Carrolup Native Settlement (1939 - 1951)

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.

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

Stolen Wages Reparation Scheme WA, State of Western Australia (2012)
Aboriginal people born before 1958 who earned unpaid wages at Carrolup [II] were eligible to apply for the Stolen Wages Reparation Scheme WA.
Taskforce to Identify the scope and extent of the 'stolen wages' issue, and to suggest policy options and administration issues [Stolen Wages Taskforce] (2007 - 2008)
The Taskforce to Identify the scope and extent of the 'stolen wages' issue included practices at Carrolup [II] in its investigations.

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

Moore River Native Settlement (1918 - 1951)
Moore River Native Settlement sometimes transferred children to Carrolup Native Settlement

Date: 1939 - 1951
Roelands Native Mission Farm (1938 - 1975)
Carrolup Native Settlement sometimes transferred children to Roelands Native Mission Farm.

Date: 1939 - 1951
Wandering Mission (1944 - 1979)
When Carrolup was discontinued as a 'native settlement', some children were sent to Wandering Mission.

Date: 1951

Publications

Online Resources

'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. Details
'Baptists Take Over Carrolup', Sunday Times, 30 November 1952, p. 5, http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article60102646. Details
'Testimonies of Sam Dinah, Michael Hannah', Stolen Generations' Testimonies, Stolen Generations' Testimonies Foundation, 2009, http://www.stolengenerationstestimonies.com/. Details
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. Details

Photos

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

Details

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

Created: 6 August 2013, Last modified: 12 November 2018

Carrolup Native Settlement (1939 - 1951)