Where the Mitchell River Rises

Original artwork by William T Cooper AO (1934-2015)

“This little stream high on Mt Lewis in northern Queensland eventually winds its’ way down the mountain joining other streams to become the Mitchell River which flows across Cape York and into the Gulf of Carpentaria.” The Mitchell River is one of the major rivers in Cape York Peninsula.  Its headwaters are on the eastern side of the cape, not far from Cairns, whilst its mouth is on the western side of the cape.  It flows out into the Gulf of Carpentaria halfway between Kowanyama and Pormpuraaw at a place called Wallaby Island.  Bill would probably refer to this country as his back yard.  Bill lived in the middle of a rainforest at Topaz, which is only a couple of hours drive from where this painting is set.  It is high rainfall country, tropical vegetation, high humidity and stunning wildlife including Bills favourite birds, the Riflebirds and Birds of Paradise.

Bill Cooper AO is known throughout the world for his paintings; The Australian and New Guinean and Nigerian Governments have bought and displayed his original paintings produced for his earlier books.  Sir David Attenborough has produced documentaries on his work.  The Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia gave him a rare accolade by presenting him with gold medal for distinction in natural history art.  He was the first Australian to be given such an award.  The academy does not invite competition for the medal and awards, it only periodically, after scanning the globe for someone “whose artistic endeavours have contributed to mankind”.  Books have occupied most of Mr. Cooper’s working life for 30 years.  He has published major works on “Birds of Paradise and Bower Birds”, “Parrots of the World”, “Australian Parrots”, and “Kingfishers”.  These are equivalent to John Gould’s famous books.  Bill Coopers paintings have set a new standard for excellence for scientific publications.  His paintings are described as modern monuments to science and art. Bill passed away on 10^th May 2015.  He held 2 art exhibitions both at Morpeth Gallery, one in 2003 and 10 years later in 2013 this second art exhibition was filmed for Sir David Attenborough.