ERNIE & LOUISE TURPIN & MARGARET KOUS, COLLIE CO-OPERATIVE SOCIETY, 1997

Location: 20 Johnston Street, Collie

This series of three murals tells the story of the Collie Co-operative Society, the largest co-operative store in Western Australia, in operation for over eighty years. In that time, it played an important role in the town’s development, as the principal retailer of the town and its largest commercial employer with over 100 people employed at its peak.

The building upon which this series of three murals is affixed was built by the Co-operative Society in 1936. By 1955, the Co-op has expanded to the corner diagonally opposite this site where the drapery, haberdashery and show departments were located. Further along, on the corner on Johnson and Lefroy Streets, was the Co-op Garage.

The left-hand panel depicts the original building and the 1926 flood. The Collie River proved to be a troublesome neighbour and the area was subjected to unpredictable flooding. The second picture of this inset shows the flood of 1926. Another memorable flood occurred in 1964, when the store was in undated and much stock lost to the swirling waters of the Collie River at its wildest.

The middle panel depicts ‘Divvy Day’, when shareholders were paid a percentage dividend on all purchases made and paid for in the last six months, was a twice yearly event. The Shareholders Booklet and the bread tokens were part and parcel of the old Co-op days.
The right-hand panel depicts Co-op delivery services, which were essential in the days before family cars, and woman drivers. A stable of delivery horses and wagons, followed as time went by, by bicycles, vans and finally the ‘shopper buses’ ensured that goods were delivered.

Financial sponsors of the project were the Shire of Collie, the Arts Council of WA and the Collie Heritage Group. This mural was an initiative of the Shire of Collie Townscape Committee.

About the artist:

Ernie Turpin is qualified in cartography and management and has spent a significant amount of time working and teaching in those areas. He has also had a wealth of experience in computerized mapping and art teaching.

Having resigned from the State Public Service at age fifty five to become a freelance artist, Ernie embarked upon a full time art tutoring career - whereby he travelled throughout the State of Western Australia as an ‘artist-in-residence‘ over a period of some twelve years.

In particular, Ernie worked primarily with indigenous groups in remote locations, completing mural projects and tutoring students in various forms of art. He also was regularly contracted to work with a number of mining companies, craft groups, hospitals, local authorities, prisons and metropolitan schools, etc., which required extensive travelling into some of the most scenic terrain of Western Australia.

Ernie is now in retirement, spends most of his leisure time in the Perth Metropolitan Area working in his studio or giving talks and art demonstrations to a range of different audiences.

Margaret Kous was born in Mildura, Victoria in December 1949. Her parents took her to Auckland, New Zealand, in a flying boat in January 1950. In 1982, Margaret moved to Collie, Western Australia, with her husband Carl, where they raised a combined family of six children.

Margaret studied art at Collie TAFE completing a Diploma in Art. She also studied at ECU Bunbury, completing a Bachelor of Creative Industries majoring in Visual Arts. She then completed a Diploma of Education Primary, teaching in in various schools prior to her retirement.

Images: Taj Kempe

THE COLLIE MURAL TRAIL