The last of Cannings | National Museum of Australia

Dadina Georgina Brown, Wiluna, 2007:

That’s why I do painting about my memories, me and my sister and brother, and my families.

Georgina standing with her mother, Naomi in 1976

Dadina Georgina Brown was just 6 years old when she came in from the desert. When she was found, she was clutching an armful of dingo pups.

Forbidden to marry under traditional law, Georgina’s parents, Naomi and Nyama, had run away from Wiluna. For years they had been living and travelling in the Gibson Desert, in the region east of wells 13–19. It was here that they raised Georgina and her younger brother Yuddi.

Leaving the desert

In 1976 the Gibson Desert was in the grip of terrible drought. Mudjon Freddy Freddy, a relative of Naomi and Nyama, was concerned for their safety. He had been a guide for many expeditions led by Stan Gratte, and he enlisted the explorer’s help to find them.

Mudjon sent out a signal at Well 19. Receiving a faint smoke in response from the east, he headed out with Gratte’s party. When the vehicles could go no further, Mudjon set off on foot. He eventually found the family 100 kilometres south-east of Well 18. Gratte gave Nyama an English name: ‘Ben Canning’.

Georgina’s parents always longed to return to their desert Country, but their worried relatives prevented it. They both died in Wiluna. In 2009 Georgina returned to the Country where she had grown up.

A dot painting on canvas on a black background with a large brown concentric circle motif in the centre dotted with yellow, black and beige, surrounded by blue concentric circles, semicircles and quarter circles dotted in silver, orange and brown. The bottom edge only has one semicircle on it. In between the circles are straight and curved lines with curls on them in brown and dotted with silver. - click to view larger image — *Where I Was Born* by Georgina Brown

A square painting on canvas in metallic colours with a gold concentric circle with silver and copper dots, in the centre flanked by two curved shapes with a wavy inner edge that are outlined with a solid gold line overlaid with silver dots. The two shapes have three horizontal stripes in gold, silver and maroon and are filled with yellow and brown dots. An oval shape at each side edge merges into the back of the curved shapes. There are semicircular shapes at each side corner as well as at the centre top and bottom. These semicircular and oval motifs are filled with curved lines of dots in silver and maroon on a gold and black background. On the dark brown-black background are wavy and straight lines with curly lines extending from them, as well as curved lines arranged in patterns, all painted in a solid gold colour overlaid with dots of maroon and silver. There are also small V shaped lines of white dots interspersed with the background pattern. - click to view larger image — *My Country* by Georgina Brown

A dot painting on canvas in a grid pattern of concentric dotted circles connected by one straight line which is flanked by two curved lines. There are four vertical lines of five concentric circles in yellow and silver, orange and brown, green and red and blue and yellow over solid black rings. The connecting lines are black with white edges. The spaces between the grid pattern have been filled with dots in orange, green, grey, yellow, red, brown, blue, maroon, and black. - click to view larger image — *My Country* by Sheila Friday Jones

Jila Country

The jila men

Paruku and Tjurabalan

Yidaki: Didjeridu and the Sound of Australia

Ngurrara: The Great Sandy Desert Canvas

Warakurna

Painting on Country

Warlpiri Drawings

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