Oodgeroo Project to commemorate a remarkable life

A play tracing the life of Oodgeroo Noonuccal and marking the 40th anniversary of the 1967 referendum on Indigenous rights was launched today by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Partnerships Minister Warren Pitt.

Mr Pitt said the Oodgeroo Project was a creative collaboration between playwright Sam Watson, La Boite Theatre Company and Kooemba Jdarra Indigenous Performing Arts.

He said the Queensland Government supported the project with funding worth $100,000.

“The play will document the remarkable life of Oodgeroo Noonuccal – a leader, activist, artist, poet and educator – through story telling, poetry and dance set against the backdrop of a socially volatile time in Australia’s history,” Mr Pitt said.

Oodgeroo Noonuccal was a key figure in the campaign to reform the constitution to allow Aboriginal and Islander people full citizenship. She was awarded an MBE in 1970, which she subsequently returned to the Federal Government in a political protest in 1988. She died in 1993.

“Not only was Oodgeroo recognised as the first Aboriginal Australian to publish a book of verse, she was a tireless campaigner in the reform of the Australian Constitution to allow Aboriginal people full citizenship,” Mr Pitt said.

Arts Minister Rod Welford said the Oodgeroo Project would be presented by La Boite in 2009 and would be a highlight of Queensland’s 150th anniversary celebrations that year.

“What better way to celebrate the Q150 theme of ‘reflect on our past, imagine our future’ than through honouring Oodgeroo Noonuccal’s life and her ongoing social and artistic legacy,” he said.

“This project is being written by an Indigenous writer with the full blessing of the family. In coming months, the development process will include intense consultation with elders and family groups to ensure the work accurately captures, commemorates and conveys Oodgeroo’s vision and voice.”

The Oodgeroo Project is also supported by the Australia Council.

Media contacts: Minister Pitt’s office 3235 4280; Minister Welford’s office 3237 1000