Mornington Island Artists

Born 1974

"I learnt to spin hair and make the dance hats from an early age from my grandmother, Margaret Hills, who was a master weaver of grass and hair.

It's a lot of work to find a suitable tree, to strip the bark then to work the bark to form the frame for the dance hat. "

Spinning hair takes a long time too, but I am happy to make the dance hats. There aren't too many people who knows this craftmanship. Each time I make this I know I make a contribution to keep our culture alive and strong.

Born 1942

I remember getting a message that Aunty Sally Gabori was coming over to Bentinck to show us something. She brought one of her paintings and gave it to Ethel. It was beautiful. So we decided that we would follow Sally and paint too. I got a shock when I went to the Art Centre and saw all my sisters and Aunties painting. Now I paint with them.

I was born behind Nyinyilki on Bentinck Island. I remember when I was small and planes used to fly overhead we used to run and hide in the mangroves. It was fun playing and growing up on Bentinck as small girls but that soon changed when they came and took us away and dumped us on Mornington Island on 1946.

Life was very hard in the dormitory. We were fed flour with weevils in it, we had to bathe in saltwater and our clothes were made out of rough material like the canvas we now paint on. I went out to the mainland to work for a few years on stations before coming back to Mornington and having children.

Born 1966

My language name is Juda Juda named after my Mother's mother from Bentick Island. I have 4 children 5 grannies.I have watched my mother's paint and decided to paint as stress relief and I find it relaxing .It my way of protecting ,keeping and teaching country language lores and customs for future generations so it would not be lost. I am a big believer in passing on knowledge to the next generation so that they become grounded in who they are.

Baralkia | Born 1968

Group Exhibitions

2015 Lardil Renaissance 2015 CIAF 2008 Art Mob Gallery 2008 Anindilyakwa Arts and Cultural Centre 2008 Opening Dugong Beach Resort

Born 1946

"I was only a small child when our people were brought to Mornington Island and forced to live in the mission. I grew up in the dormitory like all the other children. My father King Alfred was killed when I was only a baby so I was really grown up by the missionaries. It was hard, they were cruel to us if we were naughty and would lock us up or cut our hair really short. As I grew into a young woman I went and worked on lots of cattle stations around Cloncurry and ended up moving to Darwin where I had a partner and lived there for 30 years away from Mornington Island and Bentinck Island.

"I only came back in 2008 so that I could be with my family and live back on Bentinck Island. When old May died the other Bentinck artists asked me to come and join their group and paint at the Art Centre. I had done a little bit of painting in Darwin on small canvas boards more for fun than anything else. I really like to go to the Art Centre and paint with old Aunty Sally and my other sisters. We have so much fun. I paint Thundi where I was born and Makarrki where my father was born. It makes me feel good and proud when I see the finished painting."

Born 1947

"I was born on Bentinck Island. When I was about 2 or 3 years old our people were all taken from Bentinck island to the mission on Mornington Island because there was a severe fresh water shortage on Bentinck Island. I was placed in the dormitory and kept away from my parents. I attended the mission school along with the Lardil children of Mornington Island. I went to school until I turned 15 and then I went to work as a housemaid in the mission house. I was paid about 10 shillings a week but we lived off the land and sea and didn't really need money.

"A vacancy opened on a cattle property on the mainland at Kamilaroy and I was sent there to work as a house servant for 3 years before I returned to Mornington Island. I raised a family of 3 girls and 2 boys with my present partner Bob Thompson.

"I only had housework to do and was bored. My mum was selling lots of paintings and really enjoyed painting. One of my brothers passed away so I went up to the Art Centre with mum to keep her company and decided to try painting for myself. I found that I loved it as well. I really want to become a good artist like my mum and paint about Bentinck Island and my people and their stories."

Born 1978

My traditional name is Yirribi, meaning Kingfish. I live on Mornington Island in the Gulf of Carpentaria and enjoy carving timber artefacts.

Born 1952

"My mother was Thelma Burke, one of the original artsts that started painting with old Sally Gabori. I follow her footsteps enjoying making jewelleries and weaving. The art centre helps us get together and try out new medium like silver, wool and silk, glass as well as the traditional painting.

Every time I come at the art centre, I feel mum's spirit with me. It's all those precious memories of creating and yarning with mum in her younger days, when life was slower. I feel her strong when I sit down quietly creating new artworks at the art centre. I miss that old girl."

Birri, Mornington Island | Born 1958

I was born on Brookdale Station, my father and mother worked there. My father was doing cattle work and my mother worked at a kitchen job, washing and cooking. My parents brought me back to the island and then went back to work, while my aunties and uncles raised me and I started going to school. In those days, mission days, my father Colin he didn't want that Peters name so he took Williams, that's why I'm Williams, after my Father’s name William Peters. This was the time when the Presbyterian Church came to the island.

I used to dance a lot, liked hunting and camping when I was young. I remember going away for my first dance trip when I was twelve years old, we went to Sydney, big city. In my twenties I was still travelling with the dance troop, I've been to New Guinea a couple of times, America, India, England. It was good travelling round sharing our culture, especially sharing with the American Indians, good to see others dance, a lot of different cultures, makes me feel stronger about mine.

I started painting back in 2005 at the Art Centre, but I was living in my country farther from town carrying on from my father, three fathers I've got. There was three old brothers from my country, old Gully, William and Henry Peters. Now I've got two boys and my wife, we all live at our outstation at Birri. There I continued to paint and make artefacts to sell independently. I've come back to town now so can come to the art centre more regularly. Birri means place of many underground waters. We are showing our body painting, its something to share with our younger people and other people. We keep our body painting, its handed down from our fathers, its good to keep it going, I like painting, I'm a culture man. All this came from the old people way back in the dreaming.

Mornington Island | Born 1972

"I like painting body paint up designs and totem designs. To me this is the strongest thing I can paint to express my feelings about who I am and where I come from. I like to paint at the Art Centre with the other artists because it is fun and interesting and gives me something to look forward to each week.

We also get to work with different media like felts, silver, hebel and ceramics. I love sculpturing forming figures out of different materials. I love working with my hands.

I was born in Mt Isa like a lot of people here but always think of myself as born and bred on Mornington Island. I went to school here and have lived here all my life. I have 4 children, 1 boy and 3 girls. My youngest is 8. I love to go camping and fishing and also collecting small shells from the beach to make shell necklaces."

Born 1961

My father was born in Langungani, Sydney Island. His name is Lindsay Roughsey. He was one of the great craftsmen and artists that started up the art centre here on Mornington Island. My mother was also a Lardil woman from Birri. We grew up living in the old village in those days. The village was destroyed by a big cyclone and we lived in tents for years before a new town was built. Those were hard but good old days. I have 3 grown up daughters now with lots of grandkids and now great grand kids! I love coming to the art centre, it makes me feel closer to the old people, especially my old dad.

Born 1988

‘Scott’ Roughsey was born on Mornington Island and went to school there. His grandmother has been an important presence in his life, and a strong influence on his development as an artist.

Scott’s art is informed by his culture, the beauty of his homeland and the stories of his ancestors. He ‘finds peace in making art’, drawing on both traditional and contemporary styles to represent the landscape of his country and the totems of his people. He uses acrylic paint on canvas as his medium.

Scott is the great grandson of the well - known artist Dick Roughsey, and hopes that one day he might become as well- known as his relative for his art.