Charles Duguid

Charles Duguid (6 April 1884 – 5 December 1986) was a Scottish-born medical practitioner and Aboriginal rights campaigner who recorded his experience working among the Australian Aborigines in a number of books.

Charles Duguid was born at Eglinton Street in Saltcoats, Ayrshire, the son of Charles Duguid, a teacher, and Jane Snodgrass Kinnier, daughter of Robert S Kinnier, a surgeon, sister of Captain Douglas Reid Kinnier. He attended Ardrossan Academy, where his father was Headmaster between 1882 and 1889, and the High School in Glasgow, before studying medicine at Glasgow University where he gained M.A. (Master of Arts) in 1905 and MB, Ch.B., (Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery) in 1909.

Whilst teaching at Glasgow University, Duguid worked as a doctor in the slums of Glasgow, but in 1911 he signed on as ship's surgeon for a voyage to and from Australia. This experience led him to emigrate to Australia in 1912. In February 1917, Duguid sailed for Egypt as a volunteer medical officer with the Australian Light Horse Brigade. He returned to Scotland in 1919 for post-graduate study and to sit the examinations for surgical fellowship.

Duguid practised as a General Practitioner in Nhill, Victoria where he married Irene Young, with whom he had one son, also called Charles. After his wife died in 1927, Duguid married Phyllis Lade. They had two children, Andrew and Rosemary. In 1941 Duguid moved to Adelaide to practise as a gynaecologist and obstetrician.

The murder of a white man by Aboriginals at Landers Creek, Northern Territory, sparked Duguid's interest in Aboriginal rights. The police shot 17 Aboriginals during the course of the hunt for the murderer. His wife founded the Aboriginal Advancement League in 1935 and Duguid served as President in 1935 and later between 1951 and 1961.

...
Wikipedia