Muriel Bowie

Ballardong Noongar Elder
Perth Region, WA

Ballardong Noongar Elder, Muriel Bowie was one of the last generations of bush babies born in an era when Aboriginal women were not permitted to give birth in hospitals.

Muriel was born beneath the branches of a gum tree in Kupatine, near York, with her aunties providing midwifery support.

She was one of ten children and her parents John and Gladys Blurton worked clearing land for farmers. Fearing authorities would remove the children to a mission, her parents were careful to avoid towns, choosing to remain on country.

At York State Primary School, Muriel was the only Aboriginal student in her class. She was ignored by her teachers and ostracised by the other students. Despite enduring a hostile environment and ongoing, sustained racism at school, she was undeterred and used newspapers to teach herself how to read.

With no high school nearby, teenage Muriel started working as a domestic and after some years became the first Aboriginal worker at the new hospital in York. In her mid-twenties, she moved to Perth with her family.

She married and had three children, then decided to return to school and study social work, graduating as a qualified counsellor. Over the next two decades, she played a critical role at the Anawim Aboriginal Women’s Refuge providing critical support to women dealing with homelessness and domestic violence.

Acutely aware of the absence of culturally relevant counselling services, Muriel became one of a group of pioneering Aboriginal women founders of Yorgum. Continuing to this day, it is lauded as a groundbreaking, broad-ranging counselling support service established specifically for Aboriginal people. The word Yorgum is a Noongar term for red flowering gum, native to WA and known for its healing properties.

Now in her eighties, she remains indefatigable, continuing a lifelong legacy of community work and outreach with countless organisations, including her ongoing role as honorary Elder co-researcher for Telethon Kids.

The Noongar connection to nature is strong, with birds featuring prominently in their lore. A Dreaming story describes how a grey wren managed to outwit an eagle, soaring above it to be the first to snatch the blue of the sky for itself, thus becoming the magnificent blue wren. Muriel’s totem is the blue wren.

Artist: Russell James

Size: 152cm x 152cm

Medium: Canvas