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The Nyoongar people When the first non-Indigenous people settled  in the colony of Western Australia in 1829, they found a flourishing Indigenous society with a strong traditional culture. The culture maintained a complex relationship with the land, paying respect to the seasons and to the bountiful supply of food. The way of life was governed by the Dreaming, with its associated taboos and ceremonies.Photo: Grass Street Dancer. Courtesy: Dept. of Land and Conservation. Those groups who occupied the southwest corner of Western Australia, contained within a line running from just south of Geraldton to just west of Esperance, were known as the Bibbulmun people (Nyoongar is the Bibbulmun word for man). This line is also referred to as the circumcision line, for the Nyoongar culture did not practise circumcision of young men, but to the east of this line, circumcision was part of traditional ceremonies. The Nyoongar people were a large homogenous group, linked by a common language. Their society was not based on a hierarchical structure of chiefs, and the arts did not feature prominently as part of their way of life. The Waagle, or Rainbow Serpent, dominated the earth and the sky creating waterways and people. The Waagle is central to Nyoongar culture. Often referred to as “sulky”, keeping the Waagle happy is essential to the maintenance of a way of life and in the respect of culture. The Rainbow Serpent gave life and sustenance to the people who, in return, became caretakers of the land. They wore a cloak made of kangaroo skins and a shelter protected them from the elements. They had no fighting shields, but employed a spear and a club when necessary, and food was abundant. Colonisation  Stirling Ranges
Courtesy: Dept. of Land and Conservation.
Fences prevented the traversing of traditional routes for food gathering and the introduction of domestic animals drastically reduced the supply of native animals. Contact with the colonists led to the spread of illnesses formerly unknown to the Nyoongar people, which lead to many deaths and a severe depletion of the population. In many ways, the arrival of the British sounded the death knell for Nyoongar culture. Ignorance of the Nyoongar way of life gave rise to uncertainty and fear and the relationship between the two groups in the colony deteriorated. Shooting, assaults and theft by the British colonists were rife and led to retaliation by the Nyoongar people. This, in-turn led to the punishment via imprisonment of the Nyoongar people. The application of dominant British “justice” to people who were going about their daily lives, as had been done for thousands of years, caused anxiety and hostility for Nyoongar people. Aboriginal Reserves were to forcefully place Nyoongar families onto allotments of land, which rendered them invisible – out of sight, out of mind. George Coolbul and Henry Prinsep  George Coolbul, Untitled page from West Australian native art, 1868-69,
sketchbook:Coloured pencil and crayon, 20.9 x 13.8 cm.
Collection: Art Gallery of Western Australia.
George Coolbul (died 1871) was a Nyoongar man from Dardanup who worked for Henry Prinsep. Coolbul sketched images of everyday life on paper – men on horseback, in riding wear, spurs on their boots, dogs hunting kangaroo. Prinsep compiled a group of these drawings into a sketchbook, which is now in the State Art Collection. Between the 1870s and the 1940s the destruction of Nyoongar culture was almost complete through the enforced relocation of traditional landowners as required by government legislation. Henry Prinsep was appointed Chief Protector of Aborigines in 1898 and retained this position until his retirement in 1907. He had decided on a career as an artist, but the death of his father necessitated that he come to Western Australia to inspect the properties belonging to the family. Soon after his arrival in 1886, he met and married Josephine Bussell, daughter of a pioneering family in the Busselton district, and they settled at Dardanup in the southwest. Prinsep employed Nyoongar workers on his properties and had an interest in the welfare of ‘half-caste’ children and helped set up a committee to provide for their care. Financial difficulties forced him to take up employment in the public service, which eventually saw him in the position of Chief Protector of Aborigines. He played a leading role in the formulation of legislation, which eventually led to the Aborigines Act of 1905. Government legislation In 1886 all Indigenous people in the State were placed under the guardianship of the government and at the beginning of the twentieth century an Aborigines Department was created, with a Chief Protector based in Perth. The Aborigines Act of 1905 reflected the attitude of the government to the Indigenous population by the creation of a Department charged with the duty of “promoting” the welfare and well-being of Indigenous peoples, which included providing health and education services. It also made the Chief Protector the legal guardian of every Aboriginal and “half-caste” child under the age of sixteen and restricted movement from one Reserve to another. Permits were required to “employ” Indigenous people and permission was needed to marry. This Act also allowed for the removal of children with differing parentage to an institution in the care of the State. In 1915, A. O. Neville was appointed Chief Protector of Aborigines. He held this position until his retirement in 1940 and was the single most influential government officer in Aboriginal Affairs in Western Australia. The legacy of his harsh implementation of government policy is being felt today, by succeeding generations of Indigenous people in Western Australia. Government policy changed the Nyoongar people from a hunter/gatherer society to be largely dependent on welfare handouts with their lives regulated by a government department. Life became even more restricted by subsequent acts in 1911 and 1936. The Native Welfare Act of 1963 restored many basic rights to Nyoongar people, but it was not until 1968 that Indigenous Australians were given the right to vote in Federal elections, which included the national census, equal wages, working conditions and the right to enter public places. While many groups of Indigenous people in remote parts of Australia are able to continue to live on their land and maintain a traditional way of life, this choice was denied to the Nyoongar people and they were forced to live in an urban environment because their land was already settled and pastoralised by non-Indigenous people. The quest for identity has led to the claiming of land rights and to the reconnection with traditional culture. Some artists represented in South West Central are: Bella Kelly (1914-1994)  Bella Kelly, Untitled (Southwest landscape), 1969,gouche, 50.9x64.9 cm
Collection: Art Gallery of Western Australia.
Bella Kelly was born at Mt Barker and lived and worked in Kojonup. She spent her teenage years at the Carrolup Aboriginal Settlement as a domestic. Her paintings depict the country around the Sirling Ranges in often startling colour, with emphasis on the huge trees of the Jarrah and Karri forests with their distinctive trunks and idiosyncratic growth. Through her painting she expresses her love for the land and her delight in the flora, fauna and the sunsets of her country. She held her first exhibition in 1970, and her first solo exhibition in 1991. At the NAIDOC week celebrations in 1988, Kelly was honored with Aboriginal Artist of the Year award. Influences of the distinctive style produced by the children from the Carrolup native Settlement, in the 1940s, can be seen in Kelly’s work. Carrolup Native Settlement The Carrolup Native Settlement, situated 25 kms from Katanning, was established in 1915 under the Aborigines Act 1905. People were reluctant to move there as it took them away from their traditional places.  Christopher Pease, Monnop (detail), 1999, oil on canvas, 211.5x147.4 cm.
Collection: Art Gallery of Western Australia.
The appointment in 1945 of Noel White as Headmaster at Carrolup brought a period of enlightenment in the education of Nyoongar children and a teaching programme, which fostered their creativity and imagination. The result is a remarkable collection of paintings produced by the boys at the school. Carrolup closed in 1951 and the younger children were moved to Roelands Mission near Bunbury. By this time, the older boys who were the painters had reached school leaving age but many have continued painting in adult life. Landscape is the predominant subject for the painters at Carrolup and the distinctive use of colour characterises the work from these painters. Noel White took his students on bush walks and urged them to look around at the countryside and then to depict what they saw. Individual styles soon emerged and individual students favoured particular subjects. Native animals and traditional ceremonies and dances were also depicted in the landscape. The huge trees of the South-west feature prominently. For many of these children, painting was a way of maintaining a connection with their Nyoongar culture, while it was being eroded and absorbed by contact with the colonising culture. Reynold Hart (1938 -1981)  Reynold Hart, South-West landscape, c early 1970’s synthetic polymer paint on hardboard, 50.1 x 75.5 cm.
Collection: Art Gallery of Western Australia.
Reynold Hart was one of the child artists from Carrolup. Hart sees it this way: “After Mrs Elliot went, Mr White came. The first year he came here, he found all the school children running around in the bush, looking like savages…… He saw that we had some talent, we practiced on brown paper, night after night for about two years, and our drawing started to win the respect of the white people… That was the year we had an exhibition of Art in Perth. Four boys were sent down to draw in front of the Public.” (Reynold Hart to Florence Rutter, 1947, aged 14 years. In Miller and Rutter 1952:67-68) Hart was one of four boys who accompanied the exhibition to Perth in 1947 and who sketched with chalks on paper in the exhibition space. Landscape preoccupied Hart as it did the other artists, again in that distinctive style that has become recognisable as coming from the Carrolup School of Art. Revel Cooper (1938-1983)  Revel Cooper, South-West landscape near Pemberton, c,1962, synthetic polymer paint on hardboard,
50.1 x 75.5 cm.
Collection: Ian and Sue Bernadt.
Revel Cooper continued painting into adulthood after leaving Carrolup, which has influenced the next generation of artists. Both Hart and Cooper had troubled lives. However, their influence in the re-establishment of a strong Nyoongar culture in art is recognised and acknowledged by artists such as Lance Chadd / Tjyllyungoo and Shane Pickett. Nyoongar culture today  Mrs Dooland-Leisha Eatts, a Nyoongar Elder, gave the Nyoongar Welcome at the Opening Night of the exhibition,
‘SOUTH WEST CENTRAL: Indigenous art from south Western Australia 1833-2002’.
Photographer: Greg Woodward
Nyoongar culture today finds expression in new forms, which strengthens their culture. At the same time, the non-Indigenous people of Western Australia are gaining knowledge of the people who have lived in the southwest for 40,000 years. Particularly in the field of entertainment – theatre, dance and music groups are gaining in popularity. This is reaching a wide audience, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous. Yirra Yaakin Noongar Theatre was formed in 1993. The previous Artistic Director, David Milroy, says that theatre has allowed Nyoongar people to express many of the issues that confront them as well as “celebrate and strengthen our community both culturally, politically and socially.” Much of their work responds to political issues that have affected Indigenous people and are based on personal or family histories. The plays of Jack Davis, such as No Sugar, directly confront the issues surrounding the removal of children from their families and the compulsory relocation of Indigenous families to Aboriginal settlements. Many writers express their emotions and tell their stories in fiction and poetry. Walter Eatts, Alf Taylor and Michael J Smith write songs and poems, which give an insight into their history and feelings. The telling of personal, family and community stories, are often a way of coming to terms with past experiences. Many of the stories tell of survival against awful odds and may give some insight into the way Indigenous people are thinking now and perhaps lead to a better understanding of Nyoongar culture and society. The Nyoongar characters in Kim Scott’s novels, exiled from society, search for an identity. True Country, and Benang have both won the Miles Franklin Award, and Benang also won the Western Australian Premier’s Book Award. There are many Nyoongar women telling their stories which gives an insight into how government legislation, particularly that which allowed the removal of children to state institutions, effected their lives. These stories are poignant and give their point of view of Nyoongar experiences and history of the relations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. The Art Gallery of Western Australia makes public acknowledgement of Nyoongar ownership of land. This is made at many occasions such as exhibition openings so that it is not forgotten that there is a long Nyoongar history in this country. (No part of this article (Texts & Images) may be reproduced in any form, by any method for any purpose without the prior written consent of the Director, Art Gallery of Western Australia. Editor. )
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