Phil Carson arrived in Darwin in 1981 to take up a job at the Royal Darwin Hospital. He was 27 years old and no one, including Phil, suspected that this softly spoken newcomer would go on to become one of Darwin’s longest serving surgeons. In his 40-year career, 
Phil completed more than 15, 000 operations, from croc bites to gunshot wounds, head injuries, and the odd removal of a foreign object from somewhere it shouldn’t have been! By day, surgical life, while demanding, was routine, but a call after dark signalled something altogether different... 
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SPUN: True Stories Told in the Territory is a live storytelling event that showcases some of the extraordinary people and stories that make up the Northern Territory. Popping up at different venues across Darwin, working with a range of partner organisations with a different theme each time, SPUN brings to light stories from diverse backgrounds.

Phil’s story was told at a SPUN event on 10 August 2021 at Darwin Festival where the theme was After Dark.

Storyteller: Phil Carson
Producer: Johanna Bell  
Audio + Editing: Gaia Osborne
Photography: Helen Orr
Presenting Partners: StoryProjects and Darwin Festival
Supporting Partners: Charles Darwin University

Phil Carson - Beneath the skull

Varunika Ruwanpura had an unusual childhood. Her father worked in hotel management and as a result, he, Varunika and her mother lived in hotels all over the world. It was an exciting life for the family of three, but twice Varunika found herself in the midst of war. On both occasions, war arrived under a cloak of darkness in the middle of the night, bringing terror and havoc right to her doorstep. 
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SPUN: True Stories Told in the Territory is a live storytelling event that showcases some of the extraordinary people and stories that make up the Northern Territory. Popping up at different venues across Darwin, working with a range of partner organisations with a different theme each time, SPUN brings to light stories from diverse backgrounds.

Varunika’s story was told at a SPUN event on 10 August 2021 at Darwin Festival where the theme was After Dark.

Storyteller: Varunika Ruwanpura
Producer: Kylie Stevenson 
Audio + Editing: Gaia Osborne
Photography: Helen Orr
Presenting Partners: StoryProjects and Darwin Festival
Supporting Partners: Charles Darwin University

Varunika Ruwanpura -Two night in two wars

T’ara is a sovereign tribal woman on a journey of self-exploration. Throughout her pilgrimage she explores the nature of life and the light and dark it encompasses. T’ara is passionate about speaking truth and holding space for others to do the same. Tonight, she shares a story about a recent moment of truth. 
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SPUN: True Stories Told in the Territory is a live storytelling event that showcases some of the extraordinary people and stories that make up the Northern Territory. Popping up at different venues across Darwin, working with a range of partner organisations with a different theme each time, SPUN brings to light stories from diverse backgrounds.

T'ara’s story was told at a SPUN event on 10 August 2021 at Darwin Festival where the theme was After Dark.

Storyteller: T’ara Cole
Producer: Alex Edmondson 
Audio + Editing: Gaia Osborne
Photography: Helen Orr
Presenting Partners: StoryProjects and Darwin Festival
Supporting Partners: Charles Darwin University

T'ara Cole - When I Lost my Mind to Find my Heart

When the Ryan family moved to Darwin in 1970, life was filled with lemon cordial, coconut tree-climbing and Nightcliff neighbourhood play dates. Four years later, Cyclone Tracy struck. Kathy was seven at the time, but her memories of the night don’t fit with commonly told terror and trauma tales. 
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SPUN: True Stories Told in the Territory is a live storytelling event that showcases some of the extraordinary people and stories that make up the Northern Territory. Popping up at different venues across Darwin, working with a range of partner organisations with a different theme each time, SPUN brings to light stories from diverse backgrounds.

Kathy’s story was told at a SPUN event on 10 August 2021 at Darwin Festival where the theme was After Dark.

Storyteller: Kathy Ryan
Producer: Jennifer Pinkerton
Audio + Editing: Gaia Osborne
Photography: Helen Orr
Presenting Partners: StoryProjects and Darwin Festival
Supporting Partners: Charles Darwin University

Kathy Ryan - Cyclone Kid

In the late 1990s, Fred McCue was embroiled in hot topics and community issues, discussing them daily as a local radio station presenter. One such topic was the impending demolition of the old Hotel Darwin and Fred still remembers the first sounds of her destruction. 
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SPUN: True Stories Told in the Territory is a live storytelling event that showcases some of the extraordinary people and stories that make up the Northern Territory. Popping up at different venues across Darwin, working with a range of partner organisations with a different theme each time, SPUN brings to light stories from diverse backgrounds.

Fred’s story was told at a SPUN event on 10 August 2021 at Darwin Festival where the theme was After Dark.

Storyteller: Fred McCue
Producer: Lori uden 
Audio + Editing: Gaia Osborne
Photography: Helen Orr
Presenting Partners: StoryProjects and Darwin Festival
Supporting Partners: Charles Darwin University

Fred McCue - A Grand Old Duchess

A collection of stories recorded live at SPUN Turning 50 at Brown's Mart 2022.

Richard Fejo - Larrakia Reflections

Sally Gearin - The case the transformed me

Therese Ritchie - 50/50

Emcille - AT THE END OF THE DAY, I’M STILL THAT MERMAID FROM ESCALANTE

Sajarn has always wanted to know about his past, his body and his identity. But not all answers have come easy. His life has been a continual act of discovering who he is and where he’s going.

Sajarn Stow is a Juru / Bindal / Kaantju / Oompila man from Townsville. He is a proud part of the LGBTQIA+ Brotherboy Sistergirl community and an ABC Radio presenter and producer.

Sajarn Stow - THE ART OF KNOWING

There are some phone calls that change the course of your life. Sri Lankan born Minoli was a rising star engineer in Melbourne when she received such a call. A relocation to Darwin, a whirlwind career change, Minoli reflects on embracing the unknown.

Minoli De Silva - UNDER THE KNIFE

‘A midwife and a mortician walk into a bar’ sounds like the beginning of a joke, but what if it’s the same person? That was Maari Gray, who spent many years dividing her work days between those at the start and ends of their life. Maari shares the privilege of being at life’s most intimate moments, and how it has changed her perspective of our time on our planet.

Maari Gray - THE CIRCLE OF LIFE

Dr Eileen Cummings is a Rembarrnga Ngalakan woman from Central Arnhem Land and has lived in the Top End all her life, devoting herself to education and social justice for Aboriginal people across the nation.
Tonight she shares her personal experience of being taken as a child.

Dr Eileen Cummins - A MOTHER'S LOVE

SPUN: True Stories Told in the Territory showcases extraordinary stories by ordinary people.

Based in the incredible landscape of Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, we seek out true stories that say something about this crazy world we all share... 

SPUN

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