Lily White

02/02/2023
Down to Drink by Parnell Dempster, pastel on paper, 58.6 x 76.4cm, 1949. The Herbert Mayer Collection of Carrolup Artwork, John Curtin Gallery, Curtin University.
Author: David Clark on 02/02/2023
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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 […]
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10/03/2021
Author: David Clark on 10/03/2021
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Noel and Lily White

In previous blogs, I described how Mrs Olive Elliot became the teacher at Carrolup Native Settlement at the end of January 1945, after a long period when the Aboriginal children received no education. She eventually decided that the children needed the firm hand of a male teacher, so […]
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09/09/2020
Author: David Clark on 09/09/2020
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Arrival at Carrolup

Noelene White, daughter of teacher Noel White, still remembers today her family’s arrival at Carrolup in 1946. Here is a description based on an interview I had with her which you can find in our book Connection: Aboriginal Child Artists Captivate Europe.  “Noel, Lily and their three young […]
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02/02/2020
Mr White and Mr Ingram with the Carrolup boys. Photographer: Vera Hack, January 1950. Noel & Lily White Collection.
Author: David Clark on 02/02/2020
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70th Anniversary: A Promise

In yesterday’s blog, 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 to […]
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31/01/2020
Bounding for Home by Barry Loo, watercolour and black ink on paper, 30.2 x 50.5cm, 1950. The Herbert Mayer Collection of Carrolup Artwork, John Curtin Gallery, Curtin University.
Author: David Clark on 31/01/2020
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Carrolup and Florence Rutter, Part 4

Mrs Rutter returns to Perth after her tour of Australia and New Zealand in January 1950. She is approached by Mrs Vera Hack, who informs Florence that she is willing to drive her down to Carrolup and stay there with her as long as she likes. Florence then […]
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28/01/2020
Mrs Rutter with Prince Rudy Dinah and a group of Carrolup girls. The girl second from the left is Mildred Jones. Photographer: Noel White, 31st July 1949. Noel & Lily White Collection.
Author: David Clark on 28/01/2020
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Carrolup and Florence Rutter, Part 1

One of the fascinating elements of the Carrolup Story is that the Aboriginal child artists had an ‘ambassador’ for their work, a 71-year old Englishwoman, Mrs Florence Rutter. Mrs Rutter was given permission by the Western Australian government to exhibit and sell the children’s art, first around Australia […]
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05/11/2019
Article by school headmaster John Stokes, The West Australian , 24th February 1951. Noel & Lily White Collection.
Author: David Clark on 05/11/2019
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The Closure of Carrolup School: Outcry

I’d just like to remind you that you can read a 12-part summary of the story of the Carrolup child artists in the Story section of our website, which starts with Colonisation. The Department of Native Affairs in Western Australia closes Carrolup School in December 1950 with little, if any, […]
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10/09/2019
Author: David Clark on 10/09/2019
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Little Black Fingers

Mrs Florence Rutter, a 71-year old Englishwoman, visited Carrolup twice—in July 1949 and January/February 1950. She returned to England soon after her second visit, having received permission from the West Australian government to exhibit and sell the Carrolup children’s artworks (mainly the boys’ drawings). A Trust Fund had […]
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17/04/2019
A pastel drawing, 28.5 x 22cm, by Dulcie Penney from one of her government-issued schoolbooks. The Myrtle K Benn Collection, 1947.
Author: John Stanton on 17/04/2019
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Did the Carrolup Girls Draw, Too? Yes!

People often ask me, ‘Did the girls at Carrolup draw, we only hear about the boys?’ There is a lot to say about this, much of it reflecting the punitive control the then Department of Native Affairs had over Aboriginal people’s lives, including those of the children. When […]
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13/02/2019
An element of the exhibition depicting ceremony and dance, in the Janet Holmes à Court Gallery, Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery. Photographer: John Stanton, 12th February 2019.
Author: John Stanton on 13/02/2019
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Berndt Museum Exhibition ‘Carrolup Revisited’ Opens

The 8th of February saw the formal opening of the Berndt Museum’s new exhibition, Carrolup Revisited, at the Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery, The University of Western Australia, which will last until the 29th of June. It was an emotional occasion for families of the child artists present, and […]
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23/01/2019
Parnell Dempster's Down to Drink adorns a wall at the 45th Annual Exhibition of the Pastel Society in London, 1951. Mrs Rutter proudly discusses the drawing with Mr and Mrs Richter. Mary Durack Miller Collection, J. S. Battye Library of West Australian History, 1951.
Author: John Stanton on 23/01/2019
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Interview With Doris Flatt: Part 1

Doris Flatt was one of the daughters of the 71-year old Englishwoman Florence Rutter, the self-appointed ‘ambassador’ to the Carrolup child artists. Over 100 years old at the time of this interview (May 2006), Doris had strong memories of her mother discussing the Carrolup artworks with great and […]
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11/01/2019
Imagined corroboree by Reynold Hart, watercolour and ink on paper, 25 x 30cm, c.1948. Stan, Melvie and Gael Phillips Collection, 1947 - 65, Berndt Museum of Anthropology. [WU7255]
Author: John Stanton on 11/01/2019
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The Corroboree Artworks

A previous blog highlighted the child artists’ fascination with the liminality of dusk, the period between day and night. The night was also a time for ceremony. This is depicted most evocatively in, for example, Reynold Hart’s ‘Dancing Figures’, or his deceptively titled ‘Imagined Corroboree’—deceptive, in that this was […]
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14/12/2018
Some of the Carrolup young artists. Front row: Reynold Hart (Far Left), Parnell Dempster (Middle) and Revel Cooper (Far Right). Back row, 2nd Left: Barry Loo. Do you know who the other boys are?
Author: David Clark on 14/12/2018
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Thank You, A Break, Best Wishes and…

The website has been running for just over a month now and we’ve uploaded blog postings on all but three days. Our major aims in this initial period have been to: enhance awareness of the Story of Carrolup to the public and make people aware of our initiative, […]
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21/11/2018
Norelle Jacobs introduces Gabrielle Hansen (far right) and Janet Collard (centre) to give the Welcome to Country at the Official Opening of the ‘Koorah Coolingah’ exhibition, Katanning, 24th February 2006. Berndt Museum of Anthropology, The University of Western Australia.
Author: John Stanton on 21/11/2018
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Official Opening of ‘Koorah Coolingah: Children Long Ago’, Katanning 2006

The Official Opening at Katanning of the exhibition ‘Koorah Coolingah: Children Long Ago’ on 24th February, 2006, was the culmination of more than a year of careful planning. It was the third component of a four year showcase of Aboriginal arts of the Kimberley, Western Desert, South-West and Perth. […]
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19/11/2018
Author: David Clark on 19/11/2018
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Noelene White on the Children of Carrolup

We launched The Carrolup Story on the 10th November 2018, the 85th birthday of Noelene White. Noelene is the daughter of Carrolup schoolteachers Noel and Lily White. I have known Noelene for two years, a far shorter time than the 30-plus years that John and Noelene have been […]
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15/11/2018
The children of Carrolup in their schoolroom with the White family and visitors from Katanning. Photographer: Noelene White, late 1948 or early 1949. Noel & Lily White Collection.
Author: John Stanton on 15/11/2018
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The Classroom Photo

Key to photo: (1) Edith Smith, (2) Johnny Smith, (3) Emily Bennett, (4) Revel Cooper, (5) Reynold Hart, (6) unknown, (7) Mervyn Smith, (8) Vera Wallam, (9) Parnell Dempster, (10) Ross Jones, (11) Tilly Wallam, (12) Janine Bennell, (13) Keith Indich, (14) Marlene Mead, (15) Philip Jackson, (16) […]
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09/11/2018
Howard Morphy and Ezzard Flowers inspect the painting that Athol Farmer brought from Katanning to give to the President of Colgate University, Rebecca Chopp.
Author: John Stanton on 09/11/2018
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A Long Way from Home

It had been a long journey, though both space and time. Here we were, paused at the lintel of the Storeroom at Picker Gallery, Colgate University. 18,432km from home, to be precise. We were about to relink ourselves with the ‘lost’ Carrolup artworks, 55 years since they had […]
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09/11/2018
The creek by Simpson Kelly, pastel on paper, 18.5 x 24 cm, c.1948. Noel & Lily White Collection, Berndt Museum of Anthropology. [WU7563]
Author: David Clark on 09/11/2018
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Connection

When teacher Noel White arrives at Carrolup in May 1946, he is unable to communicate with the Aboriginal children. They sit sullenly and silently at their schoolroom desks. ‘The first week at school with our new teacher we were all scared stiff. I think if it wasn’t for […]
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