060927PD Left-right: Miss Mary Belshaw, Fred Winmar Jnr. (Jock), Andrew Pickett (gun shearer) and John Winmar outside Badjaling mission house in the late 1920s

Summary

In the late 1920s missionaries Miss Mary Belshaw and Miss May McRidge travelled to visit friends on the property known as Dendaring near Quairading, W.A. Noticing that many children were not receiving an education, they started a school and religious services. Their success encouraged them to look for a place nearby to continue their mission and in the 1930s they moved to Badjaling. Photographs include their work at Dendaring and at Badjaling, including the school, the church, hospital and other buildings as well as the missionaries. Some of the men worked on Les Stacey's sheep farm Sunny Vale. Aboriginal families at Badjaling include Winmar, Kickett, Yarran, Garlett, Pickett, Jacobs and others.