Stolen Generations survivors, descendants, and professional allies will take part in A Together Story, a thought-provoking series of conversations about the children forcibly taken from their families and detained at the Carrolup Native Settlement in the 1940s.
The event series will run from May 30 to July 13 coinciding with Reconciliation Week to NAIDOC Week 2025. It will be set against the backdrop of the newly opened Once Known exhibition at the historic Old Perth Boys’ School, now known as Curtin 139 St Georges Terrace.
Once Known, which refers to the artists who have not yet been identified by name, shares the story of the children and the artworks they created which were thought lost overseas for more than 50 years. Rediscovered in New York and returned home to Noongar Boodja in 2013, the artworks now stand as a testament to the resilience, creativity and enduring connection to Country of the Stolen Generations.
Once Known and the Together Story series serve as a powerful reminder that the children taken to Carrolup each have a name, a family and a story. The exhibition and conversation series invite the community to gain a deeper understanding of the experiences of the Stolen Generations through the Carrolup artworks, and how you can make these children’s stories a part of your story.
Noongar Yorga Jessica Fortune, a speaker in the Together Story series and granddaughter of Elizabeth Indich, reflected on how their family came together to share stories of their grandmother.
“It was the photo of the children in the classroom that began this journey for our family. I found it online one day and immediately saw Nan in the picture, looking back at me,” Ms Fortune said.
“Our cousin had come across the image as well and all of this seemed to bring us to the point where we met Trish and Neeti at the John Curtin Gallery – three generations of us – sharing our stories in that room.”
John Curtin Gallery Carrolup Engagement Coordinator and Wajarri Nyarlu/Menang Yorga Patricia Ryder, whose Grandfather Ernest Cockles and Great Grandfather were inmates at Carrolup in the early years of the institution, found that many of her extended family members were at Carrolup.
“When my family and I visited the exhibition of the Collection at Albany Town Hall, these artworks informed the family that ancestors from their mid-west connections were also sent to Carrolup as inmates,” Ms Ryder said.
“These artworks represent connections to a time and place that my ancestors suffered through and they provide an understanding of the resilience of Aboriginal peoples. This truth-telling is important for healing, not just as individuals, but collectively as a nation in shared reconciliation.”
Curated by former John Curtin Gallery Director Chris Malcolm, in consultation with the Carrolup Centre for Truth-telling Reference Group, Once Known seeks to reconnect families with these rarely seen artworks and to acknowledge the children who created them.
A Together Story event series
- Where: Curtin 139 St Georges Terrace (Old Perth Boys’ School)
- Free events 12pm – 1pm
- 30 May: Yesterday, today and tomorrow with Rachel and Jessica Fortune and Patricia Ryder
- 6 June: Compassion – Mr Noel White with Chris Malcolm and Dr Neeti Sethi
- 13 June: A beginning – Parnell Dempster with Aunty Dot Bagshaw and Chris Malcolm
- 20 June: Advocacy – Florence Rutter with Michelle Broun and Lisa Liebetrau
- 27 June: Hope – Artist Focus with Brett Nannup and Patti Belletty
- 7 July: NAIDOC Week – Ripples: Rediscovery, return and repatriation with Ezzard Flowers and Phoebe Milne
- 11 July: NAIDOC Week – The Next Generation: Strength, Vision and Legacy Panel Discussion with Dr Jessyca Hutchens, Brett Nannup, Candice Nannup and Tyrown Waigana
- Event Registration: https://www.curtin.edu.au/jcg/explore/events/
Once Known Exhibition:
- Where: Curtin 139 St Georges Terrace (Old Perth Boys’ School)
- Opening Times: Weekdays 11am- 4pm (closed Wednesdays).
- FREE ENTRY
This event series and exhibition is made possible through the support of Lotterywest, Brookfield Place, BHP, Colgate University and more than 750 supporters who committed to helping share the truth of the Stolen Generations through their support of the Carrolup Centre for Truth-telling.
For more information about the children’s artworks and the Carrolup Centre for Truth-telling, visit here.
