Angelina Noble (c.1879-1964) was born in Longreach, Queensland. She married James Noble in 1904, and together they worked as missionaries helping to found churches across Northern Australia. Angela was known particularly as a gifted linguist, fluent in at least five Aboriginal languages. Sometimes the only female missionary, her variety of roles included caring for the sick, teaching in the mission school, acting as baker and cook, and also herding cattle. Angela and James had six children. She survived James by 23 years, and died at Yarrabah, Queensland. As an indigenous Christian leader, her example continues to inspire women of all backgrounds today. To learn more about Angelina’s life and ministry, visit her entry in The Encyclopaedia of Women and Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia.
donations
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about
The aim of the Angelina Noble Centre is to encourage, support and facilitate women cross-cultural workers undertaking coursework Masters research projects and higher degree research in cross-cultural missions.
Although women are in the majority in the Church worldwide, they do not have the same degree of access to participate in theological higher education. The effect of this disparity is to exclude women, who constitute the majority of the world’s missionary workforce, from participation in the scholarly conversation that affects their professional practice as missionaries. Not only are women’s perspectives omitted in the understanding of missiology, but potential female scholars miss out on the formative effects of mentoring and peer review from their more experienced peers. The ANC provides an opportunity for women scholars who are not permanent employees of academic institutions to have a voice concerning cross-cultural missions practice and be developed as scholars in the discipline of missiology.
The Centre provides a home-base for women missions scholars to develop a verifiable academic identity, access library resources and be mentored by more experienced women missiologists. This ‘home’ is a virtual concept. It is an international network connecting in an online environment, in order to reach as many potential scholars as possible.
ANC scholars affirm the Lausanne Movement Cape Town Commitment.
governance
The ANC is an accredited Australian charity (ABN 81630628054). The company members and its directors are the Mentors.
We have an External Board which provides oversight, support and advice. Its members include a female cross-cultural missionary working in a country other than her home country, three of the Mentors, as well as:
Dr Diane Marshall (Chair) – Leadership Mentor, SIM International
Dr Leanne Dzubinski
conferences
The ANC runs biannual online conferences (April/May & October) for women in cross-cultural ministry. Our next conference is a combined webinar on women’s global leadership on 17th September 2025. Click on the image for details.
join with us
Joining the ANC brings you into our collaborative learning community. We meet together regularly to learn from and support each other in research in cross-cultural missions. We also share news and resources which help us in our research and writing. The three categories of membership are described below.
mentor
Mentors are women cross-cultural mission practitioners who are actively involved in cross-cultural missions research and are committed to supervising and mentoring new researchers. They are qualified to supervise doctoral degrees.
associate researcher
Associate Researchers are women who are involved in cross-cultural missions research but are not available or not yet qualified to mentor new researchers.
collaborative partner
Collaborative partners are men, or people from non-missiological disciplines who would like to learn from or collaborate with us in research.
ANC mentors (research supervisors)
Dr Catherine Austin
Catherine has experience in pioneer ministry in East Asia as well as ministry experience in Australia. She has a Bachelor of Psychology and PhD in Sociology, and her research has focused on Australian identity, belonging, social identity theory, cultural awareness, inclusion, diversity, migration and mobility. She is experienced in discourse, frame, comparative, and thematic analysis;…
ANC Research Training
Focusing on missiological, qualitative research We are pleased to announce the start of ANC research training. Our training will be an informal, mentored approach focusing on participants’ specific interests, rather than simply presenting information. Note: The focus of the ANC is intercultural ministry and qualitative research. Introduction to qualitative research We will run two “Introduction…
Dr Tamie Davis
Tamie Davis served with CMS Australia in Tanzania from 2013-2023 in association with St John’s University of Tanzania and Tanzania Fellowship of Evangelical Students (TAFES). She is passionate about recognising and heralding God’s work in the majority world church, especially among women. Her PhD explored the prosperity theology of TAFES women and how it is…
Angelina Noble Centre 