Fantastic Spastic.
The story of Bourke Gibbons.OAM

From a child born with spastic cerebral palsy, quadriplegia, Bourke has come a long way and contributed significantly to society, through his charity work, through local council committee work and as an Australian representative to the paralympics.

His life story, to be published in September, not only evokes memories of Australian life in the 1950's, but gives a unique and horrifying glimpse into the mental institutions of that day. The culture that had evolved in the Schedule 5 Hospitals was condemned in the 1961 Royal Commission. There are official reports from inspectors and staff, but Bourke's account is possibly the only eye witness account from a patient. As a mentally normal child of high intelligence, he is perhaps the only person capable of giving an accurate account from behind those dark stone walls.

Fantastic Spastic. The story of Bourke Gibbons.OAM, can be purchased here