Collection 7: Kinchela Boys Home survivors under tree, 2015, photograph by Peter Solness

sub-fonds

2015

Graphic Materials, Photographs

9682631

1 photograph - digital, TIFF, colour

The photograph shows Aboriginal survivors of the infamous Kinchela Boys Home seated underneath a Moreton Bay fig tree in the grounds of the former institution. The tree holds particular significance for survivors, because boys (former inmates) were chained to the tree base as a form of punishment.

The photograph was taken during a reunion of survivors in 2015. Peter Solness used his ‘light painting’ photographic technique to highlight the large tree branches and roots, and the men seated underneath. The lighting effects give a powerful and ominous sense to the tree, which reflects the long-troubled history of the site for First Nations people.

In copyright:
Copyright holder:: Peter Solness
Please acknowledge:: Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales and Courtesy Peter Solness

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander visitors are respectfully advised that the photograph may include images of people who have passed.

From 1924 until 1970, between 400 and 600 Aboriginal boys from throughout New South Wales were forcibly removed from their families and placed in the Kinchela Aboriginal Boys Training Home, also known as the Kinchela Boys Home (KBH), near Kempsey, on the NSW mid north coast.

The Kinchela Boys Home Aboriginal Corporation (KBHAC) was formed in Sydney in 2002 to help restore and reconstruct the identity, dignity and integrity of Kinchela Boys Home survivors.

Reference: "History of Kinchela Boys Home". Kinchela Boys Home Aboriginal Corporation. Accessed 13 September 2024. https://kinchelaboyshome.org.au/