA Barossa team in 2016. “My role is essentially to give insight about Aboriginal culture to students who come on a rural placement. For a lot of them, it’s not something that they’ve been exposed to in the past, and it can be quite confronting when you’re a young student with a scientific background to learn about our people’s approach to wellbeing and healing. But this is part of the great pleasure of my job – I can open up people’s modes of thinking in ways that they may not have considered previously.”

Doug’s perspectives come from a lifetime of developing and nurturing cultural connections and links between Aboriginal communities and businesses, government and the wider community.

In the Barossa, he teaches medical students on placement about Aboriginal approaches to health and wellbeing, with the aim to broaden their cultural awareness and how spirituality plays a significant role in Aboriginal health.

The program consistently receives positive student feedback. Cultural knowledge is a part of student assessment and our program is highly regarded across the nation for being innovative, so much so that it is benchmarked across the sector.

“Teaching these students is a dream job for me and I get great satisfaction from sharing my story and my cultural knowledge. The links between identity and culture are inextricable – I guess that’s part of why I’m so proud and my culture is so enduring.”