Joe Rootsey

Amu Wuringu
1918–63

Joe Rootsey was born in 1918 of the Barrow Point people (Amu Wuringu clan), around 135 kilometres north of Cooktown in east Cape York. While both he and his father worked as stockmen in north Queensland, Joe adopted the surname of station owner Bill Rootsey. Joe Rootsey spent his early years moving between cattle stations before marrying and settling down at ‘Olivevale’ near Laura.

In 1954 Rootsey was diagnosed with tuberculosis, a common disease amongst Indigenous people since European settlement. Rootsey then spent two years confined to a Cairns hospital bed where he started to paint landscapes depicting his country. Upon his release from hospital he staged his first solo exhibition in Cooktown.

Described as ‘the second Namatjira’, Rootsey trained for six months at Brisbane’s Central Technical College in the late 1950s. Following this training, his paintings were sold through the Department of Native Affairs’ retail outlet in Brisbane, Queensland Native Creations. After his return to the Cape, Rootsey’s illness relapsed. Despite continuous treatment, he died at the age of 45 in Cooktown Hospital on 27 June 1963.

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See also . . .

Learn about (Eastward from Bathurst Head).
Learn about Barrow Point.
Joe Rootsey references.