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This Accidental Present: A Story of Two Families
In 1951, Kath Walker (later Oodgeroo Noonuccal) became the live-in housekeeper for the family of Sir Raphael and Lady Cilento, an illustrious Brisbane medical family with connections to the United Nations, and - through Diane Cilento and her husband Sean Connery - global show business.
In 1953, Kath had a son - Vivian - with the scion of the Cilento clan, Dr Raff Cilento Jnr, who didn't acknowledge his paternity. Oodgeroo became the best-selling poet in Australia, and an important
Aboriginal activist - while Raff Jnr would become a neurosurgeon in New York.
Vivian was a renowned choreographer and dancer in Sydney and London, and for a while, part-owner of the world's largest gay disco in West Hollywood.
Yet at the heart of the lifelong relationship between these families was a secret. On her deathbed, Oodgeroo wanted to know whether Lady Cilento ever knew that Vivian was her grandson.
In 1953, Kath had a son - Vivian - with the scion of the Cilento clan, Dr Raff Cilento Jnr, who didn't acknowledge his paternity. Oodgeroo became the best-selling poet in Australia, and an important
Aboriginal activist - while Raff Jnr would become a neurosurgeon in New York.
Vivian was a renowned choreographer and dancer in Sydney and London, and for a while, part-owner of the world's largest gay disco in West Hollywood.
Yet at the heart of the lifelong relationship between these families was a secret. On her deathbed, Oodgeroo wanted to know whether Lady Cilento ever knew that Vivian was her grandson.
140 pages
Published January 1, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 1, 2025
Brisbane was a very small town in the 1950s. When Kath Walker became a live in housekeeper for the Cilento family, the city’s already tight-knit cultural scene became even more interconnected, setting the stage for one of Queensland’s most significant literary and political lives.
As books always find me at the most appropriate times, this one was gifted to me by a most beloved uncle and perfectly timed with my teaching of both Oodgeroo and Judith Wright’s poetry next term. Wright features as a champion and mentor for Oodgeroo - capturing just one moment of interconnectedness in Brisbane’s literary scene.
“This accidental present” is Wilson’s extremely readable biography of Oodgeroo, the Cilento family, and her sons Dennis and Vivian, both of whom appear in her writing and art. The beauty of Wilson’s biography is its ability to capture a central theme in Noonuccal’s poetry - the ongoing legacy of the enduring past and its impact on the present.
She writes:
“Let no one say the past is dead.
The past is all about us and within.”
And with this thoughtful opening, it becomes clear why Oodgeroo’s poetry has woven itself through my teaching career, and through my life. Her poetry is a direct, yet subtle, indictment of our country’s colonial past, and celebration of the personal histories of native Australia encapsulates the very tension explored in this biography.
She continues:
“Haunted by the tribal memories. I know
This little now, this accidental present
Is not the all of me, whose long making
Is so much of the past.”
Within the biography, the connection between housekeeper and employer is instantly and fundamentally complicated by the vast, submerged history of race, dispossession, and Indigenous resilience that Walker carried with her.
The book, much like the titular poem “The Past,” shows that the seemingly small town of Brisbane could not contain the "long making" of its people. Walker's time with the Cilento family was not just a domestic arrangement; it was the site where an ancient past and a burgeoning political future met and began to change one another.
The most fascinating aspect of the biography is Noonuccal’s relationship with her sons - wayward Dennis - who appears in the captivating “Son of Mine” where “my son, your troubled eyes search mine” and Vivian.
Vivian, the officially unacknowledged love child of Oodgeroo and Raff Cilento, and his effervescent contributions to the arts, as a successful choreographer and visual artist, in London, Paris and LA, and then later Brisbane and Sydney, was thoughtfully researched and included in detail. I could and will try to read much more about his 38 years of life.
Overall, Wilson’s biography excels at demonstrating how the personal, historical weight, “the past is all about us and within,” transformed a simple, “accidental present” into a moment of profound cultural and political significance.
As books always find me at the most appropriate times, this one was gifted to me by a most beloved uncle and perfectly timed with my teaching of both Oodgeroo and Judith Wright’s poetry next term. Wright features as a champion and mentor for Oodgeroo - capturing just one moment of interconnectedness in Brisbane’s literary scene.
“This accidental present” is Wilson’s extremely readable biography of Oodgeroo, the Cilento family, and her sons Dennis and Vivian, both of whom appear in her writing and art. The beauty of Wilson’s biography is its ability to capture a central theme in Noonuccal’s poetry - the ongoing legacy of the enduring past and its impact on the present.
She writes:
“Let no one say the past is dead.
The past is all about us and within.”
And with this thoughtful opening, it becomes clear why Oodgeroo’s poetry has woven itself through my teaching career, and through my life. Her poetry is a direct, yet subtle, indictment of our country’s colonial past, and celebration of the personal histories of native Australia encapsulates the very tension explored in this biography.
She continues:
“Haunted by the tribal memories. I know
This little now, this accidental present
Is not the all of me, whose long making
Is so much of the past.”
Within the biography, the connection between housekeeper and employer is instantly and fundamentally complicated by the vast, submerged history of race, dispossession, and Indigenous resilience that Walker carried with her.
The book, much like the titular poem “The Past,” shows that the seemingly small town of Brisbane could not contain the "long making" of its people. Walker's time with the Cilento family was not just a domestic arrangement; it was the site where an ancient past and a burgeoning political future met and began to change one another.
The most fascinating aspect of the biography is Noonuccal’s relationship with her sons - wayward Dennis - who appears in the captivating “Son of Mine” where “my son, your troubled eyes search mine” and Vivian.
Vivian, the officially unacknowledged love child of Oodgeroo and Raff Cilento, and his effervescent contributions to the arts, as a successful choreographer and visual artist, in London, Paris and LA, and then later Brisbane and Sydney, was thoughtfully researched and included in detail. I could and will try to read much more about his 38 years of life.
Overall, Wilson’s biography excels at demonstrating how the personal, historical weight, “the past is all about us and within,” transformed a simple, “accidental present” into a moment of profound cultural and political significance.
December 22, 2023
Oodgeroo Noonuccal ((Kath Walker) played such a formidable role in the fight for Aboriginal rights from the 1930s until her death in 1993. She is also one of Australia’s best known poets. Her association with the well-known and highly respected Brisbane Cilento family during her life was highly unusual at the time where segregation was rife.
Ross Wilson has obviously carried out extensive research on both families for this book, and his work does give an insight into these extremely interesting people but I felt it was, at times, a little flat, simply a regurgitation of facts.
Ross Wilson has obviously carried out extensive research on both families for this book, and his work does give an insight into these extremely interesting people but I felt it was, at times, a little flat, simply a regurgitation of facts.
December 16, 2023
Oodgeroo Noonuccal, known to previous generations of Australians as Kath Walker, is the first Australian Aboriginal to publish a book of poetry. Not being knowledgable on poetry or on Australian Aboriginal activism, I knew next to nothing about her. She deserves to be remembered. And Ross Wilson has brought her and her family and close connections back to life in way I have never seen before. In reading Ross's account I learned why she is lauded as a visonary, a truly great Australian! However, despite her many gifts, her relationships show her to be all too human, still one of us. Kath defied the conventions of her time, transcended the expectations of others, yet, it has to be said prevented from achieving even greater renown because of colonial minded paternalism, and white-race—ignorance. Ross Wilson’s book, covering, several members of the Cilento family, the life story of her son, Vivian Walker, show how agonising and heartbreaking a life can be. Vivian's biological father was Rafe Cilento, eldest son of Sir Raphael and Lady Phyllis Cilento, he is a central figure, a renowned figure in his day. It is as the title states, the story of two families, two extraordinary and very famous families.
July 23, 2023
Excellent biography of Oodgeroo Noonuccal and her son Vivian Walker and fascinating portrayal of life in Brisbane/South-East Queensland in the 30s to 80s. Absolutely loved it !
July 24, 2023
So interesting to read the story of this amazing indigenous trailblazer!
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews