Shire of Collie Reece Harley Shire of Collie Reece Harley

Collie Co-operative Society

Image source Taj Kampe

Artist: Ernie Turpin, Louise Turpin, Margaret Kous

Asset Type: Mural

Year of Work: 1997

Location: 20 Johnston Street, Collie

Provenance: Shire of Collie

Description: This series of three murals tells the story of the Collie Co-operative Society, the largest co-operative store in Western Australia, in operation for over eighty years. In that time, it played an important role in the town’s development, as the principal retailer of the town and its largest commercial employer with over 100 people employed at its peak.

The building upon which this series of three murals is affixed was built by the Co-operative Society in 1936. By 1955, the Co-op has expanded to the corner diagonally opposite this site where the drapery, haberdashery and show departments were located. Further along, on the corner on Johnson and Lefroy Streets, was the Co-op Garage.

The left-hand panel depicts the original building and the 1926 flood. The Collie River proved to be a troublesome neighbour and the area was subjected to unpredictable flooding. The second picture of this inset shows the flood of 1926. Another memorable flood occurred in 1964, when the store was in undated and much stock lost to the swirling waters of the Collie River at its wildest.

The middle panel depicts ‘Divvy Day’, when shareholders were paid a percentage dividend on all purchases made and paid for in the last six months, was a twice yearly event. The Shareholders Booklet and the bread tokens were part and parcel of the old Co-op days.
The right-hand panel depicts Co-op delivery services, which were essential in the days before family cars, and woman drivers. A stable of delivery horses and wagons, followed as time went by, by bicycles, vans and finally the ‘shopper buses’ ensured that goods were delivered.

Financial sponsors of the project were the Shire of Collie, the Arts Council of WA and the Collie Heritage Group. This mural was an initiative of the Shire of Collie Townscape Committee.

About the artists:

Ernie Turpin is qualified in cartography and management and has spent a significant amount of time working and teaching in those areas. He has also had a wealth of experience in computerized mapping and art teaching.

Having resigned from the State Public Service at age fifty five to become a freelance artist, Ernie embarked upon a full time art tutoring career - whereby he travelled throughout the State of Western Australia as an ‘artist-in-residence‘ over a period of some twelve years.

In particular, Ernie worked primarily with indigenous groups in remote locations, completing mural projects and tutoring students in various forms of art. He also was regularly contracted to work with a number of mining companies, craft groups, hospitals, local authorities, prisons and metropolitan schools, etc., which required extensive travelling into some of the most scenic terrain of Western Australia.

Ernie is now in retirement, spends most of his leisure time in the Perth Metropolitan Area working in his studio or giving talks and art demonstrations to a range of different audiences.

Margaret Kous was born in Mildura, Victoria in December 1949. Her parents took her to Auckland, New Zealand, in a flying boat in January 1950. In 1982, Margaret moved to Collie, Western Australia, with her husband Carl, where they raised a combined family of six children.

Margaret studied art at Collie TAFE completing a Diploma in Art. She also studied at ECU Bunbury, completing a Bachelor of Creative Industries majoring in Visual Arts. She then completed a Diploma of Education Primary, teaching in in various schools prior to her retirement.

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Shire of Collie Reece Harley Shire of Collie Reece Harley

Untitled

Image source Philip Hanson

Artist: Philip Hanson

Asset Type: Mural

Year of Work: 1997

Location: Baarnimar Reconciliation Park, Throssel St

Provenance: Shire of Collie

Description: Philip Hansen, Noongar artist, was born at Katanning, Western Australia, in 1950. He spent his early childhood with his parents at the Carrolup Native Settlement near Katanning and was taken to Wandering Mission (also known as the St Francis Xavier Mission) when he was nine years old. After he left the mission in his early teens, he went to South Guildford, just to the east of Perth, to be with his mother, Marjorie Hansen. There he would sit with his mother and other older community members at Allawah Grove, which was situated close to the Swan River and full of wildlife, while they created paperbark paintings with Indian ink to be sold in shops around the town. Hansen started painting with them when he was fourteen; he was also inspired by an old Aboriginal artist from Perth called King Wally, who admired his style and gave him encouragement at this early stage. From that point on he created landscapes containing Aboriginal people and kangaroos on paperbark and canvas. His artistic practice became more established after he met his wife in Perth, and the sale of his paintings kept their young family going financially.

Hansen and his wife (married in 1971) lived together in Perth for several years before deciding to return to the southwest region of Western Australia, where they’d grown up, to make a home in Collie. Together they have six children and seventeen grandchildren, and have now been married for 50 years. Hansen has described the way he painted in a shed out the back of his property, and enjoyed teaching painting and drawing techniques to his grandchildren.

Hansen’s work has been acquired by the Collie Shire Council and the Shire of Busselton. Collie Hospital has also commissioned a number of works. Hunting by Sunset (2004), is held in the Curtin University of Technology Art Collection. This painting was acquired by Larry Foley from an exhibition of Indigenous artists from the southwest of Western Australia that Foley helped to organise at the Tom Hoad Cup (an international water polo competition) at the Melville Water Polo Club in Bicton, Western Australia. Foley donated it to the Curtin University of Technology Art Collection in 2005. The work was included in the 'Noongar Native Title: Works from the Curtin University of Technology Art Collection’ exhibition at the gallery in 2007. Hansen’s work was also included in the 'Beyond Carrolup’ exhibition at the Central TAFE Art Gallery in Perth (2009).

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City of Subiaco, Subiaco Reece Harley City of Subiaco, Subiaco Reece Harley

Subiaco Centenial Tiles

Artist: Jenny Dawson, Sandra Hill and Local Student Artists

Year of Work: 1997

Location: Closed end of Park St at the Rokeby Rd junction, pedestrian area next to the post office on Rokeby Rd.

Asset Type: Tiles

Provenance: City of Subiaco

Image courtesy of Subiaco

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City of Subiaco, Subiaco, Decommissioned Reece Harley City of Subiaco, Subiaco, Decommissioned Reece Harley

Toddler Play Area

Image courtesy of Subiaco

Artist: Peter Dailey

Year of Work: 1997

Location: Subiaco Common, Subi Centro

Asset Type: Sculpture

Provenance: Subiaco

Decommissioned Status: Decommissioned 2017

Description: A living room with oversized furniture, a television and carpet are familiar yet fantastical for toddlers. Peter Dailey has created the sculptural environment to encourage a wide range of visual and physical experiences. The interactive encounter is enjoyed by young and old alike. Peter Dailey is a prolific artist, teacher and mentor with several solo exhibitions and public art commissions under his belt. Peter’s
work is also represented in many public and corporate collections
including the Art Gallery of Western Australia and the University of
Western Australia.

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