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Parnngurr School

“In 1984 my nyupa (partner) Mr Williams and I moved our family from Jigalong to Parnngurr community. Our five children were all young back then. People wanted to mine at Parnngurr. There was lots of drilling going on.

There wasn’t much out there when Parnngurr community formed, just a bow shelter, a windmill and a 44 gallon drum.

We worked hard for there to be a good school in community. If there was going to be teachers at the school they needed somewhere to live. The first teacher to work at Parnngurr school lived in a caravan. I worked alongside her at the school.

The school is different now. It’s grown a lot. There are more buildings, and a new basketball court was recently built. A lot of people have worked hard to make the school a good place.”

 – Noreena Kadibil

 

Noreena Kadibil is a Martu artist currently living in Parnngurr community. Noreena is known for her historical paintings, sharing significant family histories through her work. Noreena regularly paints the Parnngurr School. Community schools are vital components of remote communities, enabling young families to continue living in community, providing employment and an opportunity for two-way learning.

Noreena has close ties to Parnngurr School. She was employed as a Martu teacher when the school was first formed, and many of her children and grandchildren have either attended or been employed by the school. Depicting her grandchildren alongside Parnngurr School illustrates the continuing importance of the school within Noreena’s family and the wider community.

 

Categories: Shire of East Pilbara (Martumili Artists)

Name: Noreena Kadibil

Language: Putijarra

Community: Parnngurr

Biography:

"My country is Kajarra between wells 6 and 9 on the Canning Stock Route. This is my dad’s country and my grandfather’s and grandmother’s country. I only paint my grandfather’s and grandmother’s country, that’s our traditional lands. Jigalong belongs to the mob. I have other country but there’s other people mixed up in it. Mum was born in Savoury Creek. My grandmother used to live in Jigalong before Old Jigalong got started. I paint pictures of my country to keep it safe and to show my kids how to look after it." "I grew up in Wiluna and on Lake Violet Station. We moved to Jigalong in 1969 after my father passed away. I moved to Parnngurr with five children in 1984 (Murphy was the youngest), there was too much humbug in town, it’s a quieter place out here." Noreena was taught by her parents and grandparents about her traditional lands and how to survive in the bush. She has passed on this knowledge to her kids and grandkids as well as teaching them how to paint. Her mother Daisy had been taken from her family as a child and placed in the Moore River settlement. The film Rabbit Proof Fence tells Daisy's story.

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