Decision details

Moved by Councillor Weldon, seconded by Councillor Arkins –

It is resolved that:

(A)       Council note:

(i)         Dr. Charles (Charlie) Perkins AO, a proud Arrernte/Kalkadoon man, was a seminal figure in the Aboriginal rights movement. He dedicated his life to public service, challenging injustice and improving the welfare of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people;

(ii)        Charlie Perkins is most famously known for leading the 1965 Freedom Ride, which brought national attention to the systemic racism and segregation in rural New South Wales. He did so as a student at the University of Sydney, becoming one of the first Indigenous university graduates in Australia;

(iii)       having moved to Sydney to study, Charlie Perkins made a home at 27 Catherine Street in Glebe with his wife Eileen. It was here they started a family, with the birth of their first daughter Hetti;

(iv)       in 2021, the NSW Government launched a Blue Plaque program to celebrate notable people and events. The Glebe Society nominated the Perkins’ former home. Charlie Perkins was commemorated the following year, but the plaque was installed at the Charles Perkins Centre at the University of Sydney. The Glebe Society remains interested in a plaque at the Perkins’ former home;

(v)        the City of Sydney has its own historic plaque program (a precursor to the NSW program) and is currently developing special markers for sites of Aboriginal significance. The Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council has endorsed the prospective inclusion of 27 Catherine Street as a site of Aboriginal significance; and

(vi)       last year marked the sixtieth anniversary of the Freedom Rides. The City of Sydney celebrated the occasion with a reception at Town Hall, the launch of a photo exhibition at 119 Redfern Street, and support for an Aboriginal community anniversary gala; and

(B)       the Chief Executive Officer be requested to include 27 Catherine Street in the roll-out of new Aboriginal significant site markers, in consultation with the owners of the property and the family of Charlie Perkins.

Carried unanimously.

X113759