Oodgeroo Noonuccal was born on the 3rd of November in 1920 as Kathleen Jean Mary Ruska and was a successful Aboriginal poet, writer, and political activist. Kath was born into the Noonuccal tribe on Stradbroke Island off Moreton Bay and is the second youngest of seven children of Edward (Ted) Ruska and Lucy née McCullough.
In 1934, Kath finished her primary education at Dunwich State School. Soon after Kath completed school, the time of the Depression was just beginning resulting in financial difficulties for many families. Unfortunately, this meant that Ted and Lucy could not afford the extra education for Kath that her older siblings had received, so she moved to Brisbane to work as a domestic servant providing meals and rooms for people.