Peggy Patrick / Bow River Station (12576)

1928 – 2022

Peggy was born on Greenvale Station c. 1928 and her language is Gija. She is full blood sister to the late Timmy Timms who was former Chairperson of Bow River Station (a million acre cattle station), 25kms from Warmun Community (Turkey Creek), where Peggy spent the majority of her life.

The Bow was granted to the Timms’ family (after Sam and Maggie Lilly on-sold it) by the Government, with Timmy as Chairperson.  At Timmy’s funeral in 2001, Maggie, aged 88, proudly said to the mourners “Your family is my family, and mine is yours”. Timmy’s daughter Mona Ramsay is current Chairperson.

Peggy was a respected Elder of the Gija Community, tireless teacher of culture to the younger generation, known throughout Australia as a Singer, Dancer, owner of many Corroborees (in particular one which was passed on to her from her late brother, which has been staged several times – at the Perth and Melbourne Art Festivals – entitled “Fire, Fire Burning Bright”).

Peggy was instrumental in ‘cutting’ a CD in 1992 with others from Warmun called “Singing up the Country”, she was involved in everything!  Until she reached her mid 80’s, Peggy would carve, make didgeridoos, weave; there was no artefact that Peggy couldn’t make and she passed this down to the children. In November 2008 Peggy and Phyllis Thomas travelled to Canberra for the launch of a book about the life of the late Queenie McKenzie, entitled “Written in the Land”.

Peggy painted and exhibited with the best – Freddie Timms, Rusty Peters, Phyllis Thomas and Goody Barrett.  She had a strong painting style, wonderful eye for colour and an ability to execute precise works of which most artists twenty years younger than Peggy would be proud. Her vivacious personality and incredible talent was evident in her artworks.

The measure of this amazing lady was recognised in 2010, when Peggy was named Member of the Order of Australia in the Queen’s Birthday Honour List, ‘For service to the arts as a performer, artist and storyteller, to the preservation of the culture and history of the Gija people of the East Kimberly region, and to reconciliation’.

 Peggy passed away peacefully in the local care home in Kununurra in 2022. Arltandish was honoured to have both a working relationship and a treasured friendship with Peggy for many years and she is greatly missed by us all.

 Selected Collections

• National Gallery of Australia, Canberra
• Art Gallery of Western Australia, Perth
• Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
• Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory, Darwin

I have painted Bow River Station, Greenvale top country way. The hills still getting red in the sun middle of day though – big caves full of waterholes in the mountains – that rainbow serpent made these ones. This is my country – where I bin born and grew up and worked long time. My boys were stockmen, worked with old Sam and Maggie Lilly – they proper good riders my boys, tough country up there in those mountains.