Oodgeroo Noonuccal The Past

The poem ‘The Past, created by Oodgeroo Noonuccal (Kath Walker), an Australian government advocate who dedicated her life to Constitutional change and a ban against racial discrimination, made this poem to disclose her powerful connection to Australia and her will to fight for Aboriginal rights. The message being portrayed is that the past will not fade, this poem also portrays and discusses the significance of someone’s past and how it shapes them into the person they are today, especially the Aboriginal past.

Throughout the poem there was a potent use of language features which helps the Oodgeroo express her feelings and opinions in a unique manner. An example of language features where in stanza one, first verse it says, ‘the past is dead.’