Oodgeroo Noonuccal's Poetry

White Australians state “shame when [their] kids they die from colds or from sheer neglect. Shame when [they] live on the river banks. While collectin' [they’re] welfare cheques. Shame when [they’re] blind from trachoma. Shame when [they’re] crippled from blights.” The rhyming scheme in the stanza makes poem flow seamlessly constructing a conversational tone as if the narrator is speaking directly to the audience. This feature purposefully lulls the reader into agreeing with the white Australia’s arguments as it constructs an image that the Indigenous people are refusing to integrate themselves with modern society and suffering the consequences of those decisions. The mention of welfare cheques also contribute to the perspective that white Australians are attempting to mend the lives of Indigenous individuals, however this could not be further from the truth and message of this

The piece is classified as Aboriginal Australian literature. It was published in the 1960’s. The purpose of the text is to give hope in a new beginning after the events involving the racial tension between the Aboriginals and the white settlers. The poem is directed to the Aboriginal people of Australia who suffered from these events

Stan Grant’s speech ‘Racism and the Australian Dream’ (2015) effectively reminds the Australian population of the racism and harsh inequalities indigenous Australians have faced in the past and still face today. In reminding us of this reality, Grant engages us to discover issues of civic participation in Aboriginal people and in doing so perpetuates a need for social change. More?

Through the use of poetic devices, the author has successfully encouraged the audience to explore their thoughts on Australian identity and to reflect on our nation’s history.

Australia... land of the sun, beaches and kangaroo’s, known for being a free and multicultural country accepting you, no matter whom you are... or so we thought. Kevin Gilbert’s insightful poem ‘The New True Anthem’ tries to uncover the faults hidden under Australia’s picturesque surface. It depicts an Aboriginals’ view of Australia, comparing images of Australia to the harsh reality that the author feels is happening in this country. The destruction of the environment and the poor treatment of Aboriginal people are common themes that can be seen throughout the poem which contrast ideas about Australia such as natural beauty and freedom.

The notion of the contemporary indigenous identity and the impact of these notions are both explored in texts that have been studied. Ivan Sen’s 2002 film ‘Beneath Clouds’ focuses on the stereotypical behaviours of Indigenous Australians highlighting Lina and Vaughn’s journey. This also signifies the status and place of the Australian identity today. Through the use of visual techniques and stereotypes the ideas that the Indigenous are uneducated, involved in crime and the stereotypical portrayal of white people are all explored. Similarly the notion of urban and rural life is represented in Kennith Slessor’s ‘William Street’ and ‘Country Towns’.

"Aboriginal people are a steady beating heart at the centre of our Australian spiritual identity."

Hello ladies and gentlemen, I am here to bring forth some poems that represent our beautiful country for the Australian day anthology. Australians identity is a wonderful thing with our mate ship and way of life respected throughout the world. Our acknowledgement of our past makes us the country we are and creates the country we have, with the pride shared between all who happily call Australia there home. These poems explore our country’s pride through times of hardship, this being the Vietnam war. And how our strong mate ship and pride helped us prevail through this time. These are very clear throughout the poems becoming clear staple pieces for this era.

I would like to begin this speech by recognising the owners of this land, the true ancestors of the country we call ‘ours’. To the Indigenous peoples of Australia, I acknowledge you, I thank you and most of all I apologise to you for the deep suffering and remorse you are put through. I am ashamed of this country’s treatment towards you. Past and Present.

Throughout Australian history, Aboriginal people have been displaced and mistreated through the course of time, through the separation from their from kinship groups, land and the stolen generation. This has resulted in the connection to their dreaming lost, misconnection and loss of their sacred sites and traditional food from their land. As a consequence of the stolen generation, many aboriginal children were deprived of their parents, families, spirituality, language from their land and their cultural identity. All of these aspects contribute to the continuing effect of dispossession on Aboriginal spiritualities.

Good morning/afternoon council representatives and distinguished guests. My name is Chelsea Gwynne, and today I am going explain to you why it is crucial that the poems For’ard, by Henry Lawson, and The Dispossessed, by Oodgeroo Noonuccal must be included in next years Australia Day Council anthology.

'A Righteous Day' written by Mudrooroo Nyroongah on 26TH January (Australia Day), in 1988, is a poem set in the first person voice that has been composed in response to the depressing day of the Bicentenary of European Settlement. As the "righteous" day is reflected by the persona, this contrasts with the 'White' Australians celebrating a "successful" colonisation in high-spirited ways, because to the Aborigines it is a day of mourning as they view it as Invasion day. The poem underlines the fact that despite the hardships Aborigines have experienced as a result of White Colonisation, it would be ideal if they shifted from prisoners of society to proactive citizens of Australia who will stand tall with pride and win their internal battles

Living close to nature or living in harmony with nature is the whole purpose of Aboriginal life. There was no superior and inferior status between humans and nature. In fact for aboriginals the land and all the creatures have become inseparable companions. (Eds Dwight N Hopkins, P.71) But over the decades after settlement in Australia, Europeans disturbed the bond aboriginals have established with nature. In the following poems, one can see the poignant agonies of aboriginals for the disappearance their culture.

This week we will be talking about an aboriginal poet Oodgeroo Noonuccal, also known as Kath walker, who lived from 1920 until 1993. Oodgeroo came from the Noonuccal tribe in Queensland. Once she had completed primary school she left because she believed that even if she stayed in school there wasn't the slightest possibility of getting a better.

In the poem the Son of mine by Oodgeroo Noonuccal successfully shows the reader the oppression the Aboriginal people have suffered at the hands of the White people and the overwhelming sadness this has caused. Oodgeroo Noonuccal achieves this by using affecting, judgemental and appreciative language throughout the poem. Although this overwhelming sadness is very evident the author uses the same language to express her hope for a better future with better relationships between the Aboriginal and White people. In Son of mine, Noonuccal uses affecting language to evoke a sense of insecurity and unhappiness at the beginning of the poem but the mood changes to happiness at the end of the poem.