Tinpulya Mervyn

Tinpulya was born in the bush at Kelvin Well a soak near Kunmapi (Kenmore Park) in South

Australia in 1945. Her parents had travelled from Watarru to the mission at Ernabella where

they worked as shepherds. As a child she remembers making the journey back to Watarru with her parents where they exchanged dingo skins for flour, tea and sugar. Tinpulya has a passion for teaching tradi􀆟onal law and culture to her grandchildren so they grow up strong and proud.

She is a respected community leader and has Ngankari (sacred healing) knowledge. Cultural

knowledge is handed down orally in the retelling of the Tjukurpa (tradional stories of the

ancestors’ journeys), which not only sustains Anangu (Aboriginal people) physically, but

socially and spiritually. Tjukurpa painting depicts a fragment of a larger story, a living history

where an ancestor was involved in creating country. Individuals have authority and ownership

of this land and the associated sites and stories. The maintenance of this country is paramount

to artists of Watarru and they are proudly working with the Department of Environment and

Heritage SA continue to care and manage the land with respect and responsibility. The senior

artists from Watarru have received high acclaim for their stunning collaborative paintings.

Tinpulya along with her sister Wipana are the leading hands in these works. Their initial

collaborative works were commissioned by the Department for Environment and Heritage SA

and now hang permanently in the South Australian Parliament. In 2007 they won a major prize in the Drawing Together competition sponsored by the Australian Public Service Commission, a competitive award, which attracted over 570 entries from across Australia.