Onus was born at the Cummeragunja Aboriginal Reserve to William Townsend Onus Sr and Maud Mary Onus, née Nelson. His father was of Wiradjuri background and his mother of the Yorta Yorta people. He 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. As a teenager his family travelled throughout the Riverina while his father worked as a drover.
Working life
At the age of 16, Onus left home to take up shearing, an occupation in which stayed for seven years. In 1928 Onus moved to Sydney, where he initially worked at the Bankstown Aerodrome as a rigger. During the Great Depression Onus took a number of jobs, including prospecting and truckdriving. During the late 1930s, Onus joined the Aborigines Progressive Association, later becoming secretary and becoming a full-time employee of the association. In 1936, Onus appeared in Charles Chauvel's feature filmUncivilised, then in 1937 had an acting role in Ken G.Hall's romantic melodrama Lovers and Luggers and this was followed by Onus' appearance in Harry Watt's 1946 classic film The Overlanders. In the mid-1940s Onus moved to Melbourne where he worked for a shipping company as a clerk. 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 acts included Margaret Tucker, Edgar Bux, Miss Georgie Lee, May Lovett, Joyce McKinnon, Ted 'Chook' Mullett and his Gum Street Band. In 1951, Bill Onus and Doug Nicholls organised another indigenous revue entitled 'An Indigenous Moomba: Out of the Dark' which included indigenous opera singerHarold Blair and indigenous blues singer Georgia Lee in the line up. In 1955 Bill Onus suggested the name for the Moomba festival in Melbourne. In 1952, Onus started the business venture "Aboriginal Enterprise Novelties", which produced collectables and souvenirs with Aboriginal motifs. By the end of the decade, he had his own factory and shop. He became known as a boomerang-thrower as he hawked his goods.
Media
Onus had roles in a series of Australian movies including Uncivilised, Lovers and Luggers and The Overlanders. He also appeared in the documentary Forgotten People. In 1962, Onus was presenter of the Alcheringadocumentary series on ABC Television.
