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Dr Charles Perkins – a brother in our struggle Statement by Council Chairperson, Dr Evelyn Scott I add my voice to the countless numbers of Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and other Australians in all corners of our land who are mourning the passing today of Dr Charles Nelson Perkins, Arrernte and Kalkadoon man, and a great Australian. I pay tribute to Charles’s enormous contribution to the struggle for the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and to making our country a better place for all Australians. His passing is a great loss and he leaves a vacuum which will not easily be filled. Charlie was truly a brother in the struggle from way back. He was a pioneer in the days when the times were tough but, like the old saying, he got going. Through the Freedom Ride of 1965, which he led, and through many media interviews, he exposed the abject conditions and the racism suffered by Aboriginal people in country NSW and across the nation. The Freedom Ride changed Australia’s comfortable self-image and played a part in building the pressure to hold the historic 1967 Referendum. Combined with the Gurindji walk-off and strike at Wave Hill, the Freedom Ride was also a catalyst for the birth of the modern movement of Indigenous peoples for land rights and social justice. Charlie was truly a hero to all his people and a role model for many thousands of younger Indigenous people who have followed his example to get an education and a better life for themselves and their people. Charlie was outspoken but above all he was a person who did what he thought was right, regardless of the consequences. Charlie was a member of this Council during his term as Deputy Chairperson of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission, and assisted the Council in recent years with his views and proposals about reconciliation. His work and his spirit will remain forever as part of this nation’s being. CAIRNS Media contact: Liz Potter 02-9223-7900 0411 427 651
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