Blog

10/11/2022

Our 4th Birthday

It’s hard to believe that The Carrolup Story, our Storytelling, Education and Healing online resource, is four years old. In fact, it is so hard to believe that we forgot to celebrate our birthday yesterday. I’ve been away from the website for some time, first because I was […]
16/08/2022

Cliff Ryder’s Artwork Returns Home

Last week, I wrote about the beautiful relationship John and I have with the family of Cliff Ryder, one of the renowned Aboriginal child artists of Carrolup. There, I linked to the nine blog posts I have written about the family over the past three years, in particular […]
11/08/2022

Our Very Special Connection: Cliff Ryder’s Family

‘Cliff Ryder’s name was appearing on some of the best pictures, and his manual work, at a country show, had been judged the best of any child in the Katanning district. A serious, sincere, boy, he listened attentively to his lessons, always intent on pleasing and doing the […]
03/08/2022

Our Visit to Casuarina Prison

John and I first visited Casuarina maximum security prison for males in Perth back in November 2020 to give talks about the Carrolup child artists and to see the art class in operation. We also visited last year and then again on 7/8 July this year for NAIDOC […]
02/08/2022

Magical Happenings in Carrolup Schoolroom and Beyond

Some months ago, I thought it was time to write a blog post summarising major happenings at Carrolup Native Settlement during the second half of the 1940s. However, I didn’t post the summary immediately and then forgot all about it. Recently, I was going through the website database […]
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 […]
14/03/2022

Obituary for Mrs Florence Rutter

Mrs Florence Rutter visited Carrolup Native Settlement twice in 1949-50. She then exhibited the children’s art in The Netherlands, England and Scotland, to great public acclaim, between 1950-52. During her time in Western Australia, Florence befriended Mrs Mary Durack-Miller and the two corresponded for some years after she returned […]
09/03/2022

The First Carrolup Art Exhibition in England, July 1950

I was writing a new blog post this morning when I realised that I had not previously included a section from my book Connection: Aboriginal Child Artists Captivate Europe about the first exhibition of the Carrolup children’s art in England. Here is that section: “In their book, Child […]
04/03/2022

An Inspiring Visit to Kojonup

John Stanton and I headed down to visit Lisa Martello-Hart (Australiana Artist and Children’s Book Author) in Kojonup on Thursday, 17 February. We were invited to learn more of what was going on in the town and engage in various discussions with key community members that focused on […]
15/02/2022

Disappointing News About Our Carrolup Book

Since I published my eBook, Connection, which was focused on the Aboriginal child artists of Carrolup, many people have asked me when a hard copy of the book would be available to purchase. I explained that my strategy had been to publish an eBook first, so that there […]
12/01/2022

On Being a Social Anthropologist

Here is a copy of the Address that John gave to the Rotary Club in Kojonup on 28 October 2021, after being invited by Alan (‘Bear’) Warburton. NB. Click on small images to increase their size. I have come to this meeting of Kojonup Rotary with a deep […]
05/01/2022

Our Carrolup Project: An Update

First of all, I’d like to wish everyone reading this post the very best for 2022. We’ve all been going through tough times during the pandemic—hopefully things will improve in the coming year. I thought it was time to do a little update (and recap) of what has […]
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 […]
10/11/2021

The Carrolup Story Website: Our 3rd Birthday

Three years ago today, John Stanton, Ash Whitney and I launched The Carrolup Story online storytelling, education and healing resource. The resource now comprises over 320 pages, including 270 blog posts. How did The Carrolup Story website come about? Our story begins 45 years ago, when John Stanton first […]
03/11/2021

Parnell Dempster Writes to Mrs Rutter

After Mrs Florence Rutter returned to the UK after her second visit to Carrolup Native Settlement, she received letters from 22 of the Aboriginal children. In one of those letters, Parnell Dempster described how the settlement supervisor, Mr Sully, had stopped Noel White taking the boys to the […]
01/11/2021

Noelene White Interview, 2005

Noelene, along with her siblings Janette (Jenny) and Ross, went with her parents Noel and Lily White to Carrolup Native Settlement in May 1946. She was 12 years old at the time. John first met Noelene in 1985 and learnt a lot from her about the Aboriginal children […]
29/10/2021

Some Favourite Carrolup Story Blog Posts: Part 1

I thought I’d upload a second blog post today to celebrate John’s talks at The Kodja Place, Kojonup this afternoon. We now have 172 posts on our Carrolup Story Blog. Here are links to ten of my personal favourites. A Long Way from Home: But for the three […]
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