Revel Cooper

07/10/2021

Revel Cooper’s Reflections on Carrolup

One of the most important resources I have found during my research of the Carrolup story is a ‘letter’ written by Revel Cooper where he reflects on his time at Carrolup Native Settlement. Back in 2015, my close friend Michael (Mike) Liu and I were researching Revel’s life, as […]
29/09/2021

Revel Cooper’s School Science Note Book

The Aboriginal children of Carrolup Native Settlement received their first newspaper coverage when Max Praed published an article entitled Aboriginal Children Show Amazing Skill in Art in the Sunday Times of 13 July 1947. The reporter first became interested when teacher John Placid Stokes showed him some of […]
23/09/2021

Aims – Approach to School Work: Noel White

In a previous blog, I provided a list of basic needs that we as humans need satisfying in order to function normally. These needs were not satisfied for the children of Carrolup in the environment created by the Department of Native Affairs prior to the arrival of Noel […]
28/04/2021

‘Drawing as the Necessary Means of Communication’

In a previous blog, I have described part of the role played by School Inspector Charles ‘Sammy’ Crabbe in the development of the Carrolup children’s drawings and their schoolwork. I have also summarised the pivotal role that teacher Noel White played in connecting with the traumatised Aboriginal children, […]
22/04/2021

‘Aboriginal Children Show Amazing Skill in Art’: Max Praed

In an earlier blog, Early Public Acclaim, I described briefly how the Aboriginal child artists of Carrolup gained public attention in Western Australia. A major factor in this development was the acceptance by editor John Stokes of three articles by Carrolup children (Reynold Hart, Dulcie Penny and Vera Wallam) […]
11/01/2021

How I Came to Write About Carrolup, Part 1

Here is what I wrote in the Preface of Connection: Aboriginal Child Artists Captivate Europe about how I came to be involved with Carrolup. ‘When filmmaker and close friend Michael (Mike) Liu and I were first shown work of the Carrolup artists Revel Cooper, Parnell Dempster and Reynold Hart […]
08/12/2020

Our Carrolup Talk at Casuarina Prison

John and I visited Casuarina Prison, the main maximum security prison for males in Perth, on Friday, 13th November to give a talk about the Carrolup child artists and see the art class in operation. We greatly enjoyed our visit, which lasted just short of four hours. We […]
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 […]
18/08/2020

Mrs Elliot Visits Noel White

In my last few blogs, I described, using text from our new book Connection: Aboriginal Child Artists Captivate Europe,  what happened at Carrolup Native Settlement before the arrival of teacher Noel White. In my last blog, I described the time that Mrs Olive Elliot spent at Carrolup School […]
07/08/2020

Mrs Olive Elliot

In my last blog, I referred to a written description by Revel Cooper [1], one of the Carrolup child artists, about life on the native settlement before teacher Noel White’s arrival in May 1946. Revel also writes about teacher Olive Elliot, who arrives after the Carrolup children had […]
29/07/2020

‘The Very Lowest Standards’

In my last few blogs, I have included sections of our recently launched book Connection: Aboriginal Child Artists Captivate Europe that described various elements of the colonisation process in Western Australia. Description of the colonisation process, which impacted so badly on Aboriginal people,  provides a context to the story of […]
24/06/2020

Read a Sample from ‘Connection’

You can read (and download) a free sample of our book Connection: Aboriginal Child Artists Captivate Europe by visiting our page on Amazon. [This link is for the Australian store. If you live elsewhere, you need to make sure that you are in the appropriate store for your […]
01/06/2020

Forthcoming Carrolup Book

I just wanted to remind you that the book I have been writing, in association with John Stanton, Connection: Aboriginal Child Artists Captivate Europe, will be released as a digital book that can be downloaded from Amazon, Apple Books and Kobo on the 23rd of June, just 22 days […]
07/05/2020

John Stanton’s 40-Year Carrolup Journey

Back at the beginning of 2019, I wrote a blog about my colleague John Stanton and his involvement in the Carrolup story. Given the approaching publication of our book Connection: Aboriginal Child Artists Captivate Europe, I thought it was time to describe John’s involvement again. He has played a […]
05/05/2020

Book Launch, June 23rd 2020

The book I’ve been writing in association with John Stanton, Connection: Aboriginal Child Artists Captivate Europe, has finally been finished. It will be published as an eBook and iBook from June 23rd, just seven weeks away today. We’ve chosen that date for the launch, as it is the […]
15/04/2020

Carrolup Children’s Holiday Camp

In the first weekend of November 1948, Frank and Myrtle Amos, members of the Native Rights and Welfare League, visited Carrolup as the guests of the Whites. They had previously hosted at their home two of the Carrolup boys who were involved in the Boans exhibition. After their […]
08/04/2020

How My Carrolup Journey Began

‘When filmmaker and close friend Michael (Mike) Liu and I were first shown work of the Carrolup artists Revel Cooper, Parnell Dempster and Reynold Hart by our close Noongar friend Karen Hume in 2014, we were stunned by the beauty of these artworks and beguiled by the stories […]
10/03/2020

Charles ‘Sammy’ Crabbe, Part 1

Several weeks ago while I was sorting through Noelene White’s family memorabilia relating to Carrolup, I came across a photograph I’d only ever seen in an ABC film about Carrolup. I’d been trying to find a copy of this photograph for ages. The photograph is the one above, […]
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