I recently described the project that my filmmaker friend Michael Liu and I have set up focused on the Aboriginal artist Revel Cooper. Here is a summary of a small, but highly influential, part of Revel's life - the time he spent in the Carrolup Native Settlement in South West Australia. I'm currently busy researching and writing about the child artists of Carrolup. It's an interesting and intriguing story, the legacy of which which still impacts on Noongar people today. This blog is taken from our Revel Cooper website.
Stolen Generations
The Stolen Generations refers specifically to the Aboriginal children who were removed from their families, and often their country, between 1910 and the early 1970s as part of Australia's assimilationist policies.
These children were raised in non-Aboriginal institutions and families, and were forced to adopt new cultural values and ways of life. Many were physically, emotionally or sexually abused. Many never saw their families again.
In addition to losing their connection to country and family, as well as their culture and identity, these children were traumatised by their experiences. Many took to drinking alcohol as a means of coping with this trauma. Nearly every Aboriginal family in Australia was affected by these government policies.
These children were raised in non-Aboriginal institutions and families, and were forced to adopt new cultural values and ways of life. Many were physically, emotionally or sexually abused. Many never saw their families again.
In addition to losing their connection to country and family, as well as their culture and identity, these children were traumatised by their experiences. Many took to drinking alcohol as a means of coping with this trauma. Nearly every Aboriginal family in Australia was affected by these government policies.
Carrolup Native Settlement
Carrolup was run by the state Department of Native Affairs and housed just over 100 children. The Protector of Aborigines hoped that the boys would be trained as agricultural labourers, and girls would obtain work as domestic servants. The children lived under harsh conditions and received little education.
The Child Artists and Their Art
In May 1946, teachers Noel and Lily White arrived at Carrolup and introduced an arts program to lift the spirits of the children. Noel White took the children out on bush walks and asked them to draw what they saw. Children aged between nine and thirteen were later drawing sophisticated and proportionally accurate scenes, with striking use of colour, with no formal training. Education improved at the school. The children became very fond of the Whites and held them in high regard.
The children's art became widely acclaimed after an exhibition in Boans store in Perth in 1947. Four of the boys sketched to a live audience.
An elderly English lady, Mrs Florence Rutter, visited Carrolup in 1949 and 1950 and was so impressed that she bought over 100 artworks. She showed these artworks around Australia and New Zealand, and later arranged exhibitions in the UK and Holland. They created a sensation in the press and attracted critical acclaim.
A rivalry arose between the Department of Education, who showed great pride in the children's art and tried to help the children further, and the Department of Native Affairs. The latter department saw no value of the art for helping the children's future. They closed Carrolup at the end of the 1950 school year.
Later, Mrs Rutter fell on hard times financially and sold her Carrolup artworks to American television magnate Herbert Mayer who, in turn, gifted the collection to Colgate University in upstate New York. They remained there in obscurity for decades.
In 2004, a chance discovery of the Carrolup artwork by visiting Australian academic Howard Morphy set the wheels in motion for their repatriation to Australia. Colgate University eventually made the decision to return the paintings to Noongar country.
Colgate University transferred the collection to John Curtin Gallery in Perth in May 2013. The collection is known as The Herbert Mayer Collection of Carrolup Artworks.
The children's art became widely acclaimed after an exhibition in Boans store in Perth in 1947. Four of the boys sketched to a live audience.
An elderly English lady, Mrs Florence Rutter, visited Carrolup in 1949 and 1950 and was so impressed that she bought over 100 artworks. She showed these artworks around Australia and New Zealand, and later arranged exhibitions in the UK and Holland. They created a sensation in the press and attracted critical acclaim.
A rivalry arose between the Department of Education, who showed great pride in the children's art and tried to help the children further, and the Department of Native Affairs. The latter department saw no value of the art for helping the children's future. They closed Carrolup at the end of the 1950 school year.
Later, Mrs Rutter fell on hard times financially and sold her Carrolup artworks to American television magnate Herbert Mayer who, in turn, gifted the collection to Colgate University in upstate New York. They remained there in obscurity for decades.
In 2004, a chance discovery of the Carrolup artwork by visiting Australian academic Howard Morphy set the wheels in motion for their repatriation to Australia. Colgate University eventually made the decision to return the paintings to Noongar country.
Colgate University transferred the collection to John Curtin Gallery in Perth in May 2013. The collection is known as The Herbert Mayer Collection of Carrolup Artworks.
Check out our Revel Cooper website for more on Carrolup.