about

Susan and Wendy, twins born in Toowoomba, Australia in 1955, grew up believing they were of Spanish descent, with no knowledge of their Aboriginal heritage.  They moved to New Zealand when they were 18 and immersed themselves in art whenever possible. Together they opened a successful art and craft store “Something Different”, married and raised families.

On returning to live in Australia the twins reconnected with their Australian relatives. This is when they learnt of their Aboriginal ancestry. They traced their ancestry to the Iman People, from the Taroom area in Banana Shire, Queensland. A tribe that was considered at one time to have been “wiped out”

As children, they had been told by their parents they were from Spanish ancestry to explain their olive complexions. They believe it was to protect them from the atrocities happening to the indigenous people at that time. This was the time when, Aboriginal children were still being removed from their parents and taken to missions and “Aboriginal communities”.  

Looking back on their childhood the twins remember playing castanets and attaching bottle tops to the base of their shoes and practising their “Spanish” dancing. They were often confused when children would throw stones, push them around and call them “Aborigines”.

Whilst tracing their Aboriginal history  and reconnecting with the “Homelands” they grew close to their Great Grandmother, Maggie Dunn. They learnt of her traumatic life and survival. Maggie had 11 children and of 9 of the surviving children, 6 were cruelly removed from her and taken away to Aboriginal Reserves as was the law then under the “Aboriginal Protection and Restriction Act”.  Susan and Wendy formed an overwhelming bond to Maggie, feeling her grief and suffering, her resilience and strength. Maggie had survived the hardships, fiercely doing her best to bring up and protect her children. It is thanks to her these children survived.  Wendy and Susan and thousands of Maggie’s descendants owe their very existence to this woman.

Wendy and Susan developed their distinctive style of aboriginal art as they discovered and related to their history and new-found relatives. They painstakingly complete their Aboriginal art using sticks and thickened acrylic paint, giving the interesting and exclusive 3D and “popping-out” effect.

The discoveries of their ancestry, the stories they have heard and their unique style of painting led to their first exclusive exhibition “The Legacy of Maggie Dunn”.  From there the twins completed a number of exclusive and shared exhibitions in Brisbane and the Gold Coast, culminating in a 2-year Artist Residency Contract for them both at the prestigious Birrunga Art Gallery in Adelaide Street, Brisbane, formerly the Robert Henderson Art Gallery.

They have been involved with the displaying of the “Star of Taroom” at the Iman Tribe Keeping Place, where Susan painted a great carpet snake on the walls, and  Wendy painted the 10 totems representing families of tribe.  

Susan now resides in Taroom living on Bonner’s Knob.  This is the hill  where many of their ancestors lived before being forcibly taken to the Bundulla Mission, and then marched 400 kms to Woorabinda, resulting in them losing their culture and diet.

The work that was done, by Susan, for the Iman Tribe, in schools and the kindergarten in Taroom, resulted in Susan winning the 2022 Banana Shire Australia Day Cultural Award.

Wendy resides in Redcliffe, Queensland and travels to Taroom to connect with family on a regular basis. She works with local schools teaching Aboriginal art, and is involved in Redcliffe Art Society and the Morten Bay Galleries.

Prizes and Awards

1st and 2nd Taroom Art Show

1st              2020 Murri Award, Gladstone Martin Hansom Memorial Art Award    (Wendy)

Winner       2022 Banana Shire Australia Day Cultural Award (Susan)

Finalist         2022 and 2023The Moreton Bay Art Gallery (Susan)

Finalist         2023 John Villiers Outback Art Prize (Susan 2023)

Winner:       2023: Biloela Acquisitive Award (Wendy)
Finalist        2024 The Moreton Bay Art Prize (Wendy)