Charles Perkins
Charles Perkins was a prominent Aboriginal Australian activist, born in 1936 in the Northern Territory. He was of Arrernte and Kalkadoon descent and faced significant discrimination throughout his early life, which shaped his commitment to advocating for Indigenous rights. Perkins became a skilled athlete, excelling in soccer and earning the title of South Australian Player of the Year in 1957. His activism began to flourish during his time at the University of Sydney, where he led the Freedom Ride in 1965, a pivotal protest against racial discrimination, particularly aimed at improving conditions for Aboriginal people.
Throughout his career, Perkins held various roles, including a senior position in the Department of Aboriginal Affairs and later as the first Aboriginal Secretary of the department. He was instrumental in raising awareness of Indigenous issues and was involved in significant movements for land rights and recognition. Perkins's legacy includes the establishment of the Charles Perkins Centre at the University of Sydney, which focuses on health care solutions. He was honored with an Order of Australia medal in 1987, and his contributions to civil rights have left a lasting impact on Australian society, influencing constitutional changes and public perceptions of Aboriginal peoples. Perkins passed away in 2000, but his work continues to inspire generations of Indigenous leaders.
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Subject Terms
Charles Perkins
Indigenous activist
- Born: June 16, 1936
- Birthplace: Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia
- Died: October 19, 2000
- Place of death: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Significance: Charles Perkins was an Australian Aboriginal activist. He was the first Aboriginal man to graduate from a university in Australia. While at the University of Sydney, he organized the 1965 Freedom Ride, a protest against discrimination and poor living conditions faced by Indigenous people. He served a number of roles in support of Aboriginal communities over the years and was the first Aboriginal person to serve as Secretary of the Department of Aboriginal Affairs.
Background
Charles Perkins was born to Hetti Perkins and Martin Connelly at the Alice Springs Telegraph Station Aboriginal Reserve in the Northern Territory, Australia, in 1936. He was an Aboriginal Arrernte and Kalkadoon (Kalkatung). His father left when he was young.
Perkins initially lived in a mud hut with his mother, but they were forced to relocated to Rainbow Town because it was illegal for Aboriginal people to live in Alice Springs at that time. He attended a segregated school on the Telegraph Station reserve. When he was ten years old, he moved to Adelaide to live at the St. Francis hostel for Aboriginal boys. He attended a non-segregated school in Adelaide Hills. During these years, Perkins began to understand the extent of discrimination against Aboriginal people. In school, he boxed and played sports including soccer, rugby, and cricket. He went on to study at the Le Fevre Boys’ Technical School but failed every subject and was asked to leave. He left the hostel at age fifteen.
Perkins was a gifted athlete and played junior soccer in his teens. He played for St. George Football Club, a semi-professional soccer club, when he was twenty. In 1957 he was named South Australian Player of the Year. Perkins moved to England for a tryout in 1957. He worked a few jobs in England before he returned to Australia. Starting in 1961, he was captain and coach for the Pan-Hellenic soccer club, which would later be known as Sydney Olympic Football Club. This helped him finance his studies at the University of Sydney. He completed his high school requirements and enrolled in the university in 1963. Perkins initially struggled to keep up with classes. He was elected president of the newly formed Student Action for Aborigines group.
Life’s Work
In 1965, Perkins organized a group of thirty other students to travel to the communities of Walgett, Moree, Bowraville, and Kempsey in a fifteen-day protest against discrimination and poor living conditions faced by Indigenous communities. At the time, Aboriginal people were not recognized as Australians and were routinely discriminated against and segregated. Among their actions on the trip, Perkins and other Freedom Ride activists blocked the entrance to the Moree swimming pool because Aboriginal people were banned from using it. Aboriginal children were only allowed to use the pool for school swimming lessons. The protesters were attacked by angry White residents, and the police tried to remove them from the entrance. However, the protesters eventually convinced town leaders to change Moree’s policy and Aboriginal residents were permitted to use the pool. After the confrontation, the Freedom Ride protest was picked up by national media. Perkins said he drew inspiration from the Freedom Riders in the United States who were touring the South in buses during the civil rights movement.
Perkins earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Sydney in 1966. He moved to Canberra in 1969 to work in the Office of Aboriginal Affairs. In 1972, he joined the Tent Embassy in Canberra, which called for the compensation and recognition of Aboriginal land and human rights.
Perkins received a life-saving kidney transplant in 1972. This gift made him determined to make a difference for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. In 1973, he was appointed to a senior executive position with the Department of Aboriginal Affairs, but he was reprimanded several times for speaking in public and leading demonstrations. In 1974, he was forced to take a year’s leave without pay because of his strained relationship with the minister of Aboriginal Affairs, Senator Jim Cavanaugh. However, he had returned to the department by 1976.
In 1984, Perkins became the first Aboriginal person to serve as Secretary of the Department of Aboriginal Affairs. He resigned from his role with the Department of Aboriginal Affairs in 1988, following setbacks in Native Title legislation. He was elected commissioner of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission in Alice Springs in 1993 and served as deputy chairman from 1994 to 1995.
Perkins served as the manager of the Foundation for Aboriginal Affairs in Sydney and chairman of the Aboriginal Development Commission and Aboriginal Hostels. He was also a mentor to several Australian Aboriginal athletes. He released the book, A Bastard Like Me, in 1975.
Impact
Perkins was the first Aboriginal person to graduate from a university in Australia. The Freedom Ride that he organized as a student is recognized as one of Australia’s most significant civil rights events and helped impact Australians’ viewpoints of Aboriginal people. In 1967, two years after the Freedom Ride, Australians voted to change the constitution to include Aboriginal people in the census. Additionally, discriminatory laws were lifted in towns like Moree.
The University of Sydney’s Charles Perkins Centre, which focuses on health care solutions across the globe, was named in his honor. In 2020, two decades after his death, Sydney University celebrated his legacy with the Charles Perkins Oration, which recognizes emerging Indigenous leaders. The annual award comes with a $4,000 prize.
Perkins has been recognized in many ways. He was honored in 1987 with an Order of Australia medal. In March 2023, the University of Sydney’s Charles Perkins Centre commemorated Perkins’s life work by installing a Blue Plaque, part of a heritage engagement program funded by the New South Wales government to recognize notable people of the state. His state funeral in Sydney was carried live on television.
Personal Life
Perkins married Eileen Munchenberg in 1961, and the two moved to Sydney where Perkins was to play soccer. The couple had three children: daughters Hetty and Rachel and a son, Adam.
Bibliography
“Charles Nelson Perkins.” National Archives of Australia, www.naa.gov.au/explore-collection/first-australians/other-resources-about-first-australians/charles-nelson-perkins. Accessed 21 June 2023.
“Dr Charles Perkins’ Extraordinary Legacy Honoured with Blue Plaque.” The University of Sydney, 23 Mar. 2023, www.sydney.edu.au/news-opinion/news/2023/03/23/dr-charles-perkins-extraordinary-legacy-honoured-with-blue-plaque.html. Accessed 21 June 2023.
“Dr. Charles Perkins Oration.” The University of Sydney, 25 Oct. 2022, www.sydney.edu.au/about-us/vision-and-values/our-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-community/dr-charles-perkins-oration.html. Accessed 21 June 2023.
Gray, Paul, and Coombes, Lindon. “Charles Perkins Forced Australia to Confront Its Racist Past. His Fight for Justice Continues Today.” The Conversation, 5 Aug. 2020, theconversation.com/charles-perkins-forced-australia-to-confront-its-racist-past-his-fight-for-justice-continues-today-139303. Accessed 21 June 2023.
“Indigenous Activist and Leader, Charles Perkins.” National Archives of Australia, 2010, www.naa.gov.au/students-and-teachers/learning-resources/learning-resource-themes/government-and-democracy/activism/indigenous-activist-and-leader-charles-perkins. Accessed 21 June 2023.
Kelly, Nat. “Charlie Perkins.” Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 16 Nov. 2020, www.abc.net.au/btn/classroom/charlie-perkins/12875378. Accessed 21 June 2023.
“Perkins, Charles Nelson (Charlie) (1936-2000).” Indigenous Australia, ia.anu.edu.au/biography/perkins-charles-nelson-charlie-810. Accessed 21 June 2023.
“Who Is Charles Perkins?” The University of Sydney Charles Perkins Centre, www.sydney.edu.au/charles-perkins-centre/about/who-is-charles-perkins.html. Accessed 21 June 2023.