Published 26 September 2016. One of the country’s “Forgotten Australians” has graduated as a Doctor of Philosophy in Lismore, after surviving institutional child abuse in the sixties.

Dr Gregory Smith, who has testified for the ongoing Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, spent 10 years as a hermit in the bush before realising the benefits of a decent education.

“I didn’t understand the dream when I was a boy, I was too busy surviving,” he said in his gown and mortarboard as he held his newly awarded doctorate degree outside the Whitebrook Theatre at the Southern Cross University in Lismore.

“When I was in the forest I was afraid,” he said.

Dr Smith’s study, “Nobody’s Children: An exploration into a sense of belonging of adults who experienced institutional out of home care as children”, examined the experiences and needs of 21 “Forgotten Australians”.

“Hopefully (my study) will resonate with the broader public to shed light on the background of homeless people today,” he said.