Bevan Hayward (Pooaraar) was born in 1939 at Gnowangerup in Western Australia where he spent his pre-school days at the United Aborigines Mission. He belongs to the Charnuk tribe; his ancestral line on his father's side is the 'Charnuk' Pooringaar. After primary schooling at Broomehill and many years moving around Australia as an itinerant worker, Pooaraar resumed his formal education in Perth in 1977. He graduated from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art course at Cairns TAFE in 1987, then gained a Bachelor of Arts (Visual) in Printmaking from the Canberra School of Art in 1991. These works are held in the National Collection of the National Museum of Australia.