James NOBLE

NOBLE, JAMES (b. 1876, western Qld; d. 25 Nov 1941, Yarrabah, Qld). First ordained Anglican Aboriginal.

Of full Aboriginal descent, James Noble grew up in the gulf district of western Queensland. As a teenager, he worked as a stockman for the Doyle brothers, droving cattle between Qld and Invermein Station, near Scone NSW. Noble impressed the Doyles both intellectually and physically, so they agreed to his request to remain in Scone. He was employed at Invermein during the day and taught by staff of Scone Grammar School in the evenings. Through Mrs Doyle's Sunday school, he became a Christian, and was baptised and confirmed in St Luke's, Scone, in July 1885.

Becoming unwell in the cold climate, Noble was sent back to Qld to live with Canon Alfred Edwards at Hughendon. His athleticism brought him to the attention of professional race promoters, but when Edwards died, Bp Barlow arranged for Noble to move to Yarrabah. There he commenced his long association with Ernest Gribble (q.v.) and his life of service to his fellow Aboriginal people.

At Yarrabah, Noble married Maggie Frew. She and their infant son died, as did his new fiancée. Finally, Noble married Angelina, also from western Qld. Angelina had been abducted as a girl by a white stockman and forced to live as a 'drover's boy'. A talented young woman, she was to share James' life work. They became indispensable to Gribble, accompanying him on exploratory trips to Mitchell River and negotiating with Aboriginal people on his behalf. They were made responsible for Bukki Creek, the largest of Yarrabah's eight outstations. James Noble developed considerable preaching and teaching skill and became an active evangelist. In 1907, he preached to large gatherings in Brisbane. In 1908, the Nobles, together with Horace Reid, volunteered to go as founding missionaries to assist in the initial establishment of the new CMS mission at Roper River.

The Nobles returned to Yarrabah in 1910, but Gribble had already left. Shortly afterwards Gribble went to lead the Forrest River Mission in northern WA, from where he invited the Nobles to join him in 1914. There they made significant material and spiritual contributions to the mission. James constructed buildings and drove cattle to the mission from stations hundreds of kilometres away. Angelina tended the sick and used her considerable language skills to facilitate communication. James became the legendary 'black parson' of the Kimberleys. In May 1925, he toured the eastern states where he gained great fame as a preacher. On his return, James Noble was ordained deacon in St George's Cathedral, Perth, becoming the first Aboriginal to be ordained in the Church of England.

Gribble left Forrest River in 1928, and in 1932 the Nobles joined him again in Qld at the Palm Island Aboriginal Settlement. James' health began to deteriorate so the Nobles, with their six children, returned to Yarrabah in 1934. He died in 1941 and was buried at Yarrabah. Angelina contributed sincerely to the Christian community at Yarrabah for a further 22 years. She died in October 1964 and was buried beside James.

At Yarrabah today there are fifteen Aboriginal people who have become deacons and priests. One, Arthur Malcolm, has been consecrated bishop. They all express their common vocation in the James Noble Fellowship.

ADB 11; E R Gribble, A Despised Race, the Vanishing Aboriginal of Australia (Sydney, 1933); J W Harris, One Blood (Sutherland, 1990); G Higgins, James Noble of Yarrabah (Lawson, 1981)

JOHN HARRIS