For several years, English woman Pat Lowe shared a camp with her lifetime partner, Walmajarri man Jimmy Pike. Their camp faced south into the Great Sandy Desert where Jimmy was born. While spending time in the red heart of country that had been home to the Walmajarri people for thousands of years, they recorded Pike’s stories through his painting and Lowe’s writing. With Jimmy Pike as her teacher, Pat Lowe explored the day-to-day lives of the desert dwellers.
Jimmy Pike (deceased) was born near Japingka, a waterhole in the Great Sandy Desert, in about 1940, and his early years were spent as a hunter and gatherer. He walked out of the desert when he was 14-years-old when his family moved to a Kimberley cattle station and became a stockman. He spent a number of years in prison where he took up painting and soon became a well-known artist and earned his living through his art. Today, his prints and paintings hang in galleries throughout the world.
Pat Lowe was born and grew up in England but dreamed of migrating to Australia, which she did in 1972. She worked as a teacher in Africa and as a prison psychologist in Australia, but writing has always been her passion. She met Jimmy Pike in 1979 and a few years later set up camp with him in the desert. What followed was a collaboration with Jimmy on a number of books. She also worked with Jukuna Mona Chuguna and Ngarta Jinny Bent on their stories. She now spends her time in Broome.
