Girls, Goomalling, 1940-1965
Mavis's photographs capture joy, spontaneity, pride and hope from the thriving wheatbelt Aboriginal community. The photos are extremely rare in that they capture daily life from a Noongar perspective.
In 2015 Mavis’ daughter, Dallas Phillips, brought a collection of old negatives stored in a chocolate tin to a photo sharing session run by Community Arts Network. The photos were taken by her late mother and bequeathed to Dallas. She was unaware of their historical and cultural value until they were digitised by the State Library. These images were a revelation for Dallas and are of personal as well as historic significance for WA.
The images show Mavis’s natural flair for composition and offer a rare glimpse into the experience of a Noongar family and community in the wheatbelt region of WA.
To see more of Mavis's work consult the catalogue
You may be interested in...
Aboriginal stories
Photographs and films
SLWA on ABC Radio
ABC Radio Perth discussion about Mavis Phillips (nee Walley 1921–1982) one of Australia’s earliest known Indigenous photographers.
Explore the diversity of Aboriginal content through the photographs, manuscripts, oral histories and digital stories collections.
Around one million images make up the Pictorial Collection including photographs, postcards, slides, albums, glass negatives, illustrations and art works.