Oodgeroo Noonuccal

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Lore & Background

Oodgeroo Noonuccal was born on 3 November 1920 in Bulimba, Queensland, to Lucy and Edward Ruska. Her father, a labourer, was a member of the Nunukul people from around Moreton Bay who also had Filipino and German ancestry. Her mother, Lucy, was the daughter of a Scottish migrant and a Wanggamala-Pitapita woman. Noonuccal spent her early years at the One Mile settlement on North Stradbroke Island, leaving Dunwich State School at thirteen because the family could not afford to send her to nursing school. In 1942 she joined the Australian Women's Army Service after her two brothers were captured by the Japanese at the fall of Singapore. During the 1940s she joined the Communist Party of Australia because it was the only party which opposed the White Australia policy. In the 1960s she emerged as a prominent activist, serving as Queensland state secretary of the Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders (FCAATSI). She lobbied Prime Minister Robert Menzies in 1965 and his successor Harold Holt in 1966 for constitutional reform to allow Aboriginal people full citizenship. At a 1963 deputation, she taught Menzies a lesson in Aboriginal realities: after he offered an alcoholic drink, she informed him that in Queensland he could be jailed for this. On 13 June 1970 she received the award of Member of the Order of the British Empire (Civil) (MBE). In December 1987 she announced she would return her MBE in protest over the Australian Government's intention to celebrate the Australian Bicentenary, which she described as '200 years of sheer unadulterated humiliation' of Aboriginal people. She also changed her name to Oodgeroo Noonuccal, with Oodgeroo meaning 'paperbark tree' and Noonuccal being her people's name. Her first book of poetry, *We Are Going* (1964), was the first book to be published by an Aboriginal woman. It was extraordinarily successful, selling out in several editions, and setting Oodgeroo well on the way to be Australia's highest-selling poet alongside C. J. Dennis. Critics' responses were mixed; some questioned whether an Aboriginal person could have written it, while others found the poems 'propaganda' rather than real poetry. Oodgeroo embraced the idea of her poetry as propaganda, describing her own style as 'sloganistic, civil-writerish, plain and simple.' In 1972 she bought a property on North Stradbroke Island called Moongalba ('sitting-down place') and established the Noonuccal-Nughie Education and Cultural Centre. By 1987 she had hosted 26,500 children there, teaching them about Aboriginal culture and the balance of nature. In 1974 she was aboard a hijacked British Airways flight; during three days in captivity she used a blunt pencil and an airline sickbag to write two poems, 'Commonplace' and 'Yusuf (Hijacker)'. She died from cancer on 16 September 1993 at the Repatriation General Hospital at Greenslopes, Brisbane, aged 72 years, and was buried at Moongalba on North Stradbroke Island.

Reader's Guide

Oodgeroo Noonuccal's significance lies in her pioneering role as the first Aboriginal Australian to publish a book of verse, using poetry as a vehicle for political activism and cultural pride. Her work challenged both racial prejudice and literary conventions, deliberately adopting a plain style to reach a broad audience. Beyond writing, she was a key figure in the campaign for Aboriginal citizenship rights, lobbying Prime Ministers Robert Menzies and Harold Holt and serving as Queensland state secretary of FCAATSI. Her decision to return her MBE in 1987 and rename herself in protest of the Bicentenary underscored her uncompromising stance on Aboriginal sovereignty and dignity. She also contributed to education through her Noonuccal-Nughie Education and Cultural Centre at Moongalba, where she taught 26,500 children about Aboriginal culture and the balance of nature, and collaborated with universities in creating programs for teacher education. Her poetry has been set to music by numerous composers including Christopher Gordon, Clare Maclean, Stephen Leek, Andrew Ford, Paul Stanhope, Mary Mageau, and Joseph Twist. Her legacy endures as a foundational voice in Aboriginal literature and a symbol of resistance and reconciliation.

Did You Know?

• Oodgeroo Noonuccal was the first Aboriginal Australian to publish a book of verse, *We Are Going* (1964).
• During a 1963 deputation, she informed Prime Minister Robert Menzies that in Queensland he could be jailed for offering an Aboriginal person an alcoholic drink.
• In 1974, while aboard a hijacked British Airways flight, she wrote two poems on an airline sickbag using a blunt pencil.
• She returned her MBE in December 1987 to protest the Australian Bicentenary, which she called '200 years of sheer unadulterated humiliation' of Aboriginal people.
• By 1987 she had taught 26,500 children at her cultural centre Moongalba on North Stradbroke Island.