Pooaraar grew up at Gnowangerup in Western Australia and spent his pre-school years at the United Aborigines Mission. He belongs to the Charnuk tribe and his ancestral line on his father's side is the 'Charnuk' Pooringaar. His primary schooling occurred at Broomehill and he spent many years as an itinerant worker.
In 1977 Pooaraar resumed his formal education in Perth. He later graduated from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art course at Cairns TAFE in 1987 and gained a Bachelor of Arts (Visual) in printmaking from the Canberra School of Art in 1991. Some of his works are held in the National Collection of the National Museum of Australia.
