Born

1890?
Near Winton, Queensland, Australia

Died

1964
Palm Island, Queensland, Australia

Occupation

Aboriginal Missionary

Summary

Angelina Noble was born in c1890 near Winton in central Queensland. After being abducted by an itinerant horse dealer, she eventually came under the notice of the police in Cairns, and was sent to Yarrabah mission. An expert horsewoman, she accompanied her Aboriginal missionary husband James Noble, in 1904, on a gruelling overland expedition from Yarrabah to choose the site for a new mission on the Mitchell River, where 1,554 square kilometres of land had been gazetted as an Aboriginal reserve. From there they went to Roper River for three years, to help establish a new church missionary society.

Further pioneering work began in 1913 when Reverend E. Gribble requested their assistance in establishing a new mission at Forrest River (Oombulgurri) in Western Australia. They stayed there until 1932, before returning to Queensland to assist with work on Palm Island. Angelina was widowed in 1941 and spent the rest of her life on Palm Island, dying there in 1964.

Sources used to compile this entry: 'Noble, Angelina (1879-1964)', in Australian Dictionary of Biography Online, Australian National University, 2006, http://www.adb.online.anu.edu.au/biogs/A110730b.htm; Horton, David (ed.). The Encyclopaedia of Aboriginal Australia, Vol. 2, Aboriginal Studies Press, Canberra, 1994, pp. 793-794.