Death of Charles Nelson Perkins
Page: 9493
Dr REFSHAUGE (Marrickville—Deputy Premier, Minister for Urban Affairs and Planning, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, and Minister for Housing) [11.30 a.m.]: I move:
That this House:
(1) acknowledges with sadness the death of Charles Perkins;
(2) conveys our respect and condolences to his family and friends; and
(3) acknowledges his extraordinary work across a lifetime to bring about a better future for Aboriginal people.
The news of the passing of Charles Perkins made it a sad day in our country's history. Charlie was a catalyst for an undreamed of revolution in Aboriginal affairs; he was a pioneer of Aboriginal activism. While a nation was being born and shaped, a race was dying and fading into the shadows. Charlie Perkins was Aboriginal Australia's modern-day warrior who fought not with spears but with words. Perkins had humble beginnings. He was born in 1936 of the Arrente people at the Television Station Aboriginal Reserve in the Northern Territory. At age 10 he was taken from his tribal lands and his family—although in these circumstances his family was willing—to the St Frances children's home in Adelaide, where attempts were made to rob him of his Aboriginal culture and heritage. He was subjected also to discrimination and taught to devalue and dismiss his Aboriginality.
Many things contributed to Perkins embarking on the fight for Aboriginal rights: being made to stand outside the pub to be served, Aboriginal people being forcibly kept on reserves, the declaration of Aboriginal-free areas and the forced removal of children from their families. At a time when the willingness of Aboriginal people to stand up for their rights was gaining momentum and people who did so were gaining respect, Charlie was there. Charles Perkins was part of a younger generation that had learnt the language of dissent and the symbolism of social action. He was at the cutting edge of the struggle for the rights of the Aboriginal people. Perkins' contribution to shaping the nation had been priceless, none more so than his freedom rides through north-western New South Wales towns. They highlighted the real life for Aboriginal people and showed the exclusion, and the acidic and acrimonious reality that Aboriginal people had to live from day to day.
Charlie showed clearly how local administration acted to exclude Aboriginal people from the everyday life of towns. He was confronted with raw anger, hostility and hatred from some of the white population wherever he ventured. When he spoke of the freedom rides he spoke of how "off they had gone, in full ignorance of what was ahead, with not much courage and not too much knowledge, but he thought let's do it anyway". At Walgett and then Moree, freedom riders were confronted with ugly crowds of spitting and fruit and rock-throwing townspeople. Perkins felt every inch a threatened man. He said:
I thought I was going to get bashed up. I was punched in the back of the head. I had egg thrown down the back of my shirt, sand poured over my face and over the top of my head, and blokes, women too, pushed and shoved and bottles were flying through the air.
At Walgett there was a heated confrontation outside the local RSL club, which barred Aboriginal membership, even to those Aboriginal soldiers and nurses who had fought and nursed during World War I and World War II. In Moree they confronted the management of the swimming pool, which barred Aboriginal people from using the pool and, after hours of demonstrating, a group of Aboriginal children were allowed in. The disclosure of this blatant discrimination, coupled with the open hostility of Moree and Walgett residents, gained much publicity and favourable comment from many spheres of Australia. Growing headlines and public opinion were so strong that some changes were forced in the towns that were visited, as many uncomfortable parallels were being drawn between South Africa and Australia. Perkins had become the eyes of a nation that for so long was blinded to the plight of its Aboriginal people. He introduced many people to an Australia they never knew existed—an ugly Australia that was far removed from the tag "the lucky country". The Perkins-led freedom rides in the 1960s rejuvenated the push for black power in white Australia. From his actions grew a new-found confidence in Aboriginal people: they began to assert themselves; they stood up and took back control of their own destinies. Leading Aboriginal activist Kevin Gilbert was right when he said:
No people are willing to stand by and see their rights, their human rights usurped or eroded and not do anything.
Lyall Munro Jnr was one of the children allowed into the Moree pool on that stormy day back in 1965. He has often remarked that he saw the power of direct action that day in Moree. He later became an activist for Aboriginal rights. Charlie played an integral part in the dramatic progress of Aboriginal affairs in the late 1960s and 1970s. A rich tapestry began to emerge of both Federal and State government programs directed towards improving Aboriginal health, education, housing and employment. Charlie had become a bureaucrat in 1969 when he joined the Commonwealth public service and eventually was appointed Deputy Secretary of the Department of Aboriginal Affairs in 1979. But even from within the walls of bureaucracy Charlie was not averse to speaking his mind publicly, even when it meant breaching public service protocol.
From time to time conservative politicians called to have him sacked because of his outspokenness, which only indicated how much his passion for his people outweighed his allegiance to the public service. Charlie spoke often of the helplessness he felt being locked up in the paper welfare of the public service, and just like a sand trap it quickly swallowed him up. Sometimes we need to remind ourselves that some people are not meant to be in cages; their feathers are just too bright. Charlie's journey may have ended but his legacy will always remain etched in Australian history. He committed his life to fighting against racism and ignorance. During his time he awakened the sleepy consciousness of Australia. During his final years Charlie focused his energy on the Aboriginal youth in Australia who he felt were real victims of not belonging and of inferiority. He spoke of a young man:
I stood in a bank here recently and watched a young Aboriginal man almost whisper to the teller with his head down. And that typifies to me the feelings and experiences of many young Aboriginal Australians today in Australian society.
Australian society, as much as any other society in the world, values people according to the colour of their skin, their race, their wealth and the suburbs they live, and the tragedy is young Aborigines are devalued in Australian society.
They learn and receive messages from society of low worth and expectations of mediocrity and failure.
I challenge these messages and dream for young Aboriginal Australians and I encourage them to believe in themselves.
Charles Perkins was to Australia what Nelson Mandela was to South Africa and what Martin Luther King was to America. One of his most enduring gifts would have to be that he gave this nation of ours a soul. Charlie is survived by his wife, Eileen, and his three children, Hetti, Rachel and Adam, and his grandchildren. His three children showed great courage on the day of their father's funeral and shared with us some of their personal memories of life with the man we all called Charlie. We pass on our sincerest condolences and sympathy to the Perkins family. He will forever be in our hearts.
Mr HAZZARD (Wakehurst) [11.37 a.m.]: I support the motion moved by the Deputy Premier and express the condolences and sympathy of the New South Wales Liberal and National parties to the families and friends of a great Australian, Charles Perkins. Charles Perkins was born in Alice Springs in 1936. He died at the age of 64, which might be considered a fairly young age for Australians, but, regrettably, it reflects the early age at which many Aboriginal Australians pass on. His life was typical of someone who was born into prejudice but was a fighter for his people against that prejudice. He was born to an Arrente mother and a Kalkadoon father. At age 10 he was taken to a home for Aboriginal boys in Adelaide. The Deputy Premier said there was some issue about the circumstances in which he was taken to that home, which was referred to in the Sydney Morning Herald on 19 October.
Speaking about the offer made to his mother by Percy Smith, who offered to take him to an Anglican hostel for boys, Charlie said that it was "an offer that she could not refuse." That raises all the arguments and debate, of course, about the stolen generation. I have no doubt that at that time, in 1946, bearing in mind the degree of racial prejudice and the lack of opportunity for Aboriginal people, his mother did not think that she had a choice. She would have thought that it was in the best interests of her son that he be given an opportunity to be educated away from the community into which he had been born. That flags to many of us an awareness of the range of ways in which Aboriginal people could become part of the stolen generation. It could have been as a result of specific government policy; it could simply have been the result of good people with misplaced priorities trying to do good things. In Charlie Perkins' case there is no doubt that the result was that he was identified as a member of the stolen generation. Through that identification he perhaps found even more passion for his support of Aboriginal Australians in their fight against racism.
Charlie was without doubt a trailblazer for Aboriginal people. He fought for Aboriginal rights and equality when Aboriginal people suffered indifference and prejudice. After he went to Adelaide he was educated at LeFevre Boys Technical School, eventually becoming qualified as a fitter and turner. He was a great sportsman and achieved a high level of ability in playing soccer. In the 1950s he went to the United Kingdom, where I think he played for Everton. He then came back to Australia and played for Croatia in Adelaide and later for Pan-Hellenic in Sydney. By 1965, after studying at the University of Sydney, he obtained an arts degree. In so doing he became the first Australian Aboriginal university graduate. He was at the cutting edge of Aboriginal exposure to tertiary education. He was a role model for Aboriginal people. Even today there are not nearly enough Aboriginal people passing through secondary school, and very few undertaking tertiary studies. His position at the forefront of tertiary studies involving Aboriginal Australians is an example his great capacity.
Charlie became a leading Aboriginal rights activist and it is said that his activism developed greatly whilst he was at university. That is perhaps not surprising because many university students develop their views on life whilst undertaking university studies. He was a strident campaigner, raising issues that often got people offside, both within the Aboriginal community and outside of it. But at least he ensured that Aboriginal issues were discussed. Charlie Perkins knew that if issues are hidden away and not discussed in the public forum there is no chance of change. Sometimes not everyone was comfortable with some of the things he said. Indeed, I am happy to admit that on occasions Charlie said things which caused me a degree of unease. Nevertheless, we must respect that he understood the need to get these issues out into the public forum where they could be discussed, focussed on and progressed.
Most Australians would know about Martin Luther King and the strong campaigns undertaken in the United States of America advocating freedoms and rights for black Americans. Not so many Australians would know that Charlie Perkins was pursuing similar activities in New South Wales at about the same time. He probably got the idea of the freedom rides from what was happening in the United States. I can well imagine that at that time Aboriginal people, having been downtrodden for so many years, would have wondered about the value of doing anything. I suspect that Charlie Perkins may well have thought the same thing. He was probably querying whether it was all worth it. Nevertheless, the measure of the man was that he and a group of other activists went on freedom rides principally through the north-western parts of New South Wales, where, as the Deputy Premier said earlier, he met with entrenched views which would be considered racist.
Charlie met those views with great enthusiasm and with the desire to bring them to the fore in public discussion. He met those views with the hope of changing them. We can look back on that period and say that he and the people who accompanied him were catalysts for much of the debate that has gone on in New South Wales in recent years. That debate has led to a lessening of racism—I do not say a complete removal—and, at least, to a move to try to ensure that Aboriginal Australians get a fair go. I do not believe Aboriginal people in this day and age are getting a fair go. They still suffer prejudice, health problems, inadequate education, closure from job opportunities. In essence, Aboriginal people are still disadvantaged, probably more so than any other group in our community. But at least people like Charlie Perkins put the case for disadvantages to be removed. As I said, I did not always agree with his views.
Charlie's career was one of great success. He came from very humble beginnings in Alice Springs and yet by 1969 he had entered the public service. He then progressed rapidly through the Commonwealth Department of Aboriginal Affairs, becoming head of the department in 1984. As I understand it, he had a disagreement with the then Minister, Gerry Hand, and shortly thereafter he was out of that position. But he continued to be actively involved in the Aboriginal community through many different activities. In more recent years he was one of the main players in ensuring that there was great emphasis on taking steps towards reconciliation. Again, he and I did not always agree on how those steps should be taken. Nevertheless, he advocated that reconciliation should be on people's lips, that it should be considered and thought about. After all, that is the start of bringing about change. After Charlie had passed away the Daily Telegraph quoted his long-time friend and former boxer Tony Mundine as saying that "Australia had lost a true champion". There is no doubt that Australia, and particularly Aboriginal Australia, has lost a true champion.
In New South Wales the Coalition parties have supported reconciliation consistently and have taken part in a series of debates. With our colleagues on the other side of this House we have a unity of spirit about the need for reconciliation. We acknowledge that the achievement of full reconciliation in the not-too-distant future will be a lasting epitaph to Charlie Perkins. By that I mean the removal of disadvantage for Aboriginal people. Contrary to what one almost defunct political party has been espousing in the Australian community, when people suffer substantial disadvantage, be they Aboriginal or not, additional resources, time and commitment must be given to those people to ensure that they are given quality of life.
The memory of Charlie Perkins will continue to remind us that as a community we need to put additional resources into ensuring that Aboriginal Australians get a fair go. The Coalition joins with the Government in its expressing its sincerest condolences to Charlie's family: to his wife, Eileen; to his children, Hetti, Rachel and Adam; to his grandchildren and to his wider family. We express the hope that Charlie's actions during his life will be lasting legacies that will benefit Aboriginal Australians. Finally, I note the words of his eldest daughter Hetti, who was quoted recently as saying:
He was determined to make a difference for our people, whether it was in the boardroom, marching the streets or on the soccer field.
Charlie certainly made a huge and very important difference. He will be remembered for being a great Aboriginal Australian who made that important difference.
Mr ACTING-SPEAKER (Mr Mills): I welcome to the precincts of the Parliament members of the Greys Point Rural Fire Service, who are guests of the honourable member for Miranda.
Mr MARKHAM (Wollongong—Parliamentary Secretary) [11.52 a.m.]: I support the motion moved by the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs. I express my deepest condolences to the Perkins family and my personal regret at the passing of a great Australian, Charlie Perkins. Much has been said about Charlie and the freedom rides, about how he brought to the attention of this nation the racism and intolerance by the white community to the black community in Australia. That is, indeed, a dreadful part of our history. Much has been said about the freedom rides. I will not go into that again, other than to say it is true that what Charlie started in 1965 brought about the referendum in 1967 that gave the Federal Government the power to legislate on behalf of Aboriginal people. However, I would like to ensure that the record of this Parliament states what came out of the freedom rides. I quote an extract from what appears under the heading "The Walgett Vigil" in Charlie Perkins' book A Bastard Like Me:
All day the Freedom Ride protestors stood outside the Walgett RSL Club with placards. Charles Perkins recalled:
While we stood there the town came to life like an antheap … Walgett people could not believe it was happening in Walgett. A protest on behalf of the town niggers! The Aborigines themselves were speechless for hours on end. They just looked on. They could not believe that a group of people whom they did not know were standing up for Aboriginal rights.
The protestors were laughed at and spat on, abused and threatened and told: "You're stirring up trouble. The dirty niggers don't deserve any better and they're happy how they are." Some of the banners were torn up as the whites grew more and more hostile.
The whites were yelling and screaming at us …. and calling us a variety of names. They were swearing viciously in an attempt to provoke the fight they all wanted.
Suddenly a black woman came out of the crowd, followed by a few other Aboriginal women. They called back to most of the vocal white men: "Listen! You whites come down to our camp and chase our young girls around at night! You were down there last night. I know you!" And she called out some names. "I saw you last night! It's no good tellin' me how good you treat us Aborigines. All you do is chase Aboriginal women in the dark. Why don't you go back and tell your wives where you've been? They're over there in the crowd. Go on, go tell 'em!"
Of course, the men shot off like rockets … When the Aboriginal woman pointed to a few other white fellows, you should have seen that crowd break up. It was as if someone had thrown a bomb amongst them. They scurried off in all directions.
That highlights what was happening in Aboriginal Australia—not only in Walgett but right across this country. It is a part of our history of which I am ashamed. If it were not for Charlie Perkins things like that would still be happening today. He raised awareness of the human soul. People in the cities were outraged after reading a headline story in the Bulletin about what was happening in that part of New South Wales. I first became involved with Charlie Perkins back in late 1989 or early 1990 when the Greiner Government released a green paper to amend the New South Wales Land Rights Act. Charlie was brought on board by Nick as an adviser on the bill. On the eve of the bill coming before the Parliament I attended a meeting in my capacity as shadow Minister on the tenth or eleventh floor of Parliament House. Charlie was present, together with Keith Kocken, the head of the department at the time; Paul Zammit, the Parliamentary Secretary for Aboriginal Affairs, and the Hon Dr Andrew Refshauge.
There were heated exchanges about the bill. I had said all night as we went through the bill that the Opposition would oppose it because it was a back-door attempt to abolish land rights in this State. However, before leaving the meeting I gave an undertaking that if the Government reconsidered the bill, ensured that the New South Wales State Land Council supported it and did not bring it forward the next morning, the Opposition would support the bill when it came back to the Parliament. To cut a long story short, that is exactly what happened. Paul Zammit came to see me the next morning and said, "I have spoken to the Premier; he wanted to know whether you were fair dinkum." I said, "Yes." He said, "We are not going to proceed with it." That was the first time I met Charlie. From then on Charlie and I often bumped into each other at various functions and I developed a great respect for him as the years went by.
Only last year I attended a MCATSIA meeting in Alice Springs, Charlie's home town. The meeting was to be on the Thursday and the Friday but I could only book a flight on the Wednesday because all the seats were booked out. On the Sunday night I rang Charlie at home and I said, "Listen, Charlie, I am going to Alice Springs. Can you give me a couple of contacts I can speak to?" He asked when I was going and I said I was going on Wednesday. He said, "Great, I am going to be in Alice Springs on Wednesday. In fact, the nursing home named after my mother, the Hetti Perkins Nursing Home, will be opened in Alice Springs on Wednesday and I would love to have you there."
I went with Charlie to the opening of the Hetti Perkins Nursing Home in Alice Springs. The Federal Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, John Herron, and the Minister for Aged Care, Bronwyn Bishop, were there. We were sitting there and the ceremony was just about to start when a phone call was received that a bomb had been planted in the nursing home. There was disruption for an hour and Charlie said, "Here we go again. Even when we are acknowledging and respecting my mother, we are subjected to this racist torment." That night, Charlie and his wife, Elaine, and I went out to dinner together in Alice Springs, and we discussed many, many issues.
I know that Charlie was outspoken, and that in some quarters people believed he was outrageous, but Charlie spoke from his heart; Charlie spoke about what he believed in; he spoke for Aboriginal people in this country and for people with a real moral conscience. I can assure honourable members that his passing will leave a great void in the social conscience of white Australia. Some people have referred to the comment "Burn, baby, burn" that Charlie Perkins made prior to the Olympic Games,. but that was Charlie. He grabbed the attention of the media. If he had said anything else, the media probably would not have bothered writing anything about him. He grabbed the attention of the media because that is what Charlie was like.
I recall that on the morning after he made that comment I received a phone call from a media outlet in Wollongong, asking me if I thought that what he had said was outrageous. I said, "No, I do not think what he said was outrageous. If Charlie had said anything different to that I would have been utterly surprised. Charlie said that to grab your attention. You have phoned me to find out what is going on. If he had said anything else he probably would not have got a run." Charlie brought the attention of the international media to the fact that there was a real issue in Australia so far as indigenous Australians were concerned. He intended to highlight that right up to and during the Olympic Games. His ill health and subsequent demise prevented him from doing so. I do not believe that Charlie would have wanted anything to happen, but that is what he said and that is how he grabbed the attention of the media.
No matter how sick Charlie was he would attend functions. I remember that earlier this year he broke his foot but when we walked across the Sydney Harbour Bridge there was Charlie Perkins. He did not miss that, because he believed in reconciliation and he knew that a feeling was slowly emerging within the broader community at the grassroots level that our history has to be recognised for what it is and that there has to be a change in that history. Charlie did that, Charlie the champion of social justice, not only for Aboriginal people but for all Australians. Charlie was a record breaker. He was the longest surviving recipient of a kidney transplant, having received a kidney transplant in the early 1950s. That record once again demonstrates his tenacity. He was an international soccer player and the first Aboriginal graduate from a university.
How many things was Charlie first at? I was at his memorial service last Wednesday in the Town Hall and I could not believe, although I was not surprised at, the number of people jammed into the Town Hall and the number of people outside. There could have been 5,000 people. I do not know how many were there. I listened to the speeches and heard Chicka Dixon relate stories. Chicka Dixon is a great comrade and a great fighter for social justice for Aboriginal people. He fought the good fight on the waterfront when he was a wharfie and for many years after that. He became a great friend of Charlie Perkins as well. After we came out of the Town Hall Sydney had come to a standstill. I said, "Even in death Charlie has been able to stop this city in its tracks." That is what Charlie did. In one way or another the whole spectrum of Australian society was represented at his funeral—politicians, judges and just ordinary folk who wanted to pay their last respects to a great Australian. Even in death I believe Charlie is still out there fighting, because on the 11th of this month a dinner and art auction is to be held at the Art Gallery of New South Wales. The invitation reads as follows:
The Western Desert Dialysis Appeal Art Committee and Papunya Tula Artists invite you to attend a dinner and art auction in support of the Western Desert Dialysis Appeal.
The patron is Dr Charles Perkins, AO, and the tickets are priced at $250. Charlie supported that organisation's efforts to get a dialysis machine for Alice Springs. He will be here in spirit for ever more, because he is one of the great Australians. I have no doubt that without what Charlie has done we in this House would not be here today, as we have been on many occasions, supporting reconciliation and with members on both sides of the House arguing for a better deal for Aboriginal people and their families in this State and further afield.
To Elaine, Hetti, Rachel and Adam, and the grandchildren let me say that I feel your deep sadness in the loss that you have experienced and I know that many people in this country feel the same way. You have lost a husband and father and Australia has lost a fighter for human rights and dignity. The day of Charlie's passing was a sad day, but I think this nation is enriched because of the 64 years he was on this earth.
Mr COLLINS (Willoughby) [12.06 p.m.]: It is an honour for me to join with other members of this House, both Government and Opposition, in supporting this condolence motion for Charlie Perkins. It is not without a touch of irony that this condolence motion comes before the House on All Saints Day. I think Charlie Perkins would be wearing a wry smile, because he would be the last person to claim to be any kind of saint. I did not have the experience with Charlie Perkins that some other members, such as the Parliamentary Secretary for Aboriginal Affairs, has had, but I met him on several occasions and I observed him over the years. He was an Australian who instantly impressed and always spoke with enthusiasm, commitment, drive and determination. He was fun to be with; he was somebody to listen to.
Charlie Perkins would be the first to admit that sometimes he went over the top, sometimes he went too far, and sometimes what he said was too extreme, but as the honourable member for Wollongong said, he often did so very deliberately in order to make his point. I would be the last person to try to stand by every word that Charlie Perkins has uttered. I think he was pretty good at disagreeing with anyone when he felt it necessary to do so. It is not a matter of standing by every word that Charlie Perkins said; it is a matter of standing by the man and by the example he was to the people of Australia and particularly to the indigenous people of Australia. One of the things that I missed out on at university was the freedom ride in 1965. The Chief Justice of New South Wales, Jim Spigelman, a contemporary of mine, wrote about it in the Sydney Morning Herald last week and spoke about it at the memorial service for Charlie Perkins at the Town Hall.
Jim Spigelman went on that freedom ride, which, for the first time, brought home to a generation of Australians, to every Australian, the need to focus on recognising that the civil rights movement, which was then taking hold in the United States of America and achieving results there, had relevance here. We could not look at television and see what was happening with Martin Luther King in the United States of America and the protests in the southern part of the United States and pretend that all was well in our own backyard; it was not. Indeed, there was flagrant abuse and violation of human rights in this State in the early 1960s that had to be addressed, stopped and brought out into the open. All his life Charles Perkins was about doing exactly that.
Charles Perkins was a man of great style, a man of the colourful turn of phrase, and very deliberately so. He could make people react instantly to what he said—sometimes, I guess, creating in them a permanent grudge against him. But if there is one thing to be said about Charles Perkins it was that he stood out, he made his point and he never gave up. He made a permanent contribution to human rights in this country. He achieved a significant step in advancing the cause of the Aboriginal people. All Australians owe him a great debt of gratitude. We will miss his humour, style and sensationalism, but above all we will miss the integrity of a man who, like no other, fought for the Aboriginal cause in this country. It is a great privilege for me to have participated in this debate and to pay honour to a great Australian in this way.
Mr THOMPSON (Rockdale) [12.12 p.m.]: At the State funeral for Charles Perkins, which was held at the Sydney Town Hall last week, the Chief Justice of New South Wales, Jim Spigelman, delivered a eulogy that was printed in the Sydney Morning Herald on 26 October. The first paragraph said:
We gather here today to mourn the passing and celebrate the life of a great Australian. Charles Perkins was a hero for indigenous Australians. He was a moral force for all Australians. Australia is a better and fairer place for his life.
Throughout the article Jim Spigelman referred to the very committed and colourful life that Charles had lived, and in the last paragraph he said:
There is no shortage of people with whom Charlie had arguments. Many are in this hall. Today, however, all stand united in recognition of his contribution to the Aboriginal people and to Australia. In doing so we take a further step, as a community, towards the achievement of the goals to which he dedicated his life.
Initially Charlie Perkins won fame as the leader of the Freedom Riders in 1965 when a busload of students went to various New South Wales towns that were notorious for racism and discrimination against Aborigines. Jim Spigelman was one of those Freedom Riders. The incident that sticks in most people's minds from that time occurred at the Moree swimming pool. On 17 February 1965 Charlie Perkins led the Freedom Riders in picketing the Moree Council Chambers in protest against the council's policy of excluding Aborigines from the council pool. In the Sun-Herald of 22 October, Andrew West reminded us that at that time the then mayor argued that although the ban was official it was never enforced. Instead, he said, the council applied a ban on "unhygienic, dirty or unkempt persons". However, the Sun-Herald story stated that no-one could recall any white man or woman being excluded on such grounds. In any event, on 20 February 1965 the Freedom Riders returned for a dramatic confrontation. In the Sun-Herald on 22 October Andrew West stated:
Five hundred people turned up at the pool, mostly to oppose them. The Moree Champion reported that some even threw eggs and tomatoes. Eddie Pitt, 12 at the time, recalls about 10 to 15 police "lined up like a riot squad".
"And we had some tough coppers in those days", he added.
The mayor and several aldermen also stood guard, trying to enforce the rule.
But three months later six of the seven Moree aldermen, whose town had suddenly become seen as a racial flashpoint in the national media voted to rescind the ban on Aborigines swimming at the local pool.
Charlie Perkins had won his first victory.
Charlie Perkins realised that the Freedom Ride activities showed young Aborigines that it was possible to collectively confront whites. Confrontation was almost a theme of Perkins' public life. He was no shrinking violet, far from it; he was a stirrer, an outstanding advocate for Aboriginal people. Through his no-nonsense, forthright manner he became widely recognised as a truly great Australian. On 19 October in the Sydney Morning Herald Tony Stephens and Cynthia Banham wrote:
Charles Perkins called himself a bastard. Others called him Australia's Martin Luther King. Some of his own people called him a "delicatessen kid" because of his preference for a comfortable life.
In any case, when he died yesterday, he was acknowledged as one of the most influential Australian Aborigines of modern times, perhaps the most influential.
The article quoted his daughter Hetti as stating:
He was a passionate defender of our people to the very end, and he touched many lives. Today many Australians and all Australians should draw strength from his legacy to continue striving towards what is right and what is just.
In that article the Premier is quoted as stating:
Mr Perkins, though sometimes extreme, should be remembered for his courage in speaking out on Aboriginal issues.
The article continued:
Mr Carr admired his bravery in tackling the issue of Aboriginal rights in the 1960s when most Australians were not interested in such injustices.
"He was there in that early period, when most Australians wanted to look the other way and avoid confronting the injustice that was sadly part of our life," he said.
"When he stood up in country towns in 1965 and said: 'Aboriginal people are being discriminated against', it was a relatively lonely cause."
That is what the Premier said. Charlie Perkins truly was a trailblazer in many respects. He was the first male Aborigine to graduate from university. He was the first manager of the Foundation of Aboriginal Affairs, which presented Aborigines arriving from the country with a strong and secure sense of community and a model of co-operation between well-meaning whites and blacks. Up to the time of his death he was possibly the longest surviving recipient of a kidney transplant. He was the first Aborigine to be Secretary of the Federal Department of Aboriginal Affairs; he was a Deputy Chair of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission; he was a champion sportsman, making the soccer big time in Adelaide, Sydney and in the United Kingdom with Everton.
Charlie Perkins played an important role in the Equal Rights for Aborigines Campaign that resulted in the May 1967 referendum, which gave the Commonwealth the power to legislate for Aborigines. He was a member of SOCOG's national indigenous advisory committee and through that helped to ensure strong indigenous content in the Sydney Olympic Games. An obituary article in the Sydney Morning Herald on 19 October by Debra Jopson and John Farquharson stated:
Perkins said he was often charged with being too emotional. This was how he countered the accusation in his biography: "To me Aboriginal affairs is an emotional issue. There is no crime in this. I am talking about my brothers and sisters, my mother, my uncles and aunties. When people start denigrating Aborigines they are denigrating my family. I think a bit of sentimentality is badly needed. There is too much objectivity, there are too many facts and statistics in the world today. You can just about justify mass-murder with statistics."
Charlie Perkins may have been brusque or confrontational at times, but it is fair to ask whether he would have achieved so much had he been docile or overly polite. The answer to that is an obvious no. Charlie Perkins was passionate about his causes and he said things that had to be said. He was a great fighter for human rights and justice. At times he shook white Australia from its complacency. He challenged white society to look in the mirror, he challenged racism, and he never stopped fighting for what he believed in. Peter Read, in an obituary in the Australian of 19 October, summed it up this way:
His abrasive public exterior concealed shame, anger, hurt and misery at the insults borne both by himself and his people. Much of his later life was clouded with pessimism that Aborigines were still aliens in their own land, eating the crumbs, he said, fallen from the table of the non-indigenous.
The article continues:
When Perkins began his career there were few educated Aborigines. Assimilation was firmly entrenched. Aborigines were expected to become, at best, manual workers. They did not enter hotels, swimming pools, clubs or hairdressing salons, buy houses or apply for bank loans. They had their own wards in country hospitals. Forty years later, non-indigenous Australians had been led or forced to the understanding that the distinction between full and part descent was irrelevant, that Aboriginal individuals could achieve anything they chose and that negotiations must be as between equal partners.
For this shift in public perceptions, Perkins was to a remarkable degree responsible, as much for the possibilities he demonstrated to younger Aborigines as what he achieved. Many of today's generation of leaders concede that, though they may have clashed with him politically, he offered a life saving model of constructive advancement when none other was available.
Perkins is survived by Eileen; his children, Hetti, Adam and Rachel; and by four grandchildren. One of the great Australians of this century, he was awarded the Order of Australia in 1987 and was named a National Living Treasure in 1997.
Australia is a far better place today because of Charlie Perkins. It is most appropriate that this Parliament acknowledges that and that we convey our respects and condolences to his family and friends.
Mrs GRUSOVIN (Heffron) [12.22 p.m.]: I wish to join in this motion of condolence moved by the Deputy Premier, and Minister for Aboriginal Affairs on the death of Charlie Perkins, a great Australian and a great leader of our indigenous people. I felt very privileged to be in attendance at Sydney Town Hall with thousands of fellow Australians just one week ago to celebrate Charlie's life and to pay tribute to his many achievements. One could not be but profoundly moved by a sense of the history of the moment. We had gathered to farewell this talented, troublesome, outspoken champion of his race, a man who has been and will increasingly be a role model for those who will follow him. Many times, I know, he despaired because of his perception that he had not been able to achieve many of the goals that he had set himself in advancing the cause of his people. The tributes of the last week have provided a convincing testimony to the tremendous achievements and successes he made.
Charlie is part of Australian and Aboriginal history and he has helped us travel the road we are now on to reconciliation. Who could forget Charlie's stirring speeches? They were revolutionary calls to arms and they occurred in so many places. My own special memories are of Charlie at Redfern Park, where he had some outstanding performances. He was very forthright in telling us all what we had not done, what we were not doing right and what we needed to do. It is true that people did listen to him, and over the years more and more people listened. Having listened to him, we are working to make Australia a better country.
In latter times Charlie was a member of the No. 14 support group for the South Sydney Rugby League Football Club, the Rabbitohs. He was always one to give of himself in a community effort and he joined this cause for the little people, the battlers of South Sydney and far beyond, who were facing the loss of their beloved red and green—all because of the greed of media moguls who were more interested in packaged products and profits for their television interests than the traditions of a century so treasured by the faithful supporters. Charlie was there at numerous meetings, always giving his encouragement and always concerned about making the right thing happen.
Along with many of my colleagues, particularly those involved with the South Sydney movement, and my fellow directors, I feel that we were enormously lucky to have the opportunity to come to know Charlie Perkins in this last year or so. He was always interested in the young. He worked very hard with one of the co-directors at Souths in providing training for indigenous young people in catering services for the Olympic Games. At least 120 young people were given valuable training and employment in this period of time. He was always there making sure that things happen for the community. Charlie Perkins was a great leader. He has left behind a tradition that will be followed and taken up by those in the community who see him as a great role model. We are all the better for the life of Charlie Perkins.
Mr LYNCH (Liverpool) [12.26 p.m.]: I join with other members in offering my condolences to the family of Charlie Perkins. The honourable member for Heffron said that Charlie Perkins was a great Australian and a great leader. That is probably the best short description of the immense and positive contribution he has made to Australian society. He was driven by passion and a demand for justice. That is well encapsulated in something he said that I would like to place on record. Charlie Perkins said:
I am a descendant of a once proud tribe from Central Australia—the Arrente people. Today we number very few and own nothing … We cringe at the prospect of the "White backlash". We pray eternally that the White authority structure will not turn on us and impede what little progress we have made. We ask for land rights with tongue in cheek knowing full well that the land belonged to us in the first instance. We stagger and stumble into each other in confusion when our identity … is contested and thus allow ourselves to be moulded by others. Our land, our pride and our future has been taken away from us and our people buried in unmarked graves. We wonder through Australian society as beggars. We live off the crumbs that fall off the White Australian tables and are told to be grateful.
That passion and regard for justice for his people clearly drove him through all his life. It is interesting to note that he was not just a great spokesman for his people and for these causes; in fact, he lived so much of it himself. His grandmother Nellie Errerreke Perkins was born two hours east of Alice Springs. She personally observed the impact of the first transgressions or encroachment by white miners with the gold rushes of the 1890s. Her mother was killed and she knew where her father had been shot. She saw the Arrente people taken away in chains to gaol. Charlie's mother, Hetti, was born in about 1900. In the late 1920s she was sent to the Jay Creek settlement for, to use a racist and appalling term, half-castes. She met Martin Connelly in about 1935 and bore Charlie as their first child.
At this stage government policy was that children of half-castes should be taken from their parents and placed in institutions. They were, in the mock scientific and even more appallingly racist and offensive terminology of that time, quadroons. Although Charlie had some exposure to Arrente ways in his very early years, he was shortly to be educated by Anglican priests at St Marys School. In 1944, when he was about eight years of age, he ended up in a residential school where he was allowed home only at weekends. In 1945 he went to St Francis House in Adelaide to be educated. The aim of that education, to put it at its best, was to enable him to be accepted into white society. In real terms that meant crushing his Aboriginal nature and crushing his Aboriginal culture.
He was treated appallingly, as many people in such institutions were. A number of years later he said, "They've got a lot to answer for, these bastards, and the worst part, they were priests, Anglican priests." That, interpreted properly, is a reference to the institutions and the structures that treated him and so many other people appallingly. Not surprisingly, he was forced out of there; he was told to leave in 1952. He then went through the personal exposure to the racism that was inherent in our society at that stage, and in some ways it still is. He then became politically active. By the mid-1950s he was contacting people like Don Dunstan in South Australia in an effort to amend legislation, such as the Police Offences Act.
By 1961 he had been elected Vice-President of the Federal Council for the Advancement of Aborigines, one of many positions he held during a long and distinguished career. In 1961 he moved to Sydney and was persuaded, under the influence of Ted Noffs, to pursue his education. He entered Sydney University in 1963 and studied anthropology, sociology, government and psychology. In 1966 he became the first indigenous person to graduate from an Australian university. Until then he had borne the scars of his early education and had been attempting to assimilate, without understanding that that meant denying his Aboriginal culture and his Aboriginal background. Certainly, his position by then had started to change.
In the mid-1960s he travelled to the United States of America and met Jesse Jackson, and had first-hand exposure to the civil rights movement there. Following that, there were the freedom rides, about which much has already been said today. Those trips to places like Moree, Coonamble and Walgett are now part of our history, and the extraordinary and infamous exercise at Moree public baths is a very significant element in our history. Charles Perkins was not simply a spokesman who got up and said things; he actually lived it. He spoke from his direct experience, and that gave legitimacy to the sorts of things he said so well and so proudly. I should conclude, as I started, by saying that the best description that one could give of him is that he was a great Australian and a great leader.
Mr O'DOHERTY (Hornsby) [12.32 p.m.]: It is a pleasure to join with other members of this House and on behalf of the Coalition, in the bipartisan spirit that has always characterised debates about Aboriginal affairs in this Chamber in recent times, to pay tribute to the life of Charles Perkins. My contact with him over the years has been mainly as a broadcaster. I remember interviewing Charles Perkins on many occasions about Aboriginal issues. My career began back in the 1980s. It is interesting to compare the difference between things in the year 2000 and in the 1980s, when I began as a broadcaster. Those were the days, perhaps even as the Australian remarked in its tribute to Charles Perkins on 19 October, when it was a prerequisite for Aboriginal people to speak with fury to be heard. The Australian said:
His loud and angry style of activism was a product of his time: when Perkins started out, nothing less than fury would get him heard. It is a tribute to his achievements that his inflammatory tactics have become almost out of place.
He was a man whose career helped to span that generation of change and empowerment for Aboriginal people—not that it has gone far enough, as I am sure the Parliamentary Secretary Assisting the Deputy Premier on Aboriginal Affairs would agree. Because of the efforts of Charles Perkins as a leader of the Aboriginal people, issues affecting Aboriginal people are now part of mainstream discussion in Australian communities. That is demonstrated by the Olympic Games opening ceremony, which showed us that the Australian community is active in the process of reconciliation, whether officially or otherwise.
It was interesting to compare the reconciliation being played out in the community, the opening ceremony and the events that took place around Cathy Freeman and others, with what Charles Perkins said should be the response of Aboriginal people to the Olympics: "Burn, baby, burn". That was clearly out of step with what is required today. But it came from a man who had to say things like that and to hold freedom marches just to get the agenda before the Australian community. A marvellous way for us to reflect on Charles Perkins' life is to consider the achievements of Aboriginal people at the Olympics. Those achievements were made possible because Charles Perkins played such a significant role in bringing Aboriginal reconciliation to the fore. I once again quote from the Australian of 19 October:
We grew to know him as a flawed character, but those flaws do not undermine his accomplishments. He made it okay for Aborigines to have a say. That's a legacy for which all Australians are the richer.
On behalf of my colleagues, I pay tribute to Charles Perkins.
Mr MILLS (Wallsend) [12.36 p.m.]: I am also pleased to speak in support of the motion of condolence moved by the Deputy Premier on the death of Charles Perkins. I recognise Charles Perkins as an Aboriginal warrior of my generation. As the Deputy Premier said, words, not spears, were his weapons. All Australians can rejoice in his achievements. I know that throughout his lifetime he made a great contribution to this country. His legacy is, firstly, in the decency and morality with which a majority of non-Aboriginal Australians have begun to approach the human rights of indigenous Australians; and, secondly, in the ongoing assertion of their rights by Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islanders, and their ongoing movement towards self-determination.
He was a bloke who caused changes of attitude and behaviour. He was a catalyst for change and progress. Charlie Perkins was smart. He took his opportunities when they came along. He took his opportunities in education when they came; he took his opportunities in sporting competition; he took his opportunities in life in general. He was a top-grade athlete and sportsman, and it has been acknowledged that that helped to open some doors and helped him to better understand the non-indigenous world better. One feature that we would all respect about Charlie Perkins was that he did not hold back. When he suffered or when he was aggrieved he set out to resolve the matter, and that takes courage: the courage of a warrior, the courage of a leader. Courage was Charlie Perkins' trademark.
When you were with him, whether it was outdoors, in a room or in a meeting, he had presence, and that indefinable presence is something that distinguishes leaders from others. Because he was a man who did not hold back and because he had courage he constantly challenged us all, both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal. He challenged us to stop the racism, the injustice, the cruelty and the discrimination. He inspired people to join with him in challenging the racism, the injustice, the cruelty and the discrimination. Like anyone who did not hold back, he upset some people. He made some enemies, both indigenous and non-indigenous. But because of the moral force of his arguments he made most of those people who disagreed with him uncomfortable. Certainly, he had a habit of making some of the rednecks whom he upset feel most uncomfortable. In today's edition of the Koori Mail, under the headline "Farewell Uncle", editor Todd Condie said:
Kumantjayi Perkins has been called many things in his controversial and eclectic life, but the one description you could never attribute to him would be "uninteresting" or "bland".
… the conflicting perceptions expressed by Australians, and even many black Australians, reflected the complexity of a man not fully understood ...
Everybody in Australia in the 1970s knew of Kumantjayi Perkins, whether they liked him or not, so it was no surprise that 30 years later thousands turned up to pay tribute to him in Sydney following his tragic passing earlier in the month.
Todd Condie went on to quote Charlie's niece, former ATSIC Chief Executive Officer Pat Turner, who described her uncle at the service last week as an unorthodox public servant. She said:
He lived an extraordinary life, and was an extraordinary man who achieved extraordinary things ...
There is still unfinished business, there is no treaty yet.
The future's in our hands. Let's do him proud.
I express my condolences to his family, to his extended family of relatives, and to the Arrente and indigenous people of Australia on the loss of a great leader, great champion and hero.
Mr NAGLE (Auburn) [12.41 p.m.]: The Macquarie Dictionary, third edition, defines "courage" as follows:
1. the quality of mind that enables one to encounter difficulties and danger with firmness or without fear; bravery. 2. Obsolete heart; mind; disposition. – phrase have the courage of one's convictions, to act consistently with one's opinions.
I believe that sums up Charlie Perkins and the courage he had from the time he was a young man until the day he passed away. Charlie was outspoken in many respects. I did not like his comment about Byrne, but the fact of the matter is that when a dog bites a man, no-one listens; when man bites a dog, everyone wants to know why. That is what Charlie was doing, constantly bringing before the people of this nation the great difficulties faced by the Aboriginal nation of this country. Charlie's other feature was dignity. The Macquarie Dictionary defines "dignity" as follows:
1. nobility of manner of style; stateliness; gravity. 2. Nobleness of elevation of mind; worthiness ... 3. Honourable place; elevated rank. 4. Degree of excellence ...
That was Charlie Perkins. Many things have been said today by the honourable member for Rockdale and Opposition members about Charlie Perkins. I too should like to quote from comments by his niece which were reported in the Aboriginal newspaper. She said:
Even in the prologue of his 1975 autobiography, "A Bastard Like Me" the conflicting perceptions expressed by Australians, and even many black Australians, reflected the complexity of a man not fully understood.
I believe everybody in Australia did understand Charlie Perkins: he was a man of great courage and determination, a fiery man. I remember a recent story on radio about the time he and one of his colleagues wanted to talk to Mohammed Ali, who was fighting in Japan at the time. Charlie and his colleague went to Tokyo to meet with Mohammed Ali to ask if he would be kind enough to give support to the Aboriginal cause in Australia. They spent three days waiting for him. They could not get into the room to see him. At about 10 p.m. they received a phone call and were told that Mohammed Ali would see them the next morning at 6 a.m. They got up early, had a shower and went to see Mohammed Ali.
They walked into the room and told him where they were from. Mohammed Ali turned to his manager and said, "Get me that cheque book. I'm going to write a cheque out for these men." Charlie Perkins got up, yelled and stormed out of the room. Mohammed Ali chased after him and brought him back into the room. After a discussion in which he said he did not want money but wanted support, Mohammed Ali said, "Any time these men want to come into my room, they are first cab off the rank, they are in my room." That was Charlie Perkins' style. To sum up this man, I quote the words that have been inscribed on my mother's grave: "To live in the hearts of those left behind is not to die." I assure this honourable House, Charlie's family, all his friends and all Australians that Charlie Perkins' name will live on in history as a great Australian and great man. I commend the motion to the House.
Mr WHELAN (Strathfield—Minister for Police) [12.45 p.m.]: Many people have referred recently to the tremendous achievements of Dr Charlie Perkins: a talented professional sportsman, the first indigenous man to receive a tertiary degree, the first to run a government department, and his tremendous work on the freedom rides. Charlie Perkins leaves us the richer for his time here. I am pleased to have the opportunity to acknowledge his great contribution to a fairer and better Australia. His public memorial service at Sydney Town Hall and his State funeral brought together Australians from all walks of life. I was reminded of a comment by the Premier today that the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games have brought all Australians together.
Likewise, that was very much in evidence at the memorial service for Charlie Perkins. It was testament to the breadth of his achievements that such a broad cross-section of the community overflowed into the courtyard to celebrate his memory. It is not simply a great indigenous Australian who is lost to us. No qualifications should attach to his achievements. Very few Australians from any background have achieved so much. Through his work as Chair of the Aboriginal Development Commission in the 1980s and later as a commissioner of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission [ATSIC] he worked for real improvements to living standards for indigenous Australians.
While he had a reputation as a firebrand, his commitment to lasting change meant that he spent most of his time working constructively within the system. He was not afraid to use strong language and bold gestures to get a point across and to make people sit up and take notice, yet at the same time he was an effective and dedicated public servant who worked long and hard at the challenges that came with his many positions. As part of the movement towards reconciliation, in more recent years he was part of a powerful community movement to effect a permanent change in the hearts and minds of the nation's people.
The formal apology delivered by this Parliament was part of that change of hearts and minds. It will lead to better policy and better results. This House rightly repudiated those who dismissed this gesture as a negative view of our history saying that we must be strong enough as a community to accept the truth of our history with all its complexity or we will compromise our future. The Bridge Walk for Reconciliation stands out. I was overwhelmed at the number of people who were ready and willing to forge a better future hand in hand with the first Australians. It is a future that will be built on the work of Australians like Charlie Perkins. Our thoughts are with his wife, Eileen, and their family at this time.
Members and officers of the House stood in their places.
Motion agreed to.