AUSTRALIAN AGRICULTURE West Australiana Aboriginal

“Marlbatharndu Wanggagu once upon a time in the west project, explores histories and stories of Aboriginal stockmen and domestic workers on pastoral stations in the Pilbara during the 20th century in Western Australia. The project is the result of an engaged and sustained collaborative partnership between the IBN Aboriginal Corporation and FORM curator Sharmila Wood and anthropologist Andrew Dowding. They worked across the Pilbara to record and document these stories in a collaborative and empowering way with the Aboriginal community.”–Information from acquisitions documentation.

• Aboriginal Australians — Western Australia — Pilbara — Portraits
• Stockmen — Western Australia — Pilbara — Portraits
• Pilbara (W.A.) — Photographs

• A major project (2014) examining pastoral activity in the Pilbara from an Aboriginal perspective

  Aboriginal people were essential to the development of the pastoral industry in the Pilbara during the 20th century, yet their role as workforce is often unacknowledged.

• This project showed the complexities of the Aboriginal contribution to and experiences and memories of station life and family legacy, traced through oral history, photography, and installations.

• A collaboration between Banyjima, Yinhawangka, and Nyiyaparli people, elders of the IBN Aboriginal Corporation, anthropologist Andrew Dowding, photographer Claire Martin (WA), contemporary Aboriginal artist Reko Rennie, and FORM.

  Works from the project were collected by the Western Australian Museum and the National Gallery of Australia as an acknowledgement of the unique and landmark documentation of history from an Aboriginal perspective of the project,  in combination with artistic excellence. The  publication was shortlisted for a MAPDA award. The project led to a future partnership with the IBN Corporation on Remember Me.

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