Australia's Aborigine leader Perkins honored at funeral

Thousands of people are flocking to the funeral of Aboriginal activist Charles Perkins, shown here in May, holding an honorary degree from Sydney University, Australia

October 25, 2000
Web posted at: 11:05 AM HKT (0305 GMT)

SYDNEY, Australia (Reuters) -- Australian Aboriginal leaders and politicians gathered in Sydney on Wednesday for the state funeral for one the country's most strident black leaders, Charlie Perkins.

Thousands gathered at the Sydney Town Hall for a funeral service, called "Sorry Business" by Aborigines and marked by an traditional smoking ceremony, that was broadcast live on the government-owned Australian Broadcasting Corp television.

Australian state funerals are reserved for governors, ministers and premiers, but Prime Minister John Howard, the target of Perkins' harshest criticism, broke protocol to order a state funeral in recognition of his fight for indigenous people.

Howard has refused to issue a formal apology for past atrocities inflicted on Aborigines, who were massacred in their thousands after Australia was colonised by white settlers from 1788, evicted from ancestral lands and derided by many white Australians.

While Howard did not attend the funeral, some of his most senior ministers were among the mourners, who included a former prime minister and outback Aborigines from Perkins' Arrernte people.

Perkins, who died from kidney failure last week aged 64, was carried into the town hall by black pall bearers who included Australia's only Aboriginal senator Aden Ridgeway and former Australian boxing champion Tony Mundine.

His coffin, draped in an Aboriginal flag, was dwarfed by a huge black, red and yellow sun Aboriginal flag on stage.

Perkins was hailed as Australia's version of Martin Luther King for leading "Freedom Rides" against racism in 1965.

"Charlie Perkins was and will remain a hero for indigenous Australians. He was and will remain a moral force for all Australians," said New South Wales state Chief Justice Jim Spigelman, who rode with Perkins on the "Freedom Rides."

"Australia is a better and fairer place for his life," he added.

Australia's Aborigines make up 2.1 percent, or around 400,000, of Australia's 19 million population and have an average life expectancy of 20 years less than other Australians.

Outback to poverty to activism

Perkins, 64, was born to poverty as an Arrernte Aborigine in an outback camp near Alice Springs, but rose to became Australia's first Aboriginal university graduate and head of the department of Aboriginal affairs.

But his enduring epitaph will be his black activism.

Perkins was always the loud, angry voice of black Australia, allowing others to be portrayed as moderates.

Perkins, named Aborigine of the Year in 1993 and awarded the Order of Australia for his work for indigenous people, led a small group of Aborigines onto the lawns of Australia's parliament house in 1972 and erected an Aboriginal tent embassy.

The Aboriginal tent embassy remains on the lawns of the now old parliament and is protected under heritage laws.

"He was on a mission to change the status of race relations in Australia and for we as the first Australians to take our rightful place in our land," said Perkins' niece Pat Turner.

"He held a mirror in front of this country and exposed the discrimination and racism our people endured. He was determined to change that," Turner said in a eulogy.

"He wanted Australia to embrace our Arrernte heritage and he believed that until then Australia would be a country without a soul," she said. "He showed us the way. We all know there is much unfinished business... The future is in our hands."

Following the town hall service, Perkins' body was to be carried to the Sydney Opera House where a wake was planned.

The Opera House sits on Bennelong Point, reputedly the first meeting place of white and black Australia in 1788.

Perkins ashes will be scattered over his Arrernte "country."

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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The University of Sydney
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission
Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies
Australian Government

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