Oodgeroo Noonuccal: media snapshots of a controversial life

Abstract

Many voices swirl around a famous life. Some of this complexity can be grasped through exploring those voices that leave traces on paper or microfilm in articles, quotes and letters in the pages of major daily newspapers. This paper focuses on one famous life in particular, that of Oodgeroo Noonuccal (formerly Kath Walker). 1 Such biographical snapshots of Oodgeroo, often challenged by Oodgeroo herself, reveal the lack of coherence in popular narratives of one famous life while it was still being lived. While biography can appear to impose a fixed narrative shape upon a life that was experienced as fluid and shifting by both the biographical subject and outsiders, exploring such biographical fragments re-emphasises that fluidity. Narrative fragments about Oodgeroo often appeared in large-circulation newspapers in relation to controversial events and issues, as well as in more specialised forums such as literary journals. I narrate several controversial incidents or issues Oodgeroo was involved in which featured in the pages of Australia’s large-circulation daily newspapers. I contrast these narratives of controversies in Oodgeroo’s life, and selected representations of her in the media, with her own views and understandings of the events and of herself. I demonstrate the way in which she both used the media to convey her message of Aboriginal rights and challenged media portrayals of herself and her work, publicly articulating her own understandings of her life. Snapshots of a controversial life: Oodgeroo in the media After Oodgeroo published her first collection of poems in 1964, titled We are going, she became famous more or less immediately. Her fame was based firstly on her status as the first published Aboriginal poet, but her writing was also deeply entwined with her politics and activism. She became well-known nationally to those with an interest in Aboriginal affairs, as well as to those with an interest in literature. Oodgeroo first became politically active in the 1940s through involvement with the Communist Party, and was deeply involved in the Aboriginal civil rights movement for much of her life. 2 She became the secretary of the Queensland Council for the Advancement of Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders (QCAATSI), became involved in the Federal Council (FCAATSI), and was a key figure in the campaign for the 1967 referendum, the 40th anniversary of which was celebrated in 2007. 3 Her writing thus was part of her political efforts on behalf of Aboriginal people, in a period in which Aboriginal issues became more visible to the wider population. 4 It is, as Kathie