Community Engagement Facilitator, John Curtin Gallery, Patricia Ryder and Curator, Carrolup Collection, John Curtin Gallery, Zali Morgan with the Claude Kelly drawing. Image: Sharon Baker.
An artwork by a child of Australia’s Stolen Generations has been rediscovered in a 25-year old trunk at the Corrigin Pioneer Museum.
Never officially accessioned into the Museum’s collection, the latest piece of Carrolup artwork was drawn by 12-year-old Claude Kelly at Carrolup Native Mission School in 1947. Donated to Corrigin Pioneer Museum by a husband-and-wife from Katanning 25 years ago – the artwork was never officially added to their collection as it fell outside of the collecting scope. Following a collaborative effort between members of the Corrigin Historical Society and John Curtin Gallery staff, the artwork revealed specific details into its history.
A newspaper clipping and graphite pencil primary inscription on the back of the drawing offered insight into the artists name and age as well as the exact date and location the artwork was created. “Picture drawing Claude Kelly aged 12 years at Carrolup Native Mission School for 18 months 21 – 10 – 1947.” The inscription read.
Community Engagement Facilitator, John Curtin Gallery, Patricia Ryder said the inscription not only offers intimate details into the creation of the drawing, but also verifies the rediscovered artwork was created by a Carrolup Child Artist.
“It is important for expert eyes to look over the artworks to ensure the integrity of each Carrolup artwork,” she said.
“Confirmation that this was indeed one of those rediscovered artworks from the group of amazing Carrolup Child Artists created in the 1940s-1950s, is incredibly exciting.”
“Building and sustaining relationships is central to our work with the Carrolup Art Collection. We are thankful to the passionate staff at the Corrigin Museum for reaching out and donating this missing piece of the puzzle.”
University Art Collection. Donated by the Corrigin Historical Society 2025
Claude Kelly’s piece is the first by the artist to join the other Carrolup artworks at Curtin’s Bentley campus and in the Perth CBD. While hundreds of children were detained at Carrolup, only 17 of the artists have been attributed to artworks in the collection.
Curator, Corrigin Historical Society, Steve Brown-Smith said the Pioneer Museum does occasionally receive donations that are from outside their collecting scope and this drawing is such an example.
“Over the many years we have accepted hundreds of items that are relevant to the theme of our collection, that is to reflect the lives and work of our farming and town community,” he said.
“The picture came to us as a donation about 25 years ago and the curator at the time of the donation died a few years ago so any knowledge that she may have had has gone with her.”
“We never displayed the picture, and it has sat, undisturbed, in an old trunk for most of the last 25 years or so.”
Similarly, the Herbert Mayer Collection of Carrolup Artworks was lost overseas for more than 50 years, and rediscovered in New York to then be returned home to Noongar Boodja in 2013.
The Carrolup artworks stand as a testament to the resilience, creativity and enduring connection to Country of the Stolen Generations. John Curtin Gallery’s Once Known exhibition shares meticulous reproductions from the delicate originals, providing greater accessibility to the artworks in the lead up to the opening of the Carrolup Centre for Truth-telling at the John Curtin Gallery at Curtin University where the original artworks will be on year-round display.
About Once Known:
Opened for the first time at the Old Perth Boys’ School, Once Known showcases reproductions of the fragile artworks created by Aboriginal children forcibly taken from their families and detained at the Carrolup Native Settlement in the 1940s. Once Known is made possible through the support of Lotterywest, BHP, Colgate University, City of Perth and over 750 supporters who committed to helping share the truth of the Stolen Generations through their support of the Carrolup Centre for Truth-telling.
