Florence Rutter

02/02/2023

Mrs Florence Rutter Makes a Promise

In yesterday’s blog post, I described the first two days of the visit of Florence Rutter and Vera Hack to Carrolup Native Settlement. Mrs Rutter’s words show clearly how highly she thought of the boys of Carrolup! ‘During the three days we spent at Carrolup we were able […]
01/02/2023

73rd Year Anniversary of a Special Visit

Seventy-three years ago yesterday, 71-year old Englishwoman Mrs Florence Rutter and her friend Vera Hack arrived for a two and a half day visit of Carrolup Native Settlement. This visit was not only special in its own right, but it triggered a series of important events that still resonate […]
23/12/2022

Looking for a Last Minute Christmas Present?

Then why not check out my eBook Connection: Aboriginal Child Artists Captivate Europe, written with John Stanton, which is available via Amazon, Apple or Kobo (price: £4.99, A$9.99, US$6.99, €5.99)? You, or a family member or friend, can read the book on a phone, other hand-held device or computer. […]
02/08/2022

Magical Happenings in Carrolup Schoolroom and Beyond

Some months ago, I thought it was time to write a blog post summarising major happenings at Carrolup Native Settlement during the second half of the 1940s. However, I didn’t post the summary immediately and then forgot all about it. Recently, I was going through the website database […]
14/03/2022

Obituary for Mrs Florence Rutter

Mrs Florence Rutter visited Carrolup Native Settlement twice in 1949-50. She then exhibited the children’s art in The Netherlands, England and Scotland, to great public acclaim, between 1950-52. During her time in Western Australia, Florence befriended Mrs Mary Durack-Miller and the two corresponded for some years after she returned […]
03/11/2021

Parnell Dempster Writes to Mrs Rutter

After Mrs Florence Rutter returned to the UK after her second visit to Carrolup Native Settlement, she received letters from 22 of the Aboriginal children. In one of those letters, Parnell Dempster described how the settlement supervisor, Mr Sully, had stopped Noel White taking the boys to the […]
13/10/2021

Letters from Two Royal Houses

In the second half of the 1940s, the artworks of the Aboriginal children of Carrolup captivated audiences in the south-west of Western Australia and then in cities around Australia and New Zealand. In the early 1950s, audiences in the Netherlands, England and Scotland were captivated. Amazingly, staff from […]
24/03/2021

Our Journey: Cliff Ryder’s Family, Part 2

My last blog was the first of a series that is based on a chapter about the Ryder family from my book Connection: Aboriginal Child Artists Captivate Europe. These are the words of Charon Ryder, oldest of the Ryder siblings: ‘I want to talk to you about how I got […]
03/03/2021

A Pivotal Role: Noel White

Teacher Noel White [left side, just behind children in the above photograph] played a pivotal role in the development of the Carrolup children’s art, as described by John Stanton in the film clip below. Noel first connected with the children and helped them overcome their fear. He provided […]
15/02/2021

Appeldoorn Exhibition of Carrolup Art, Part 2

In my last blog, I revealed that the first exhibition  of the Carrolup children’s art organised in Europe by Mrs Florence Rutter took place in Apeldoorn, the Netherlands in June 1950.  I described how Florence kept a book of letters and comments from people who attended her Carrolup […]
11/02/2021

Appeldoorn Exhibition of Carrolup Art

I was really pleased to find a message on one of my Facebook posts from Ange Edenburg, a great-granddaughter of Mrs Florence Rutter. Ange, who lives in Bridgetown, and I have been communicating since then. Ange’s grandmother Margaret Edenburg was one of Florence’s daughters. Margaret and her family […]
03/02/2021

Mrs Florence Rutter’s Visits to Carrolup

Last year on the 2nd February, I published the last of a series of six blog posts on Mrs Florence Rutter’s two visits to Carrolup and her trip around Australia and New Zealand where she promoted the Carrolup children’s drawings. If you have not already read those blog […]
05/01/2021

‘Connection: Aboriginal Child Artists Captivate Europe’

Happy New Year to you all. I wish you all well for 2021. My apologies that I have not posted a blog on The Carrolup Story for a while. I have been busy writing another book—on addiction recovery stories—and then needed a break. I’ll be posting more regularly […]
11/11/2020

Carrolup Art in the British Museum

In April 2017, I visited John Stanton’s good friend Gaye Sculthorpe at The British Museum. Gaye is Curator and Section Head of Oceania in the Museum. Gaye had arranged to show me a collection of seven drawings done by the Aboriginal child artists of Carrolup. These drawings would […]
22/09/2020

Mrs Rutter in England, Early 1951

Today, I thought I’d try a novel approach to help me decide what I should write about from our book Connection: Aboriginal Child Artists Captivate Europe for this blog. I had an online random number generator select a number from 1 to 65 and I had to chose […]
15/09/2020

My Carrolup Talk in Perth

On Friday, 11th September 2020, I gave a talk entitled Connection: Aboriginal Child Artists Captivate Europe at the Royal Western Australian Historical Society in Perth. This talk was originally to be given in May, but had to be postponed due to Covid-19. I had been looking forward to […]
23/06/2020

Carrolup Book is Available Today

My book Connection: Aboriginal Child Artists Captivate Europe, written in association with John Stanton, is available today as a downloadable eBook from Amazon, Apple and Kobo. It’s been six years since I first saw a piece of art from one of the Carrolup artists. And four years since […]
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