49-658: Moomba may refer to: Moomba Festival , a Labour Day festival in Melbourne, Australia Moomba, South Australia , a town Moomba (constituency) , a constituency of the National Assembly of Zambia See also [ edit ] An Aboriginal Moomba: Out of the Dark , a 1951 Australian theatrical performance Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with
98-615: A Communist Party of Australia rally during this period. He joined forces with pastor and later co-founder of the Aboriginal Advancement League (AAL) Doug Nicholls , and with his brother Eric, the three travelled widely, using public rallies, community meetings, and the media to advocate for Aboriginal rights. They organised support for the Pilbara strike in Western Australia , and protests against
147-584: A Prince and Princess of Moomba designation consisting of two children chosen through a competition held by local radio station 3KZ . Fireworks are a big part of the Moomba festival and large displays occur on every night of the festival. The fireworks are above the Yarra river. A traditional carnival including a ferris wheel are held in the Alexandra Gardens along the river bank. In recent years,
196-482: A boomerang at Aboriginal Enterprises. He became well known for presenting ABC Television 's 12-part children's series, Alcheringa in 1962, which recognised and showcased Aboriginal culture. He also contributed to the associated Alcheringa book series (1963–1969) published by Rigby Ltd in Adelaide. He appeared with Doug Nicholls in the nine-minute-long documentary Forgotten People (1967), produced by
245-480: A million people, with a record attendance of 3.8 million (2.3 million tourists) set in 2018. In 2003, the event was renamed Melbourne Moomba Waterfest. Traditional events include the Moomba parade, crowning of Moomba monarchs, fireworks displays, carnivals in the gardens along the river, river activities including watersports, water floats and the Birdman Rally , as well as live music and bands. In 2021,
294-617: A prank in passing on the word with this sense. The first Moomba was a 15-day festival officially opened on 12 March 1955 by the State Governor , Sir Dallas Brooks . The inaugural programme included a fireworks display, parade, vintage car display, Henley rowing regatta, river floats including a "Lord Mayor's houseboat", cycling race, tennis at Kooyong, concerts including performances by the Victorian Symphony Orchestra and Royal Philharmonic choir, crowning of
343-425: A prize for being voted Queen. Kings of Moomba were named beginning in 1967. The role was awarded to male celebrities. It too was abolished following the 1987 festival as the gender-neutral monarch was introduced. Occasionally, a "court jester" was also named to accompany the king. In 1988, a gender-neutral Moomba Monarch position was established. Winners are typically celebrities and may be any gender. The first
392-616: A result of the success of the revue, in 1955 Onus suggested the name for the Moomba festival in Melbourne . He said that it means "let's get together and have fun", although this meaning has been disputed. Onus had roles in several Australian feature fiction films , including: In the 1950s and 1960s, Onus started using 8mm film (the home movie format), filming local tourists as well as visiting celebrities. This included footage of Jamaican singer Harry Belafonte learning how to throw
441-646: A serious road accident in 1952 disabled him for a year, he was afterwards able to use the compensation money to establish Aboriginal Enterprises, selling Aboriginal art and souvenirs in Belgrave, Victoria . Branches were opened at Port Augusta , South Australia (1964), and at Narbethong, Victoria (c.1965). They sold bark paintings from Arnhem Land as well as artefacts, furniture, textiles, and pottery produced locally. His businesses provided training and employment to many Aboriginal people (as well as non-Aboriginal), including family members: brother Eric became manager of
490-607: Is Warren "Woz" Owens , an actor. On 10 June 1947, in Melbourne, he married Mary McLintock Kelly, a Scot , after meeting at a Communist Party rally. Her parents, although disapproving of the marriage, had a house built for them next door to them, at 33 Terry Street, Deepdene . Their child, artist Lin Onus was born on 4 December 1948). Lin's children are Kenneth and Biralee from his first marriage, and Tiriki Onus from his second marriage, an artist, opera singer , and filmmaker . Writer, filmmaker, and activist Bruce McGuinness
539-477: Is a nephew of Bill Onus. After his death, there has been a greater appreciation of Onus' work and achievements. His work has been showcased in exhibitions such as Making a show of it (subtitled Indigenous entertainers and entrepreneurs in 1950s Melbourne ; held in Melbourne in 2008 ) and Modern Times: the untold story of Modernism in Australia ( Heide Museum of Modern Art , 2009 ). Other examples are held in
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#1732781126807588-602: Is reinforcing family values in society. One of the popular events associated with Moomba was the Herald Sun Outdoor Art Show in the Treasury Gardens . After the 2016 Moomba festival fireworks there was a large-scale brawl in and around Federation Square in Melbourne's Central Business District , largely between members of two gangs, Apex and Islander 23. In 2021 the usual Moomba events were cancelled by Melbourne City Council, for
637-898: The Aborigines Advancement League . Onus features as the subject of the 82-minute film Ablaze , made by his grandson, opera singer Tiriki Onus , co-directed with Alec Morgan (director of the documentary Lousy Little Sixpence (1983)), premiering in the Melbourne International Film Festival in August 2021, after six years in the making. The film was released in Australian cinemas in May 2022. The film also starred Uncle Jack Charles , and won an AWGIE Award for "Documentary – Broadcast or Exhibition". The documentary suggests that
686-635: The Australian Labor Party ), which was attempting to reform the Aborigines Welfare Board of New South Wales . In Redfern , where many families were arriving and settling, he organised fund-raising weekly dances. The funds were used for legal aid for Aboriginal war veterans, as well as the Redfern All Blacks rugby league team, co-founded in 1938 with Wesley Simms. In 1939 he returned home to take part in
735-901: The Bankstown Aerodrome as a rigger. During the Great Depression Onus took a number of jobs, including prospecting down the coast at Bega , and truck-driving upon his return to Sydney in 1934. He lived at the Salt Pan Creek camp in south-western Sydney, where refugees from the north and south coast and Cummeragunja lived, including Jack Patten, Jack Campbell, and Pearl Gibbs . In 1936, Onus appeared in Charles Chauvel 's feature film Uncivilised , then in 1937 had an acting role in Ken G.Hall 's romantic melodrama Lovers and Luggers (retitled Vengeance of
784-509: The Cummeragunja walk-off , which was one of the earliest mass protests of Indigenous Australians . Moving to Northern Territory for the filming of Harry Watt 's classic film The Overlanders in 1945, Onus saw Aboriginal stockmen being treated violently and being chained up. From 1946, Onus rejoined his parents in the Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy , this time working as a shipping clerk . He met his second wife, Mary Kelly, at
833-463: The National Film and Sound Archive years later. It features in his grandson Tirki Onus 's film Ablaze , about his grandfather. In 1949, Onus organised an Indigenous revue which brought together traditional ceremonies and acts with more contemporary acts and Indigenous artists. The revue was called Corroboree 1949 and was performed in Melbourne at Wirth's Olympia (the present site of
882-675: The Victorian Arts Centre ). The acts included Margaret Tucker , Edgar Bux, Miss Georgie Lee , May Lovett, Joyce McKinnon, Ted "Chook" Mullett and his Gum Street Band. In February 1951, Onus shamed the Victorian Government for excluding Aboriginal people from jubilee celebrations planned that year, causing them to allocate £2000 plus the services of non-Indigenous professionals, including theatre director Irene Mitchell, scriptwriter Jean Campbell, and set designer Dres Hardingham. An Aboriginal Moomba: Out of
931-698: The Woomera rocket testing range in South Australia . In 1949 Onus addressed a crowd at The Domain in Sydney with Bill Ferguson and Reg Saunders . He considered standing for federal parliament (as Ferguson did), but did not go ahead. The AAL was also involved in the push to retain Lake Tyers Mission , an Aboriginal reserve , and in 1963 he and his brother Eric Onus organised a march in Melbourne. They later teamed up with Stan Davey to form
980-569: The Yorta Yorta people , and he had a brother, Eric , and a sister, Maude, known as "Sissy". In 1916, in a time when many people were leaving Cummeragunja owing to land being taken and children being forcibly removed, Maude also left, moving to nearby Echuca , in Victoria. Bill grew up along with several other people destined to become advocates for and leaders of their people: Doug Nicholls , John (Jack) Patten , and Margaret Tucker . He
1029-551: The Dark was staged with great success over five nights and a matinee performance in June 1951 at the Princess Theatre, Melbourne , with actors paid out of AAL funds. Organised by Onus and Doug Nicholls, the revue included Indigenous opera singer Harold Blair and Indigenous blues singer Georgia Lee in the line-up. Onus also presented artist Albert Namatjira and actor Robert Tudawali to showcase Aboriginal culture. As
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#17327811268071078-662: The Dark . In 1954, Queen Elizabeth II visited the city for the first time as reigning monarch, and the City Development Association and the Melbourne City Council proposed an autumn carnival to be called "Moomba". A committee was formed in July, 1954 to organise and fund the event, successfully allocating £10,000 to its inaugural running. Before the event's first year, controversy was created when Labor Councillor Frank Williams resigned from
1127-754: The Deep in the US and UK ). In 1939, Onus joined the Aborigines Progressive Association (APA), later becoming secretary and becoming a full-time employee of the association, described as "an uncompromising radical". He was then living in the Sydney suburb of Newtown . He established the Moree branch of the APA, and was involved in the Committee for Aboriginal Citizen Rights (associated with
1176-625: The Moomba Festival) is held annually in Melbourne , Australia. Run by the City of Melbourne , it is Australia's largest free community festival. The Melburnian tradition is celebrated over four days, incorporating the Labour Day long weekend, from Friday to the second Monday in March. Moomba is culturally important to Melbourne, having been celebrated since 1955, and regularly attracts up to
1225-590: The Narbethong branch with his wife Winnie; sister Maude (Sissy) and several of her sons (James Onus, and Joe, Bruce , Dennis and John McGuinness); his son Lin; daughter Isobel and her son Warren (Woz) Owens. In August 1946, Onus was involved in a production called White Justice about the Pilbara strike , co-produced by the AAL and Melbourne's New Theatre in Flinders Street, Melbourne . An excerpt from
1274-513: The Pacific was a title contested by representatives from various countries and administrations from the Pacific and South-East Asian regions. It was decided by a beauty contest. The title was awarded from 1967 to 1977. The title of "Young Ambassador" was awarded during part of the period during which no monarchs were named (1999 to 2009). It was first awarded in 2003. From approximately 1981 to 1988 there were also instances where Moomba included
1323-533: The Queen of Moomba and riverside carnival. 25,000 turned out to watch the inaugural Moomba parade down Swanston Street. The first Moomba was heavily criticised by Melbourne's conservative establishment, including the Anglican Church, which at the time claimed it was hedonistic and embodying social decay. Council responded to the criticism citing that Moomba was intended to be a festival for families and as such
1372-453: The Queens of Moomba, awarded from the inaugural festival in 1955. The role was decided by a beauty pageant competition. It was awarded for the last time in 1987, as a new gender-neutral monarch position was established and the beauty pageant was abolished. Notably, 1966 Moomba Queen Erica McMillan was killed in a car accident seven weeks after the festival, in the car which she had received as
1421-587: The Riverina region. She was the sister of Jack Patten , who led the Cummeragunja walk-off in 1939. They had two daughters, Christine (1928–1951) and Isobel (1930– c. 1976 ), before getting divorced in 1941. One of Christine's daughters is Christine Donnelly , founder and as of 2022 still director of the Aboriginal Dance Theatre Redfern ; the other, Aiyisha, is also involved in the visual and performing arts . Isobel's son
1470-503: The Save Lake Tyers Committee, which eventually resulted in the first successful land rights claim in Victoria, when in 1971 Lake Tyers was returned to the traditional owners . Activists started utilising Aboriginal culture as a form of activism, and Onus played a big part in many types of performance. In the 1950s he joined the protest against British nuclear tests at Maralinga . When he intended to travel to
1519-498: The United States to talk about Indigenous rights in Australia with relation to the civil rights movement there, his passport was suddenly cancelled. It later emerged that ASIO had handed his file to the US embassy. Onus became a leader of Aboriginal Victorians in the fight for the "yes" vote in the 1967 referendum for over a decade, as the first Aboriginal president of the Aboriginal Advancement League (AAL), and in
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1568-592: The Yarra. Subsequent clean-ups reduced pollution to acceptable levels and 2004 saw its return. In 2005, the rally was held in the new inner city park, Birrarung Marr , close to its traditional location. Moomba's performers have included international musical acts such as ABBA , Neil Diamond and AC/DC as well as a number of smaller local acts. In 2012, performers included Tex Perkins and Daryl Braithwaite . Eckersley, M. 2012. 'Australian Indigenous Drama'. Tasman Press. Altona. Bill Onus William Townsend Onus Jnr (15 November 1906 – 10 January 1968)
1617-417: The avowed mission and vision statement of Moomba and are usually from sister cities (of which Melbourne has six), schools and community groups. They also promote some aspect of the arts , like singing, dancing, or design. Swanston Street is the traditional home of the floats and spine of the city and horse- or tractor-drawn floats use the tram tracks. Decorated trams are sometimes also featured. In 2001,
1666-468: The carnival has extended to Birrarung Marr across the river. It is popular with children, and dagwood dogs and doughnut stands line the paths. Moomba particularly celebrates the Yarra River , which has been much maligned during the history of the city until the last few decades. Water skiing in the Yarra was introduced to Moomba in 1959. The tournament has both Junior and Open divisions, with
1715-520: The committee, branding the planned carnival as a "Bourke street joke for the benefit of shopkeepers". A promotional theme song "Come to Melbourne for the Moomba" was written by Jack O'Hagan . The festival was originally named Moomba by organisers in the belief it was a native word meaning 'let's get together and have fun.' Credit is usually given to Bill Onus , a unionist and member of the Australian Aborigines' League for proposing
1764-586: The film company that produced Onus' film was put under political pressure to drop it. Onus died in 1968 of a coronary occlusion . His business enterprises had created a model for cultural maintenance, and helped to foster and rebuild Aboriginal social cohesion and cultural pride, and his actions contributed to "projecting a new and distinctive contemporary Aboriginal presence in south-eastern Australia". Onus married Bella Elizabeth Patten on 12 May 1928 at St Andrew's Presbyterian Church in West Wyalong , in
1813-657: The finals crowning the Moomba Masters Champions on Moomba Monday. The festival has featured Chinese dragon boats and the Moomba Showboat. Among the more popular events is the Birdman Rally , begun in 1976, which is traditionally held at the Swan Street Bridge over the Yarra River . However it has been held only intermittently during Moomba's history. It was stopped for a number of years due to high levels of E. coli contamination of
1862-506: The first time ever, due to COVID-19 restrictions and Victoria's third lockdown in February. The Moomba Parade and the Birdman Rally were already cancelled. Instead of the normal festival attractions, Lord Mayor Sally Capp said Moomba 2.0 will be: "... a series of fun, family friendly events and attractions across the city that will help bring the buzz back to Melbourne." There was ticketing and COVID-safe marshals at all sites. Moomba 2.0
1911-431: The parade came under media controversy when a French Troupe and Melbourne's Snuff Puppets had floats with naked people covered in body paint. In 2024 the parade, in its 70th year, was cancelled due to a heatwave with forecast temperatures from the high 30s to low 40s °C . The Moomba monarchy has been one of the most celebrated and controversial components of the festival over the years. The first Moomba monarchs were
1960-505: The play, which featured Eric Onus and his wife Wynne, Reg Saunders , Doug Nicholls, and many then-residents of Fitzroy , was captured on 35mm film by Bill Onus, making him possibly the first Aboriginal filmmaker (an accolade formerly assumed to belong to his nephew Bruce McGuinness for his 1972 film Blackfire ). The nine-and-a-half-minute film was only rediscovered in 2021, having never been released (possibly due to pressures exerted on potential distributors by ASIO ) and ended up in
2009-547: The same year became a representative on the Victorian Aboriginal Welfare Board . He was the first Aboriginal Justice of the Peace . During the 1940s and 1950s Onus became famous for his skill at boomerang -throwing, performing at various tourist sites in Victoria and NSW, and also toured New Zealand. Working from home he began a new career as a businessman, selling Aboriginal art . After
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2058-414: The sense of 'up your bum/arse'. Onus himself, according to his daughter-in-law, who said she had heard the story from Onus's wife Mary, had picked up the word from a word list of indigenous terms. Some say he did it to get back at the city council for having deliberately upstaged the traditional Labour Day march with a popular carnival. Lin Onus, his son, stated that indeed his father had intended to play
2107-422: The term, which he used in a play, Aboriginal Moomba in 1951. In 1969 Luise Hercus glossed the word mum (rhyming with 'vroom') as meaning 'bottom, rump', and suggested mum-ba meant something like 'bottom and..', and had been introduced from Healesville usage as a joke. In 1981 Barry Blake analysed the word as combining as mum (anus) and –ba , a locative suffix meaning 'at, in, on'. This would give
2156-470: The title Moomba . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Moomba&oldid=1172454239 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Moomba Festival Moomba (also known as
2205-561: The usual Moomba was cancelled by Melbourne City Council , for the first time ever, due to events and issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia . However "Moomba 2.0" events were held on 5–8 March. In 2024 a forecast of extremely hot weather caused the Moomba Parade to be cancelled. In 1951, Australia celebrated fifty years of Federation with a parade and the staging of the theatre production An Aboriginal Moomba: Out of
2254-518: Was a COVID-safe event. A parade (or "procession") and floats through the streets of Melbourne have been a key part of the Moomba festival since its beginning. Each year it attracts over 100,000 people to Melbourne's city centre as well as being shown on free-to-air television in Melbourne. The first Moomba procession was held in 1955. It was first televised in 1957, the year after the Melbourne 1956 Olympics . The floats have an annual theme, usually an elaboration on "Let's get together and have fun",
2303-578: Was an Aboriginal Australian political activist, designer, and showman , also known for his boomerang -throwing skills. He was father of artist Lin Onus . Onus was born on 15 November 1906 at the Cummeragunja Aboriginal Reserve in New South Wales , the eldest child of William Townsend Onus Snr and Maud Mary Onus, née Nelson, from Framlingham , Victoria . His father was of Wiradjuri background and his mother of
2352-577: Was educated at Thomas Shadrach James ' mission school in Cummeragunja as well as spending two years at school in Echuca from the age of ten. In 1918 the family followed his father to the Riverina , where William Snr worked as a drover . In 1922, the age of 16, Onus left home to become a shearer , which he pursued for seven years. In 1929 he moved to Sydney , where he initially worked at
2401-434: Was television presenter Jo Pearson . In 1999 the tradition ended when clowns Zig and Zag were appointed. After it was revealed that, years before, Zig (Jack Perry) had pleaded guilty to child molestation, they were dethroned. In 2010 the tradition was restored, with Molly Meldrum and Kate Ceberano being named King and Queen of Moomba. On some occasions, non-celebrities have been named for various reasons. The Queen of
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