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 to Dilip and his lovely wife Carolyn’s house in Fremantle for dinner. At the end of the evening, Dilip played a version of his Carrolup song. Fortunately, I filmed most of the song.
But first, the backstory. In a blog written in April 2020, I described how Dilip first contacted me on Facebook, just after I finished writing my eBook Connection: Aboriginal Child Artists Captivate Europe.
‘Hello, just come across this site. What a great resource to bring back to life an amazing little chapter of the past that resonates so much with the present. Congratulations on a wonderful job.
I’m a Freo based musician and some years ago I recorded a song called ‘Carrolup’ after learning about this interlude in local history. I even managed to get down there to see the area and it filled me with lots of feelings which I tried to put into the song. Thinking about the children, their learning of the land, appreciation of the beauty that surrounded them and more, all which I tried to put into song. I would be happy to send you a CD or digital copy of the song if you like. http://dilipnthedavs.bandcamp.com/track/carrolup‘
I listened to Dilip’s song and was filled with emotion. I called Dilip and he told me that he had been greatly moved by the Carrolup story after attending the Koorah Coolingah exhibition in Katanning in 2006. He visited Carrolup and later wrote the song, which was included in the band’s album Don’t Mind If I Do in 2008.
All these years later, John and I saw Dilip perform a version of the song. We were overcome with emotion.