Carrolup Settlement

Database of burials and early admissions

Acknowledgement

Aboriginal History WA (AHWA) and Yorgum Healing Services — Link-Up (Yorgum) acknowledge the Wiilmen, Kaneang and Koreng people as the Traditional Custodians of the area on which the Carrolup Settlement was established, and pay our respects to the many individuals from other parts of the state who were detained at Carrolup and those who were laid to rest within the cemetery so far from home.

The following is a name index to some of the people who were admitted to the Carrolup Settlement, and a register of deaths and burials. It was produced by AHWA in partnership with Yorgum to help people seeking to learn more about their family histories.

Admissions prior to 1922

This register contains the names of men, women and children who were placed in the Carrolup Settlement between 1915 and 1922, as they appear in a number of open government records including admission registers, administrative items and monthly reports.

Search the Carrolup admissions

Deaths and burials register

This database contains the names of the men, women and children who passed away at Carrolup Settlement and were buried at the Carrolup Aboriginal Cemetery or the nearby Katanning Cemetery.

Search Carrolup deaths and burials

Food distribution gathering at Carrolup Settlement, circa 1916.

Photo: Food distribution gathering at Carrolup Settlement, ca. 1916. BA368/5/36, State Library of Western Australia.

Historical content

The Carrolup Settlement was established about 30km south-west of Katanning in the Great Southern region of WA on the traditional lands of the Wiilmen, Kaneang and Koreng people. Situated within a reserve of 10,768 acres, the settlement contained some 13 buildings and a nearby cemetery.

Established by the State Government in 1915 under the Aborigines Act 1905, the stated intention of Carrolup was to provide a self-supporting scheme for the ‘housing, education and employment’ of Aboriginal people. In reality, it became a place where hundreds of displaced Aboriginal children and adults were sent to be confined.

Noongar families living in and around Katanning were the first to be relocated to Carrolup, following objections raised by residents against the presence of Aboriginal people in the township. Their demands resulted in state authorities prohibiting Aboriginal children from attending the local school and then, shortly thereafter, ordering entire families onto the proposed site.

Prior to this event, somewhere between 150 and 200 people were camped and living on the Katanning Reserve, having been dispossessed of their traditional lands. Their removal was enabled under the Aborigines Act 1905 which imposed a number of oppressive measures on the lives of Aboriginal people in WA, including child removal policies that resulted in what is now known as the Stolen Generation.

Upon arriving at Carrolup, newcomers were expected to construct their own shelters and obtain their water supplies from a nearby soakage. Accompanying them was Annie Lock of the Australian Aborigines Mission who issued rations and provided schooling prior to the appointment of the Superintendent in June 1915.

By the end of the first year, 2 temporary dormitories had been constructed within a fenced compound to house children that had been removed from their parents. Over the course of the next 7 years, children were sent to Carrolup from all parts of the state and detained until the ages of 14 (boys) and 16 (girls), after which they were sent out to work as labourers or domestic servants.

At the same time, families from neighbouring towns were being forced to relocate to the new settlement. The Chief Protector of Aborigines sought to achieve this by discontinuing rations within the towns, amongst other measures. Notwithstanding this hardship, some families refused to make the move and were able to remain on their own country.

All men, women and children were expected to work while living on the settlement for little to no pay. Depending on the age and gender of the person, tasks ranged from domestic duties such as washing clothes, preparing food, cleaning up and sewing garments for the settlement, to more labour-intensive tasks such as clearing scrub, erecting buildings, fencing paddocks, producing vegetables and crops, and farming sheep and pigs.

Those who failed to comply with instructions were subject to harsh punishment, with regulations under the Aborigines Act 1905 giving the Superintendent powers to expel individuals who failed to work as directed, to confine people for up to 14 days for misconduct, neglect of duty or insubordination, and to inflict corporal punishment on children who tried to leave without permission.

In December 1922, Carrolup was closed and the remaining residents were transferred to the Moore River Native Settlement. The agricultural and farming activities had failed to yield enough produce to support the settlement and the vision to create a self-sufficient community had not been met. By this time up to 400 people had spent time at Carrolup.

Some 17 years later, in 1939, Carrolup was re-opened. A decade later it transitioned into becoming the Marribank Farm Training School which lasted one year. In 1952, the settlement and grounds were handed over to the Baptist Church which continued to operate the site as the Marribank Baptist Mission (later renamed Marribank Family Centre) until its closure in 1989.

For a good number of years Carrolup has been recognised as a place where many Aboriginal people, including friends and family, spent part of their lives often segregated in oppressive circumstances. For some, it was the only home they knew. The place forms a significant and relatively intact cultural environment, now managed by the local Aboriginal community.

Deaths and burials

100 deaths are acknowledged to have taken place at the Carrolup Settlement, with the first known passing occurring around 1915 and the last in 1949. Sadly, children and infants make up nearly half of those who passed away on the settlement.

While a small but significant number of those who passed away were buried at the nearby Katanning Cemetery, the majority were laid to rest at Carrolup Cemetery, with 72 burials registered in total.

The Carrolup Cemetery comprises 2 acres of land and is located a little to the north of the main settlement. The majority of burials are located at the western extremity of the reserve which has over the years, reverted back to its original state. Within the cemetery are at least 20 people who were buried in unmarked graves.

There are also two other possible burial sites at Carrolup that have not been officially acknowledged.