Koori coast

Place and memory - Steve Russell's childhood at Larpa

Steve Russell, Artist and educator (Full transcript)
Drawing: La Perouse wharf
The Wharf at La Perouse
by Steve Russell.
Charcoal on paper. [+] enlarge

Growing up in La Perouse was fun.. I really enjoyed it.. and these drawings I've done of La Perouse are mostly of my childhood and just from memory not a photo .. well it was fun then when we were kids growing up back then, cause it was meeting place for all of us, all the Aboriginal kids I grew up with. We'd go there everyday if we could - we'd go there diving for money and mucking around, playing... (Interviewer: Who threw the coins) Ah tourists - they'd come out for it - they'd catch buses... (Interviewer: so you were a tourist attraction) Yes we were, I think, they'd come out for it, they'd have pockets full of coins and we'd be all be laying on the road sunning oursleves at the shop, and they'd come down and do you's wanna dive for some coins and probably about thirty kids they'd just scatter for the water.. it was great fun, oh yeah I loved it.