27/05/2026
“The boys’ drawings improve over time, and individual styles and preoccupations emerge. The better pupils, about six of the older boys, are now using large sheets of brown, grey or white paper, Noel having observed that a large sheet encourages expression. The boys are depicting sunset and moonlight […]
25/05/2026
This month marks precisely 80 years since Noel White and his family arrived at Carrolup, after a long trek south from his sole-charge school near Geraldton. During his four and a half short years at the Government Settlement (until it was suddenly closed at the end of 1950, […]
21/05/2026
In my last blog post, celebrating 80 years since Noel White’s first day at Carrolup Native Settlement school, I described his initial experiences and showed the words of Revel Cooper, one of the Aboriginal children who would later become one of the famous Carrolup child artists. Noel had […]
18/05/2026
‘On May 20th the school was duly opened by me (Noel White). There was a full attendance. It is obvious that a practical form of Hygiene is most necessary to train the pupils in the daily duty of cleanliness. The children have sores on the hands and with […]
11/11/2024
On Saturday, my colleagues John Stanton, Ash Whitney and I celebrated the 6th Anniversary of the launch of this website, which highlights the amazing story of the Aboriginal child artists of Carrolup. We launched the website on 9 November 2018, the birthday of Noelene White, the daughter of […]
11/09/2024
Four years ago today, I gave the following talk about the Aboriginal child artists of Carrolup at the Royal Western Australian Historical Society. Here is what I posted on 15th September that year. ….. ‘On Friday, 11th September 2020, I gave a talk entitled Connection: Aboriginal Child Artists Captivate […]
03/09/2024
On 30 August 2024, I had the privilege of repatriating a copy of the book Child Artists of the Australian Bush, written by Mary Durack Miller and Florence Rutter and published in 1952, about the Aboriginal child artists of Carrolup. My friend and colleague at the South Australian Museum, […]
08/01/2024
On 22nd February last year, I reported on my experience in a blog ‘Filming The Carrolup Story for a European Audience’. I had been working with a French TV production team on a project, for Arte, the French/German broadcasting network, and with its Directrice, Emma Piesse. Emma had, in fact, […]
30/12/2023
My colleague John Stanton and I would like to take this opportunity of wishing you all the very best for 2024. We hope you have had a restful and enjoyable Christmas break. We would also like to thank you for visiting The Carrolup Story website. Here are the […]
10/07/2023
With great sadness, on 6 July, we laid to rest Noelene White, eldest daughter of Noel and Lily White and sister of the late Janette and Ross White, whose careful custodianship of the Carrolup School papers assembled by her parents contributed so much to our knowledge of the […]
09/07/2023
John Stanton and I visited Casuarina Prison for our fourth annual visit for NAIDOC week. We have always enjoyed our visits and this year was no exception. In fact, for me personally, this was the most enjoyable and moving visit so far. On Wednesday, both John and I […]
07/07/2023
I am delighted to report that the long-awaited book by Tony Davis, White Sails & Charcoal: Stories of Coincidence, Bella Kelly and Carrolup has been published by Hesperian Press. I was thrilled to attend the book launch last Saturday in Tony’s home town of Albany. It was an […]
01/07/2023
I really enjoyed attending the Miaritch: Collections of Noongar Art exhibition opening in Albany last night. It was clear to me that the opening was very well received by the many who attended. The exhibition continues until 22 July 2023. Here is what is written in the exhibition […]
30/06/2023
It is with deep regret and great sadness that I have to announce that Noelene Melville White, beloved daughter of Carrolup teachers Noel and Lily White, passed away Sunday night in Perth. She was 89 years old. I received the news Tuesday morning from Noelene’s close friend Stephanie […]
27/03/2023
Many of you will have seen the slideshow of a collection of Carrolup-related photos I put together with the beautiful song about the Aboriginal child artists of Carrolup written by Dilip Parekh and performed by Dilip ‘n the Davs. On Friday night, John, my partner Linda and I went […]