Quilt titled 'Bibool (Freshwater Paperbark)' by Roberta Chantler of the WA Inspired Art Quilters

View this record on the National Museum of Australia's website

Type: Artworks, Quilts
Materials: Cotton - non specific, Paper, Silk, Textile - non specific
Collection: WA Inspired Art Quilters collection
Accession number: 2019.0021.0002

Description

A quilt featuring various fabrics that give the impression of a paperbark tree. Materials used consist of hand dyed papers, cotton, silk fabrics, crochet dolly and yarn.

This quilt is part of a set of 16 titled ‘Noongar Country, Wetland Glimpses: Wetlands of the Swan Coastal Plain’. The set was created in 2017/2018 by the WA Inspired Art Quilters, a group of eight Western Australian women whose purpose is to make art quilts for public exhibition. The group members are: Hilary Arber, Roberta Chantler, Meg Cowey, Pat Forster, Elizabeth Humphreys, Stephanie Knudsen, Stella King and Denise Mallon. Each quilt in this set draws on a particular aspect of the wetland landscape, and is based on field observations and research of historical texts. A booklet describing the references and quotes that have inspired each quilt, also makes reference to the main theme of each quilt, including the featured plant and animal species, their Noongar names, and other information relevant to traditional Noongar culture. Consultation with Noongar groups has also been undertaken, including: • appraisal by the Shire of Cockburn Aboriginal Reference Group, Perth, June 19 2018 • viewing by Noongar elders at the Western Australian Museum, Albany, July 9 2018 • viewing by Noongar elder women of the City of Perth, August 2018, arranged by the City of Perth A letter of response from the Shire of Cockburn Aboriginal Reference Group (ARG), stated “The ARG for the City of Cockburn would like to provide their support on the WA Inspired Art Quilters. The ARG can see that a lot of research with recognised, referenced Aboriginal resources, heart and spirit went into producing these quilts. “The ARG are pleased to know that the quilts will be exhibited throughout the Noongar country and nationally for upcoming events and hope that wider community can find the beautiful, cultural significance in the quilts as the ARG will continue to do.” This quilts have been exhibited at the following venues: • Western Australian Museum, Albany, July 8 - 29, 2018 • City of Perth Library, August 21 - November 19, 2018 • World Wetlands Day Conference, Cockburn, WA, February 2019 • Australasian Quilt Convention, Melbourne, 11 -14 April 2019 • Rockingham Central Library 29 April to 24 May 2019

About the collection

This collection consists of a set of 16 quilts titled ‘Noongar Country, Wetland Glimpses: Wetlands of the Swan Coastal Plain’. The set was created by the WA Inspired Art Quilters, a group of quilters in Perth, Western Australia. They have been displayed at various public venues during the period 2018-19. The set was designed in a spirit of reconciliation, and to raise awareness of the great cultural significance the wetlands of the Swan Coastal Plain hold for the Whadjuk Noongar people, the Traditional Owners of the region. At the time of European settlement, the area that is now the Perth metropolitan region featured a network of wetlands that ran roughly parallel with the coast both north and south of the Swan River along the Swan Coastal Plain. These wetlands provided food, fresh water, raw materials and spiritual nourishment for the Whadjuk Noongar, whose connections with the country are maintained through songs and stories. Unable to recognise the great significance of these wetlands, the early settlers drained and built over a large percentage of them, severing many of the cultural connections that had existed for millennia, and destroying the habitat of countless plants and animals. Today, the surviving wetlands of the Swan Coastal Plain are once again seen as places of high cultural and spiritual value, both as a refuge for endangered plants and animals, as well as a sanctuary for people in an increasingly urbanised landscape.

Read live from the Museum's Collection API (12/11/2026, 6:26:55 am). Record last updated by the Museum 2025-02-17. Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.