Documents show QPAC theatre naming sidelined Oodgeroo Noonuccal recommendation

Internal documents have revealed Queensland’s arts minister signed off on the name of QPAC’s newest theatre months before the public was asked for input, overriding a recommendation that the venue honour acclaimed Aboriginal poet and activist Oodgeroo Noonuccal.

The 1,500-seat venue, now known as the Glasshouse Theatre, opened to the public earlier this month at Brisbane’s Queensland Performing Arts Centre. But papers released under right-to-information laws show QPAC’s board and its Indigenous advisory group had recommended the theatre be named the “Oodgeroo Theatre” as part of a wider list of options put forward in 2024.

Oodgeroo Noonuccal – also known as Kath Walker – was a Quandamooka woman from Minjerribah (North Stradbroke Island) who became a leading voice for Aboriginal rights. Her 1964 collection We Are Going is widely recognised as the first book of verse published by an Aboriginal woman, and her work is still studied and performed across Australia.

According to the documents, Arts Minister John-Paul Langbroek indicated he wanted the name “Glasshouse Theatre” and approved it on 3 February 2025, ahead of a later public consultation.

When the consultation was eventually held in July 2025, Queenslanders were invited to choose from four options – Glasshouse Theatre, Lantern Theatre, Watershed Theatre and Russell Street Theatre – or suggest an alternative. In a ministerial statement at the time, the government said “almost half” of more than 5,000 responses backed Glasshouse Theatre, citing the venue’s glass façade.

Oodgeroo’s family and arts advocates say the process left out a chance to recognise a major figure in Indigenous cultural and political life. Oodgeroo’s grandson, Raymond Walker, said: “If it was named that, then we would have had so much pride in that.”

The chair of the Australian Society of Authors, Jennifer Mills, criticised the decision, saying: “I think it’s really insulting to that community.”

QPAC’s Glasshouse Theatre is the centrepiece of a major expansion at the South Bank precinct. QPAC has described the opening as a milestone for the cultural sector, with the new venue expected to lift total annual visitation and bring more large-scale productions to Brisbane.

The naming dispute has reopened broader questions about who is celebrated in public spaces and how First Nations voices are weighed in decisions that affect cultural institutions. For Indigenous communities and advocates, the concern is not simply a missed naming opportunity, but a signal about whose histories are treated as central in Queensland’s public story.