Carrolup
Located on Noongar Country near Katanning, Western Australia, Carrolup was established as an Aboriginal reserve in the early 1900s. The introduction of the Aborigines Act 1905 saw many Aboriginal children forcibly removed from their families and placed at institutions such as Carrolup as part of government assimilation policies.
In 1939, the Carrolup Native Settlement was re-established by the Western Australian Department of Native Affairs after the original settlement had previously operated between 1915 and 1922 before closing. Following the closure of the Carrolup School in 1951, the site briefly operated as the Marribank Farm School before reopening as Marribank Mission under the Baptist Union. Marribank continued to operate until the 1980s.
Today, the Carrolup / Marribank site is recognised as places of profound historical and cultural significance, reflecting both the impact of government policies and the resilience, creativity and enduring strength of the children and families connected to the site.
The Art
At the Carrolup School, which was run at the Carrolup Native Settlement in the 1940s, some of the children began producing remarkable drawings under the guidance of teachers Noel and Lily White. The artworks gained widespread recognition through exhibitions across Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Europe.
Through the advocacy of Soroptimist Florence Rutter, a collection of the Carrolup artworks made its way to the United States and were largely forgotten until they were rediscovered by chance at Colgate University, New York in 2004.
This collection is called the Herbert Mayer Collection of Carrolup Artworks (Collection) and was eventually repatriated to Noongar Boodja in 2013, with Curtin University entrusted as custodians to share the collection for education and research purposes.
The Herbert Mayer Collection of Carrolup Artworks is not the only group of Carrolup artworks in Western Australia. Artworks are also held in the care of the Berndt Museum, Art Gallery of Western Australia, Shire of Katanning, State Library of Western Australia, Dumbartung Aboriginal Corporation and many private collections across the state and internationally.
Guidance from Elders
The Carrolup Elders Reference Group was created by Curtin in 2014 to guide the exhibitions associated with the Collection. Over the following years, the artworks were exhibited in Albany, Katanning, Bentley, New York, Manchester and Glasgow.
In 2020, the Carrolup Centre for Truth-telling (Centre) was established to create a dedicated Carrolup program, focusing on broadening engagement, research, and education activities surrounding the artworks, with a key focus on sharing the experiences of the Stolen Generations. This included a campaign to raise funds to build a purpose-built space for the collection, enabling the artworks to be on display year-round. Over 700 donors took part, with the Honourable Kim Beazley AC, Governor of Western Australia, named as patron at the Establishment Ceremony.
The artworks have been exhibited at Bentley over the years including the Decade of Carrolup exhibition which celebrated the ten-year anniversary of the return of the artworks to Noongar Boodja and in Sydney for the 2023 Sydney Biennale.
In 2024, the original Carrolup Elders Reference Group (CERG) was expanded to become the Carrolup Centre for Truth-telling Reference Group (CCTG) to provide guidance across the broader responsibilities of the new Centre and increase representation of families connected to the Carrolup children.
In April 2025, Once Known opened at the Old Perth Boys’ School as part of the Boorloo Heritage Festival extending Carrolup programs into the Perth CBD.
The Carrolup Centre for Truth-telling is now expected to open in early 2027 on level one of the John Curtin Centre next to the John Curtin Prime Ministerial Library. This purpose-built space will exhibit the original Carrolup artworks all year round with a supporting exhibition that provides context and understanding of how the Carrolup artworks have continued to influence artists
Find out more information about Carrolup exhibitions and education programs.
Header Image: Once Known exhibition at 139 St Georges Terrace (Old Perth Boys’ School). Photo by Sharon Baker.
Image 1: The Carrolup/Marribank site.
Image 2: Smoking Ceremony with Once Known Artworks. CAS. Image courtesy JCG.
Image 3: Tracing the art of a stolen generation, opening night. Photo by Andrew Brooks.
Image 4: The CERG, (L-R) – Garry Ryder, Charon Ryder, Dorothy Bagshaw, Wendy Hayden, (back) Timothy Flowers and Ezzard Flowers. Paula Foenander (not in this picture).
Image 5: Once Known exhibition at 139 St Georges Terrace (Old Perth Boys’ School). Photo by Sharon Baker.
