Ooodgeroo Noonuccal was a First Nations poet, activist, and educator. She was a significant voice for First Nations peoples' rights as citizens through her writing and her work as an advocate.
To celebrate Ooodgeroo's birthday, award-winning Mununjali Yugambeh author, playwright and poet Ellen van Neerven has written a poem to reflect on Oodgeroo, and how she has inspired them.
Oodgeroo Noonuccal quote on sculpture near UQ bookstore.
I wanted to give it a name to draw it out of the shadows, the feeling I’m not good enough. That my story is worth nothing. I thought this would help with the fear. Perhaps some will be surprised to know about my struggle with self-doubt. Writers block is essentially my existential experience.
To take away the power White Australia has on me, I draw on a roll call of Aboriginal and Torres Strait heroes. I am thinking of Oodgeroo on her birthday, thinking of what she achieved in her life. She was uncompromisingly herself. She was brave and powerful in her words and her focus on uplifting blackfellas. She cared deeply about Country and protecting it for future generations.
I give it a name to say I will not be intimidated. I have 60,000 plus years behind this pen. The paperbarks are listening to us. The black swans are drinking from our stories. The past is in starsand the future is unwritten. I remove the barbed wire off my tongue.
Ellen van Neerven is an award-winning writer of Mununjali Yugambeh (South East Queensland) and Dutch heritage. They write fiction, poetry, plays and non-fiction. Ellen’s books include Heat and Light, Comfort Food, Throat and Personal Score: Sport, Identity, Culture.
As many Indigenous specific programs and services continue to downsize or disappear altogether due to Federal and State governments cutting funding and withdrawing support, many are turning to the online community to keep their doors open.
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