Charles Perkins (Aboriginal activist)

Charles Perkins
Charles Perkins, approx 1965, first Aboriginal Australian to graduate from the University of Sydney.
Born	(1936-06-16)16 June 1936 Alice Springs, Northern Territory
Died	19 October 2000(2000-10-19) (aged 64) Sydney, New South Wales
Cause of death	Renal failure
Nationality	Australian
Other names	Charlie Perkins, Kumantjayi Perkins
Education	Bachelor of Arts
Alma mater	University of Sydney
Known for	Activism, Public Service, Sport
Spouse(s)	Eileen Munchenberg
Children	Hetti, Rachel and Adam
Association football career Senior career* Years Team Apps (Gls) 1950 Port Thistle ? 1954–1955 International United ? 1956–1957 Fiorentina ? 1957 Budapest ? 1957 Everton 0 (0) 1957–1959 Bishop Auckland ? 1959–1960 Adelaide Croatia ? 1961–1964 Pan-Hellenic ? ?–1969 Bankstown ? Teams managed 1959–1960 Adelaide Croatia 1961–1964 Pan-Hellenic * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15 December 2008.

Charles Nelson Perkins, AO, commonly known as Charlie Perkins,(16 June 1936 – 19 October 2000) was an Australian Aboriginal activist, soccer player and administrator.

Charles Perkins was born in Alice Springs, originally from nearby Arltunga, to Hetti Perkins and Martin Connelly, originally from Mount Isa, Queensland. His mother was born to a white father and an Arrernte mother, while his father was born to an Irish father and a Kalkadoon mother. Perkins had one full sibling and nine other half-siblings by his mother, and was also a cousin of artist and soccer player John Moriarty.

Between 1952 and 1957, Perkins worked as an apprentice fitter and turner for the British Tube Mills company in Adelaide.

He married Eileen Munchenberg, a descendant of a German Lutheran family, on 23 September 1961 and had two daughters (Hetti and Rachel), and a son (Adam).

He was educated at St Mary's Church School in Alice Springs, St Francis College for Aboriginal Boys in Adelaide, the Metropolitan Business College, Sydney and the University of Sydney from where he graduated in 1966 with a Bachelor of Arts. He was the first Aboriginal man in Australia to graduate from university. While at university he worked part-time for the City of South Sydney cleaning toilets.

In 1965 he was one of the key members of the Freedom Ride – a bus tour through New South Wales by activists protesting discrimination against Aboriginal people in small towns in NSW, Australia. This action was inspired by the US Civil Rights Freedom Ride campaign in 1961. The Australian Freedom Ride aimed to expose discrepancies in living, education and health conditions among the Aboriginal population. The tour targeted rural towns such as Walgett, Moree, and Kempsey. They acted to publicise acts of blatant discrimination. This was demonstrated through one of the Freedom Ride activities in Walgett. A local RSL club refused entry to Aborigines, including those who were ex-servicemen who participated in the two World Wars. At one stage during the Rides, the protesters' bus was run off the road.