Andrew Crocker: Obituaries
Originally published in the Aboriginal Law Bulletin.
Friends and associates of Andrew Crocker were shocked and aggrieved to hear of his untimely death in Namibia in September.
He was killed in a huge bomb blast in the Continental Hotel in the main street of the Namibian capital, Windhoek. An Englishman by birth, and a naturalised Australian by choice, he spent several months of each year growing cider apples in Somerset, and the rest of the time in the Central Western Desert of Australia offering his skills and compassion to Aborigines engaged in making and marketing their art.
His extensive experience in the Australian desert saw him engaged in the difficult world of Aboriginal advancement, where so often self-styled supporters of Aboriginal enterprise ignore all important ethical questions in favour of economics and artistic acceptability.
After assisting Nugget Coombes in the mid-70s on Aboriginal affairs, Andrew was appointed art advisor in 1980 to the Aboriginal company, Papunya Tula. In this role he oversaw the consolidation of the company as one of the most successful Aboriginal-owned enterprises. By convincing both Australians and international art intellectuals to widen their perspectives of Western contemporary art to embrace the art of all cultures, he was instrumental in taking contemporary Aboriginal art out of the tourist shops and into art galleries.
Crocker’s last major project, the book and Australian traveling exhibition of the work of Charlie Tjaruru Tjungurrayi, from Kintore in Central Australia, addressed the common insensitivity to the individual Aboriginal interest, whilst making pointed reference to those who attempt to form bridges between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal culture, and who neglect to listen to the voices of the artists themselves.
He wrote:
"It almost goes without saying that it is not possible adequately to appraise an art form without considering the social context in which it arises. Further, where artists make certain assertions in their work I feel that we should pay the courtesy of listening to them if we patronise them. It seems to me more than distasteful to collect their work while turning a stony face to what they say, or to their circumstances."
He believed that the discovery of Western painting materials offered Aborigines an opportunity to assert their identity, and that their recognition of this opportunity gave proof to their inherent adaptability as a people.
Andrew Crocker would always dwell on the true nature of achievement and was one of only a few cautionary voices particularly in this bicentennial year, to demand more information, but above all, to urge us to listen more carefully.
The Independent (London) - 6 October 1988
ANDREW CROCKER was a cider farmer, barrister, classicist and polymath - but above all, he was a man who cared passionately about tbe rights of the Australian aboriginal and tribal minorities worldwide.
Crocker's death was a sad irony in the bicentennial year of Australia's white settlement, a year which has so successfully highlighted the injustices suffered by Australian aboriginals. He spent most of his working life attempting to improve our understanding of the plight of black Australians, only to become the unwitting victim of black Africans struggling to overcome their own repressive regime, He was intending to visit the Kalahari to investigate the living conditions of the Ju/Wasi Bushmen when he was killed by a hotel bomb in the Namibian capital of Windhoek, placed by a nationalist freedom movement to draw attention to their cause.
Childhood tales of Amazonian tribes had marched with Crocker, growing to a vigorous concern for the under-represented indigenous minorities. This drew him naturally towards Australia from accountancy qualifications acqulred in London. Early life as a longshoreman in Port Darwin settled easily on a man who had been a Cambndge classics scholar at 16, but in 1972 he moved to Sydney to work within the Aboriginal Section of the Australian Council for the Arts. The cause of aboriginal art particularly engaged Crocker, since he was concerned that indigenous Australian artists should be seen to own and operate their businesses succesfully themselves. During this period, however, the land rights issue persauded him that the Establishment was better briefed than he in legal matters, so he returned to England in 1974 to read at the Bar.
Here he acquired a secondary love, in cider farming. He lived the remainder orhis life between Somerset apple orchards and the arid deserts of central Australia - home of the Pintubi and Walpiri tribe. He had a strong love of tbe land, and gained a deep contentment from tending his orchards.
After his return to Australia, Andrew Crocker was appointed, art adviser in 1980 to the Aboriginal Artis Company, Papunya Tulah, which based in Alice Springs. In this role, he oversaw the consolidation of the company as one of the most successful Aboriginal-owned enterprises, living for months out in the western desert, visiting and supporting his artists in their remote traditional lifestyle. A devotee of royal tennis. he was inseparable from his racquet, which would accompany him even to the deserts "on the
off chance of a game".
He worked in a field where so often self-styled supporters of aboriginal enterprise ignore important ethical considerations in favour of economic and artistic acceptability. By convincing both Australian and international art intellectuals to embrace the art of all cultures, he was instrumental in taking contemporary art out of the tourist shops and into the art galleries.
Although nonconformist and individualistic, he benefited from a traditional background, rumoured to involve Imperial Russian heritage. This, combined with a formidable intellect and a delightful sense of humour, gained Crocker access to influential audiences here he was able to speak out for the Aboriginal. While working with Papunya Tulah, he organised an international touring exhibition of the artists' work (the catalogue published Mr Sandman Bring Me A Dream), covering six countries in North America and europe.
Following this success, Andrew Crocker was commissioned to form the Melbourne Arts Centre Aboriginal Collection, and he recently organised a solo major retrospective touring exhibition within Australia of Charlie Tjaruru Tjungurrayi a Papunya artist for whom he had great respect. Tjaruru and other aboriginal friends visited Crocker at his Somerset home, assisting with the harvest on one memorable occasion.
His focus on minority affairs was broad. He took an active interest in indigenous land rights in Fiji, Papua New Quinea, Oceania and South Africa, and for the past lO years he was a committee member of Survival International, advising them from his considerable experience of Australia.
Rupert Ridgeway
Andrew Gaubert Delamain Crocker, tribal rights advisor, born London 25 August 1945, died Windhoek Namibia 1 September 1988.