Charmaine Bennell is a

Noongar The Noongar (, also spelt Noongah, Nyungar , Nyoongar, Nyoongah, Nyungah, Nyugah, and Yunga ) are Aboriginal Australian peoples who live in the south-west corner of Western Australia, from Geraldton on the west coast to Esperance on the so ...

author and illustrator from

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. Her published books are written in the

Noongar language Noongar (; also Nyungar ) is an Australian Aboriginal language or dialect continuum, spoken by some members of the Noongar community and others. It is taught actively in Australia, including at schools, universities and through public broadcastin ...

, the language of Indigenous Australians in the South West of Western Australia. She is the daughter of Glen and Phyllis Bennell (née Wallam) and was born in Pingelly. When she was a child her family moved to Bunbury. Charmaine was a Noongar language teacher at Djidi Djidi Aboriginal School in Bunbury and is now studying for a Bachelor of Arts of Indigenous Languages and Linguistics degree. While working at Sister Kate's, Charmaine started the Languages Other than English program to teach Noongar. She is passionate about saving and teaching the Noongar language.

Author

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Illustrator

* * * * * Waakarl kardakoor bilya-k = The Rainbow Serpent from Blackwood River / storyteller, Lorraine Smith-Marshall ; original illustrations, Sonya Khan ; audio storytelling, Charmaine Bennell ; language consultants, Lois Sphen-Jackson ... et al. ; English editor, Maree Klesch * Moort family reader series / concept: Denise Smith-Ali, Gloria Dann, Charmaine Bennel, Maree Klesch ; English text : Maree Klesch ; Noongar translations : Lois Spehn-Jackson ; illustrations: Marissa Clausen

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bennell, Charmaine Living people Noongar language Noongar people Australian women writers Indigenous Australian writers Writers from Western Australia Australian illustrators Australian women illustrators Year of birth missing (living people) People from Pingelly, Western Australia Language teachers