The Anderson Report

The Board's terms of reference related specifically to scientology, but scientology is not the only potential danger. The Board heard evidence concerning other persons or organizations practising somewhat similar techniques under different names. In Chapter 30 are the names of some persons who have been scientologists, who now practise forms of psychology under other names, but who retain in their practices to a greater or lesser degree features of their scientology training. [n particular, there are two organizations which are spreading from New South Wales and which have about their practices so many scientology features that they require individual mention in this Report. They are The American College and the Australian Centre of Applied Psychology, the proprietor of which is David Maxwell Tooley.

David Maxwell Tooley, also known as Marcus Tooley, carries on business in Sydney under the business names of The American College and Australian Centre of Applied Psychology. His addresses are 126 King Street and 187 Macquarie Street, Sydney. He first became interested in psychology while in a camp for conscientious objectors in New Zealand in about 1942. His acquaintance with dianetics and / or scientology began in 1950 in New Zealand where he attended a course run by one Turnbull, later "bishop" Turnbull. Tooley qualified as HPA in 1953, then went to America where in Philadelphia in 1954, he took his "Bachelor of Scientology". In the same year he became a "Doctor of Scientology" and obtained his "Doctor of Divinity" in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S.A., from the "Church of American Science", which is one of "the churches linked with Hubbardian scientology". On his return to New Zealand he conducted, separately from the HASI, some courses in scientology.

In 1955, he went to Sydney, New South Wales, where he established the "Scientology Centre", the name of which he changed to "The American College" after about twelve months. He denies that he was ever connected with the HASI or held a franchise; however, he was in good standing with the HASI and, amongst other things, taught scientology to students for examinations held by the HASI. He claims to have been excommunicated in about August, 1955, by Hubbard, but he attended the Fifth London Advanced Clinical Course, free of charge, at Hubbard's invitation in 1958. He was one of the auditors who contributed reports to a book produced by Hubbard and published in 1958, entitled Have You Lived Before This Life?, which contains some 43 case histories, being reports by auditors of preclears who have revealed past life experiences during auditing. Tooley's contribution related to a female preclear who had had experiences in Somaliland in 1630, when she had been a man, using anaesthetics while performing an operation, killing her (or his) wile and fighting a large lion with a black mane which killed the body which her thetan was then occupying.

In 1959, Tooley returned to Australia and resumed activities at The American College in Sydney. He admits that he has a couple of E-meters there, but says that he has never used an E-meter except when on a Hubbard course. He states that the E-meters are kept merely for demonstration to students on advanced courses.

From about 1959, Tooley appears to have drifted from Hubbard and the state of suspended excommunication became effective. He claims to have developed his own form of psychology which he terms "dynamic psychology". He claims that it is based on the works of a variety of psychologists, that it is totally distinct from scientology and that he developed it quite independently of Hubbard and scientology. However, it contains axioms and dynamics which echo Hubbard's axioms and dynamics, though it has fewer axioms and more dynamics. Many of its terms are identical, it has a code similar to those of the auditor and the scientologist, it conducts IQ tests, it uses the Oxford Capacity Analysis, the copyright of which is in Hubbard; it has affinity, reality, communication, control, confronting, havingness, acknowledgments, infractions and a variety of other scientology features. Several of its techniques are similar to those of scientology; the coach "starts" a "session" much as a scientologist would; the "Dear Alice" training drills are parallel, specific extracts from Alice in Wonderland being prescribed by Tooley for such drills. There are drills which are almost identical with the CCH's and SCS. Tooley, though disclaiming any affinity with scientology, is frequently referred to as "Doctor" Tooley, the only basis for such title being the Hubbardian bestowed "Doctor of Scientology" and "Doctor of Divinity".

Even if Tooley's dynamic psychology was not largely borrowed from scientology, it contains many of the undesirable features of scientology; but the similarity between so much of scientology and dynamic psychology is explained rather by the fact that Tooley has pirated much of Hubbard's

distorted appreciation of psychology than that he has, independently of Hubbard, arrived at much the same destination as Hubbard. In 1956, Tooley was the author of a publication entitled New Hope for Man which dealt specifically with dianetics and scientology and credited Hubbard with being the founder of scientology. In 1963, Tooley produced a "dynamic psychology" publication entitled Living Successfully. Very substantial parts of the texts of these two publications are identical. Tooley has merely applied another name to his earlier scientology writings. He even learned this technique from Hubbard who produced Dianetics, The Evolution of a Science in about 1950 (reprinted in 1958) and Scientology, the Evolution of a Science in 1950 [?]. Apart from the names, these two books are so identical in almost every respect that it requires word for word examination to ascertain the few instances where there are verbal differences.

The relevance of Tooley to scientology in Victoria is that in November, 1963, he established at 21 Bourke Street, Melbourne, two businesses of which he is the proprietor, namely, The American College and Australian Centre of Applied Psychology, being branches of his Sydney organizations. His Melbourne manager is Michael Andrade Birch.

The Board heard evidence from a scientologist and also from a senior policewoman, who in January and February, 1964 respectively attended courses of free lectures given by Birch at 21 Bourke Street, Melbourne. From this evidence and from the literature of "dynamic psychology" as sought to be propagated by Tooley, it is clear that it closely parallels scientology in many of its features.

Due to the attention which has been directed at scientology, The American College in Melbourne has not proceeded beyond the elementary stages of practice. A course of fourteen lectures in applied psychology and human relations is available at The American College for a fee of £24 terms, or £22 cash. A brochure relating to the course indicates that the course contains many of the features found in scientology. It is quite evident that The American College and Australian Centre of Applied Psychology are marking time until this Inquiry is over. Tooley has picked out of scientology many of its theories and techniques, abandoning, however, the ludicrous features but retaining many of the techniques which are potentially harmful to mental health.

The incursion of Tooley into Victoria in the guise Of The American College illustrates the problem involved in seeking to take effective steps to control the dangers resulting from the unskilled practice of psychological techniques. for such practitioners may readily shed titles and descriptions which have become opprobrious and assume some other imposing or deceptive title, under which they are enabled to engage in the same discredited and dangerous techniques as those formerly practised .

It is organizations and individuals such as The American College and Tooley which constitute a potential danger to the mental health of the community, differing only in degree and intensity from the danger which scientology is.

Last updated 21 February 1997

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