02/07/2019
In an earlier blog, I described how 71-year old Englishwoman Mrs Florence Rutter visited Carrolup in July 1949. Whilst there, Mrs Rutter bought £5 worth of Carrolup drawings and designs. I found it hard to make a choice for all were so attractive in colouring, so perfect in […]
27/06/2019
In 1968, one of the best known Carrolup artists, Revel Cooper, wrote a seminal article in the Aboriginal Quarterly whilst he was serving time in H.M. Training Prison in Geelong in Victoria. In this article, Revel emphasises the importance of pride to Aboriginal people. In To Regain Our […]
25/06/2019
The story of Carrolup is one that needs to be told in full detail. We must not just relate the story of the Carrolup children and the people with whom they interacted with at that time, but also tell the stories of the impact that the children and their achievements had […]
19/06/2019
I first met Parnell (‘Parnie’) Dempster in mid-1985 at the town of Williams, when I was commencing the Carrolup Project. He was living there at the time. Pat Nunn at the Marribank Family Centre had told me that he was one of only two surviving child artists of […]
17/06/2019
This is the 100th blog posting that John and I have written for our Story Blog (65 so far) and Healing Blog (34). We thought we would celebrate the occasion by showing you the most viewed blog postings since we launched the website in November 2018. Here’s the […]
11/06/2019
The blogs that John and I write for the website are stories that form part of the fabric of the story of Carrolup, past and present. In our early days of development, John wrote a number of blogs about the ‘rediscovery’ of Mrs Rutter’s collection of Carrolup drawings […]
11/06/2019
In 1986, the Carrolup Project Committee was set up by a Noongar community meeting held at Marribank. Its purpose was to oversee the Carrolup Project, which was to be funded by the Australian Bicentennial Authority, and comprised four key elements: To employ two trainees (1986-87), featured in a previous […]
06/06/2019
I am still struggling to come to terms with the fact that my close friend Jan James is physically not with us anymore. Jan passed away last Friday night, the 31st May 2019. She was one of the most extraordinary people I have ever known. Here is a […]
05/06/2019
A reunion of former Marribank residents was held over the weekend of 14 – 15th November 1992, to officially open a further gallery of the Marribank Cultural Centre, which focused on the Marribank Baptist Mission years 1952 – 1980. This exhibition had been mounted by myself at the […]
04/06/2019
In June 1948, three of the Carrolup boys caused a sensation in the south coast town of Albany. Here is what happened, as described in our forthcoming book The Aboriginal Child Artists of Carrolup. “Education Inspector Charles ‘Sammy’ Crabbe organises a Convention of Departmental Teachers in Albany in […]
31/05/2019
This is simply a reminder to go and see, if you can, the current exhibition of Carrolup child art, and more recent Noongar works, at the Berndt Museum’s exhibition at the Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery at the University of Western Australia, Perth. I am delighted to see the artworks […]
29/05/2019
The Baptist Union took over Carrolup in 1952 after its closure, renaming it Marribank Baptist Mission to avoid the negative connotations of the former Native Settlement. It was renamed Marribank Family Centre in 1980, and was run throughout the Baptist period as a residential home for Aboriginal children […]
28/05/2019
I’ve included two sections so far that focus on the memories of Noelene White – daughter of Noel and Lily White – as described in our forthcoming book The Aboriginal Child Artists of Carrolup. You can find those blogs here and here. I now include some further memories, related […]
22/05/2019
As John reported in yesterday’s blog, he and I gave presentations at the Centre of Native Title Anthropology (CNTA) Workshop at St. Catherine’s College, The University of Western Australia, on 8th May this year. This is the first time we have spoken together about our Carrolup project. Here […]
21/05/2019
Two weeks ago, I attended the annual meeting of the Centre of Native Title Anthropology (CNTA), held in conjunction with the Yamatji Marlpa Aboriginal Corporation. This workshop focused on the theme Native Title in a Time of Change. David Clark and I were invited to address the symposium […]