Carrolup child artists

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 […]
19/05/2022

Marribank Cultural Centre

I recently came across these old photos of the displays we did at the Marribank Cultural Centre, Carrolup. The Cultural Centre was, as I have already blogged, funded with a grant from the Australian Bicentennial Authority, something many First Nations peoples wouldn’t have a bar of. But the […]
18/04/2022

Opening of New Gallery at Balingup

I have recently returned from attending the Opening of a new Gallery at Balingup. It was curated by Wadandi-Pibulmun Elder and Stolen Generations survivor, artist Sandra Hill, with the support of family and friends. The long-term exhibition is presented in the Packing Shed on the main road of […]
05/12/2021

John Stanton Interview, Part 2

In a previous blog post, I linked to three film clips from the interview I did on the 6th of October 2017 with my colleague John Stanton about the Aboriginal child artists of Carrolup. Here are three more film clips from this interview, all which are on The Carrolup […]
14/10/2021

John Stanton Interview, Part 1

Here are three film clips from the interview I did with John Stanton about the Aboriginal child artists of Carrolup on the 6th of October 2017. Why the Carrolup Story is so Important: Teacher Noel White created a different atmosphere at Carrolup so that the Aboriginal children, who […]
13/09/2021

Carrolup Child Artists Make History

Some of you may remember that I gave a talk at the Royal Western Australian Historical Society on 11 September 2020. I was also asked to write an article for Early Days, the Annual Journal of the Society. Last month, John Stanton and I attended the Launch of […]
18/05/2021

Achievements of Carrolup Artists

Here is part of a chapter from my book Connection: Aboriginal Child Artists Captivate Europe which focuses on a newspaper article written by John Stokes after Carrolup Native Settlement school had been closed. “In Perth, John Stokes, the teacher and headmaster who has done so much to promote the […]
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) […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
17/09/2019

The Child Artists Assert Themselves Through Their Art

Too often, adults in many societies tend to view ‘children’ as ‘immature’, naïve’ or ‘child-like’. The Carrolup children’s drawings demonstrate an entirely different side to what it is to be a ‘child’. For not only were they part of the Stolen Generation, taken away from their parents, and […]
15/08/2019

‘We Are Going To Tell That Story’

I’ve been thinking about my good friend Noelene White, daughter of Carrolup school teacher Noel White, today. It’s hard to believe that I’ve known Noelene for over three years now. Where has that time gone? As for John, he has known Noelene for nearly 35 years! Noelene White […]
06/08/2019

Carrolup Child Artists: Competition and Encouragement

Soon after we started our Carrolup project, I interviewed my colleague John Stanton about a variety of elements of the story. In this film clip, John describes how the boys were rather secretive whilst doing their drawings. However, once they had finished a drawing, there was a collegial […]
23/07/2019

Thinking About the Carrolup Boys: Noel White

In my last blog posting, I talked briefly about how teacher Noel White helped the children of Carrolup overcome their fear and inspired them to create beautiful landscape drawings that gained public acclaim in South West Australia. During 1949 and 1950, 71-year old Englishwoman exhibited the art in […]
10/04/2019

Our Visit to Kojonup, March 2019

On 21st March 2019, John Stanton and I, along with my close friend Mike Scott, travelled down to  Kojonup to meet local farmer and long-term shire councillor John Benn at The Kodja Place. Mike and I, along with filmmaker friend Phil Strachan, had first met John two years ago […]
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