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Western Australia - Organisation

Carrolup Native Settlement (1939 - 1951)

  • Children at Carrolup, 194-?

    Children at Carrolup, 194-?, 1940s, courtesy of Aboriginal people of Western Australia, State Library of Western Australia.
    Details

From
1939
To
1951
Categories
Government-run, Home and Mission
Alternative Names
  • Carrolup (also known as, 1939 - 1952)

Carrolup, near Katanning, was a government-run 'native settlement' which had been closed in 1922 and was and re-opened by the Department of Native Affairs in 1939. By 1944, there were 129 boys, girls and older children in government 'care' at Carrolup. In 1951, the government withdrew most of the children from Carrolup and it was re-opened as a Marribank Farm School.

Details

Carrolup, near Katanning, was a government-run 'native settlement' which had been closed in 1922 and was and re-opened by the Department of Native Affairs in 1939. By 1944, there were 129 boys, girls and older children in government 'care' at Carrolup. Children at Carrolup were under the guardianship of the Commissioner for Native Affairs.

The Sunday Times reported in 1947 that Native Affairs Minister Ross McDonald said 'much interest was evidenced in the recent exhibition of drawings of children of Carrolup school for natives exhibited in Perth. All the pictures were purchased and realised £74, which will be expended in the interests of the children.'

In 1949, the school at Carrolup closed and school-age children were transferred to other missions according to their religious denominations.

In September 1949, former Carrolup schoolboys Barry Loo and Mervyn Smith became the first Aboriginal people to be employed in the Western Australian public service. They were engaged as clerical assistants at the Department of Native Affairs in Perth.

On 17 June 1951, Carrolup Native Settlement was closed and the Department of Native Affairs reported that the adults were 'dispersed' but that teenage boys were kept there to establish Marribank Farm Training School.

Events

1939 - 1951
Location - Carrolup [II] was located on 2,000 hectares of land that lay on the banks of the Carrolup and Carlocatup Rivers between Katanning and Kojonup. Location: Katanning

Timeline

 1915 - 1922 Carrolup
       1939 - 1951 Carrolup Native Settlement
             1951 - 1952 Marribank Farm Training School
                   1952 - 1988 Marribank

Related Events

Related Glossary Terms

  • Stolen Generations

    The 'Stolen Generations' policy of removing children from their families and placing them in institutions has had a long term impact in Western Australia. This been seen as an ongoing factor in the disproportionately high number of Aboriginal children being placed in out of home care in this State, long after the official policies ended.

Related Organisations

Publications

Online Resources

Photos

Children at Carrolup, 194-?
Title
Children at Carrolup, 194-?
Type
Image
Date
1940s
Source
Aboriginal people of Western Australia, State Library of Western Australia

Details

Rabbits enemies, 1950
Title
Rabbits enemies, 1950
Type
Image
Date
1950
Creator
Cooper, Revel
Source
Carrolup Aboriginal Settlement children's art collection, State Library of Western Australia

Details

Sources used to compile this entry: 'Baptists Take Over Carrolup', Sunday Times, 30 November 1952, p. 5, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article60102646; 'Testimonies of Sam Dinah, Michael Hannah', Stolen Generations' Testimonies, Stolen Generations' Testimonies Foundation, 2009, http://www.stolengenerationstestimonies.com/; Longworth, Alison, Was it worthwhile?, An historical analysis of five women missionaries and their encounters with the Nyungar people of south-west Australia, Murdoch University, Murdoch, Western Australia, 2005, http://researchrepository.murdoch.edu.au/163/2/02Whole.pdf. pp.298-299.; 'Western Australia Protectors Reports 1899-1959', in To Remove and Protect: Aboriginal Lives Under Control [website], Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, National Library of Australia, http://aiatsis.gov.au/collections/collections-online/digitised-collections/remove-and-protect/western-australia. Annual Reports of the Commissioner of Native Affairs 1939: p.16; 1944, p.25; 1951, p17; Annual Report of the Commissioner of Native Welfare 1959 p.8..

Prepared by: Debra Rosser