Why did oodgeroo noonuccal change her name

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Aunty Oodgeroo Noonuccal (1920 - 1993) was an Aboriginal rights activist, poet, veteran, environmentalist and educator.

*Aunty Oodgeroo Noonuccal previously known and is often referred to as Kath Walker. In 1988 she adopted the name Oodgeroo (meaning 'paperbark tree') Noonuccal.

Aunty Oodgeroo Noonuccal was born in Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island) in Queensland in 1920. Her father, Edward, was a Quandamooka man from the Noonuccal Clan from the area around Moreton Bay and Stradbroke Island and her mother, Lucy, was of the Peewee clan from inland Australia.

"We belong here, we are of the old ways. We are the corroboree and the bora ground, We are the old sacred ceremonies, the laws of the elders" – We Are Going

Growing up, Aunty Oodgeroo had a strong connection to her sand and water Country and her culture. Her totem was Kabool the carpet snake. Aunty Oodgeroo’s father taught all his children about Aboriginal lore and values.

The Dispossessed

Image: Kath Walker, Moongalba, one 1974 Carol JERREMS.

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Oodgeroo Noonuccal (3 Nov 1920-16 Sep 1993), born Kathleen Jean Mary Ruska and later known as Kath Walker, was an Aboriginal Australian political activist, poet, and educator.

Noonuccal was a Quandamooka woman and citizen of the Noonuccal Nation from Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island) in Queensland. Her parents were Edward and Lucy Ruska. She had two children: Vivian and Denis Walker.

John Collins (1994) writes that '[b]ecause pioneers like Oodgeroo sounded the call and made significant contacts in other places, there is now more strength and direction in the [Aboriginal rights] movement'.

Servicewoman, poet, and activist

In 1942, Noonuccal joined the Australian Women's Army Service after two of her brothers, Eric and Eddie, were captured by Japanese forces in Singapore. She served as a signaller in Brisbane and met many African American soldiers who would become influential in her advocacy for Aboriginal rights later in life.

Noonuccal joined the Communist Party of Australia during the 1940s because it was the only party that opposed racial discrimination - in par

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Kath Walker (Oodgeroo Noonuccal)

Born in 1920, Kathleen Walker, nee Ruska, grew up on North Stradbroke Island in Moreton Bay, east of Brisbane. Known as Kath, Walker showed a natural gift with words at an early age and was encouraged to pursue writing at school. Her father, Edward, worked for the Queensland government and campaigned relentlessly to improve conditions for Aboriginal employees.

Walker left school in 1933 at the height of the Great Depression to take up work in domestic service. When the Second World War broke out in 1939 two of Walker’s brothers, Eric and Eddie, enlisted for service in the army. Both were captured by the Japanese when Singapore fell in February 1942, and they spent the next three and a half years as prisoners of war.

In December 1942 Walker joined the Australian Women’s Army Service (AWAS) and trained as a signaller. In that same year she married her childhood friend, Bruce Walker, who was a talented bantamweight boxer and a welder by trade. Kath remained in the AWAS until early January 1944. She settled in Brisbane with her husband, and thei