Charles+Perkins+No.2

Charles Perkins was born on the 6th of June 1936. He was an aboriginal Australian who fought against racism, prejudice and discrimination. Perkins was born in Alice springs at the Telegraph station Aboriginal reserve. His family consisted of his parents Arrente and Kalkadoon along with 11 other siblings. By the age of 10 his mother sent him away to Adelaide to study at St Francis House aboriginal boys school. Perkins was educated there for a few years until the age of fifteen when he was kicked out for being too cheeky ,too stupid and was allegedly causing problems. Due to poor marks at school he now was now apprenticed to a Fitter and turner. Perkins noted that he hated every moment of the apprenticeship so at the age of 22 when he received his qualification he had no wish to practice it as a living. Instead he mat a Scottish man who suggested he should go to England and play soccer there. Perkins was invited to play for Evington soccer club and readily accepted the proposal. However by the time he arrived in England he was in poor health and eventually switched to Wigan. Perkins was now at the height of his soccer career and was even offered a position in Manchester United. This he turned down party because he becoming sick of the English weather. He returned to Australia at the age of 25 through an arrangement to play for Adelaide in the state team. It was through this that he met his future wife, Ellen Muchenburg. Perkins now had other ambitions and with the support of Ellen he was accepted into Sydney university. During his time at University he became engaged in aboriginal affairs. In 1965 Perkins embarked on a trip that was known as the freedom ride, a trip designed to exposed the discrimination and prejudice to the aboriginal people. A very successful and famous part of this was when Perkins and his group of "freedom riders" broke in to the Moore baths pool outside the time the aboriginal people were allowed to swim. Their actions let to them to being "egged". The result of this was a spark of interest from the media. During his time with aboriginal affairs Perkins suffered kidney failure and was on the verge of life. In 1971 he received a life saving kidney transplant that allowed him to continue his work. In 1981 Perkins moved once more to Canberra where he worked as a public servant and eventually became sectary of aboriginal affairs. During his time as a bureaucrat Perkins managed to greatly improved the conditions of the aboriginal people. Charles Perkins died at the age of 64 on the 19th of October 2000, He was an extraordinary figure who had a wife and 3 children. His accomplishments were many and his aspirations as the activist, soccer player and administrator were completed due to discipline and support from others. It is undisputed that his pursuits had an effect on all Australians both aboriginal and European. Bibliography http://www.australianbiography.gov.au/subjects/perkins/interview9.html http://www.skwirk.com.au/p-c_s-14_u-117_t-319_c-1079/charles-perkins-freedom-rides/nsw/charles-perkins-freedom-rides/power-people-and-politics-in-the-post-war-period/people-and-power http://www.indigenousrights.net.au/person.asp?pID=983 http://www.naa.gov.au/about-us/publications/factsheets/fs225.aspx http://nma.gov.au/audio/transcripts/collections09/nma_Arthur_20090327.html