Australian Dictionary of Biography

Oooloogan (John Noble) with policeman, Canberra, 1927

State Library of New South Wales

Ooloogan (c. 1840–1928), Wiradjuri walamira (clever man) and travelling showman, also known as George John Noble and Marvellous, was born at Muttama, central western New South Wales, in around 1840. Although not much is known about his earliest days, he almost certainly completed the burbong (initiation) ceremony between the ages of twelve and sixteen, as this was the final step to manhood and essential to becoming a clever man. Initiates promised to fulfil a sacred oath to Baiame to represent, care for, and protect their people and Country. Identified as an exceptional talent, Ooloogan undertook decades of intensive training with a walamira to qualify as a walamira talmai—someone who had the cleverness passed on to him from his forebears.

As an adult Ooloogan travelled between the Aboriginal and white worlds, taking the name George John Noble in the latter. He met Ada Curran (d. 1954), a Walbunja and Tanna woman from Eden, New South Wales, while travelling and they were married at Eden in 1896. Ooloogan had a son, Wondrous, from an earlier relationship, and Ada had two daughters, Blanche and Ruby. Together the couple had six children: Maude (b. 1898), Henry (b. 1900), George junior (1902–1902), Hugo (b. 1903), Ernest (b. 1904), and Reggie (1907–1907). Apart from Wondrous, who lived at Roseby Park near Nowra, the rest of the family lived between Brungle, Bega, and Minnamurra Swamp camp, Illawarra. Blanche and Ruby were taken from Minnamurra Swamp camp to Bomaderry Aboriginal Children’s Home and Blanche was later transferred to the Cootamundra Training Home. She was eventually reunited with the family at La Perouse, where she gave birth to seven children.

Noble passed his teachings on to Henry (also known as Choc), Hugo (also known as Sago), and Ernest (also known as Weenie One), all of whom, after initiation, became traditional lore men. Known as the ‘Old Noble Brothers,’ they were cultural teachers, masters of lore, language, culture, and ancient dreaming stories, and travelled extensively to Aboriginal camps doing cultural work. Henry was also involved in the Aboriginal rights movement. He joined the Aborigines Progressive Association and attended the ‘Day of Mourning’ protest in Sydney on 26 January 1938.

Later in life Noble made a living as a travelling showman, performing on main streets from Sydney to the south coast and the Riverina, at agricultural and pastoral shows, and sometimes at football matches. Possessing extraordinary boomerang throwing skills, he became known as ‘Marvellous’ due to his constant use of the word. Newspapers frequently published stories about him during the late 1910s and 1920s. In 1918 it was reported that he met with an accident at the Tumut Show when an uncontrolled stallion trod on his foot. A group of women heard him shout and came to his aid, the newspaper commending them for showing ‘their humanity (even to a blackfellow) in trouble’ (Gundagai Times 1918, 5).

In 1920, a few months after several newspapers had mistakenly reported his death, Noble stood on a street corner in Nowra and proclaimed ‘Marvellous come to life after be’n dead twice! Ha-ha’ (Nowra Leader 1920, 7), before dancing and performing for the crowd. Three years later he had made enough money to consider ‘retiring from active service and settling down with his wife and family’ (Gundagai Times 1923, 2). His popularity then at its peak, he suggested that the upcoming Gundagai Show would be his last, as he expected to ‘get plenty of money and tobacco from his friends’ (Gundagai Times 1923, 2).

Being popular did not shield Noble from prejudice and discrimination. In 1924 he and several Wiradjuri friends were arrested by the Cowra police after entering a hotel. Not only were the men gaoled and fined for doing what white men were legally able to do, but they were ridiculed, the Gundagai Independent reporting that the Cowra police had gone ‘fishing for “black bream”’ and caught some ‘niggers,’ among them Noble ‘who, when he saw the police, laughed heartily, and said “Marvellous”’ (Gundagai Independent 1924, 4).

In 1927 Noble and fellow Wiradjuri clever man Nangar (Jimmy Clements) walked from Brungle to Canberra to attend the opening of Parliament House. Their presence, which may have been part of a calculated protest, was undoubtedly disruptive as they drew the attention of spectators, media, and police. Officials tried to remove them, but they insisted on remaining. Later, interviewed by a local journalist, Noble complained that he had gone to Yarralumla to demonstrate boomerang throwing for the Duke and Duchess of York, but had not been paid. There were no reports of him performing for the royals.

When Noble fell ill the following the year, local newspapers kept readers updated on how he was faring. Under headlines such as ‘Marvellous Is Ill’ and ‘Poor Old Marvellous,’ readers were told that he was being cared for ‘in a private ward of Nature’s own making’—in reality, a bed under a gum tree at the back of the Cootamundra District Hospital. The Illawarra Mercury (1928, 6) reported that his serious illness was an unfortunate outcome of the ‘survival of the fittest.’ To the author, ‘Old Pioneer,’ Noble was just ‘a simple child of nature’ and his people were destined to die out. Old Pioneer recalled how Noble ‘used to come to the district “out of the mist” at show time’ (Illawarra Mercury 1928, 6). Bugeen or bugi-nja was the name given to Wiradjuri clever men who could travel in whirlwinds, moving from place to place without being seen. Consummate showmen and polished performers, they delighted in performing exhibitions of their skills and talents, for demonstrations of cleverness were part of being a clever man. None of this information was conveyed to readers of the Illawarra Mercury or other country newspapers. Nor were they told of Nobel’s deep knowledge of the landscape, the seasons, and medical treatments, cures and more.

Survived by Ada and his children, Noble died on 27 March 1928 at the Cootamundra hospital and was buried the following day at the Cootamundra cemetery. In the Wiradjuri tradition, three days after he bahlooed (died), his jir (soul) left his body and travelled his Country visiting people he knew when he was alive. Newspapers across New South Wales recorded his passing, many describing him as one of the oldest and best-known Aboriginal people in the State. Recalling her old grandfather, Yorta Yorta woman Margaret Tucker, leader, author, and activist, wrote:

Grandfather Noble, another old full-blood identity in the area, was nicknamed Old Marvellous. He used to say, whether he was pleased or unhappy, ‘Ain’t that marvellous?’ My memory of this lovable old man was his kindness to us children and my mother, of whom he was very fond. He was my grandmother Bedgie’s brother. Some children in those days felt he was a witch doctor. Mother and we children loved the old man, because he was good, although a bit cunning. He was very generous and would share his food with anyone. (Tucker 1983, 31)

He is remembered in Wiradjuri oral tradition as a hero of Aboriginal resistance: a man who refused to be moved.

Laurie Bamblett is Wiradyuri (Wiradjuri) and co-wrote this article on Wiradyuri Ngurambang.

Wendy Bunn is a great-granddaughter of Ooloogan.