FILM AUSTRALIA COLLECTION

Title Details

Charles Perkins

Charles Perkins recounts the experiences that fuelled his great anger against white injustice and his determination to fight for Aboriginal rights.
Series : Australian Biography Series 7 | Year : 1998 | Total Duration : 26 Minutes | Producer : Robin Hughes
Director : Robin Hughes |
Interview Charles Perkins talking about importance of history, 1999. Super. Archival b&w footage Northern Territory outback landscape. Pan right across large rocks to Todd River and trees with Aboriginal compound (or settlement) buildings nestled together on far bank. VS exterior and interior compound buildings.
Access No. 131258 | 1 min 4 secs | 1990s | Alice Springs, NT, Australia | © ABC Television | Colour |
Still b&w portrait photograph Charles Perkins as boy wearing suit, 1940s. Zoom in to face. Interview Perkins talking about how grandmother was not allowed to have contact with him as a child in a compound. Zoom in on still b&w photograph Charles Perkins' mother. Interview Perkins talking about strength and discipline of his mother. Pull back from b&w photo CU Perkins' mother's face. Interview Perkins. B&W photo Charles Perkins and his brother as young boys, 1940s. Zoom in to Charles. Interview Perkins about contact with white people.
Access No. 131259 | 1 min 29 secs | 1990s | Australia | © Charles Perkins | Colour |
Still b&w photograph group of people dressed in white with Charles Perkins' mother in white apron. Interview Charles Perkins.
Access No. 131260 | 11 secs | 1990s | Australia | © Charles Perkins | Colour |
Archival b&w footage Charles Perkins and his mother playing cards. CU hands dealing cards. MS Charles and mother. Interview Perkins talking about close relationship with mother, 1999. Archival b&w footage WS train going through outback landscape, pan down from gum tree. Overhead shot Perkins' mother standing alone on flat desert ground, then walking away. 05:38:11 Aboriginal children leaning out of train window as it slowly passes camera. Interview Perkins talking about life in institutions.
Access No. 131261 | 50 secs | 1960s | Australia | © ABC Television | Colour |
Archival b&w footage Children's Home in Adelaide. Pan right from tree to children's home. MS house. Interview Charles Perkins talking about hating time at institution, 1999.
Access No. 131262 | 16 secs | 1960s | Adelaide, SA, Australia | © ABC Television | Colour |
Still b&w photograph group of choir boys. Zoom to young Charles Perkins standing with group. Interview Charles Perkins talking about never having been invited to other people's homes or parties. B&W photo young Perkins standing with group of boys. Zoom to Perkins. Interview Perkins talking about being expelled from / kicked out of children's home, 1999.
Access No. 131263 | 1 min 10 secs | Unknown | Australia | © Charles Perkins | Colour |
Archival b&w footage railway station POV train. Train. Sign for Semaphore tram / train stop. Interview Charles Perkins talking about how he came to do apprenticeship,1999. Archival b&w footage sign for Apprentice's Training School. VS activities in fitter and turner workshop. Interview Perkins talking about trade. Archival b&w footage VS fitter and turner workshop. Interview Perkins,1999. Archival footage boarding house in suburban street. Interview Perkins,1999. Archival footage chequered tiles on pathway leading to front door of boarding house.
Access No. 131264 | 1 min 53 secs | 1960s | Australia | © ABC Television | Colour |
Interview Charles Perkins talking about poverty,1999. Archival b&w footage washing hanging on line. Pan right to WS shanty dwellings made of corrugated iron. MS sad looking Aboriginal woman sitting outside dwelling fidgeting with magazine. Interview Perkins talking about restrictions of being an Australian Aboriginal,1999.
Access No. 131265 | 34 secs | Unknown | Australia | © ABC Television | Colour |
Still b&w photograph Charles Perkins as young man with two other young men on ship's deck,1950s. Interview Perkins talking about playing soccer. Still b&w photo soccer team. Pull back from Charles Perkins to rest of team in uniform. Interview Perkins talking about meeting his wife. Still b&w photo Perkins and wife Eileen. B&W photo pan up to Charles and Eileen sitting on brick wall. Interview Perkins. B&W wedding photo. Pull back from CU Eileen to bridal couple / bride and groom in car. Interview. Previous photo pan CU faces.
Access No. 131266 | 1 min 15 secs | 1950s, 1990s, | Australia | © Charles Perkins | Colour |
Archival b&w footage Sydney University,1960s. Pull back to WS old university building with man walking across campus quadrangle. Rear view Charles Perkins studying at desk. CU Charles concentrating. Interview Perkins talking about how soccer complimented his studies,1999.
Access No. 131267 | 22 secs | 1960s | Sydney, NSW, Australia | © ABC Television | Colour |
Still b&w photograph Charles Perkins playing soccer for Sydney's Pan Hellenic club.
Access No. 131268 | 4 secs | 1960s | Sydney, NSW, Australia | © Charles Perkins | B&W |
Various archival b&w newspaper clippings, 1960s, of headline ÒPerkins' Plan: Greeks to get toughÓ, pan of Charles Perkins playing soccer, headline ÒPan Hellenic capt. sent offÓ, Perkins tackling another player, group of players jumping for soccer ball, Perkins running in soccer match, article called ÒSoccer's Mr UniqueÓ. Interview Charles Perkins talking about discipline and inspirations for attaining education,1999.
Access No. 131269 | 1 min 7 secs | 1960s | Sydney, NSW, Australia | © ABC Television | Colour |
Archival b&w footage ÒFreedom RideÓ activists country tour for Aboriginal rights,1965. Banner on side of bus / coach reading Ò Student Action for AboriginesÓ. Student activists carrying banner. Two policemen. Charles Perkins addressing gathering of activists. Interview Perkins talking about Freedom Ride and Aboriginal rights,1999.
Access No. 131270 | 31 secs | 1960s | NSW, Australia | © ABC Television | Colour |
Archival b&w footage Aboriginal shantytown,1960s. Travelling shot POV car dwellings / huts/ shacks built from corrugated iron and other rough materials. Group of Aboriginal people gathered outside dwelling. Interview Charles Perkins talking about Aboriginal rights,1999.
Access No. 131271 | 20 secs | 1960s | Australia | © ABC Television | Colour |
Archival b&w television footage Charles Perkins with Freedom Riders. Walking in group. Crowd entering hall.
Access No. 131272 | 8 secs | 1960s | Australia | © ABC Television | B&W |
Still b&w photograph Charles Perkins in graduation clothes, standing outside university building, 1965. Pan from sandstone building to Perkins in graduation garb.
Access No. 131273 | 8 secs | 1960s | Sydney, NSW, Australia | © Charles Perkins | B&W |
Archival b&w footage busy Sydney street, 1960s. Bus passing camera as it pans to exterior of Foundation for Aboriginal Affairs building. Car parked outside. Interior office with woman typing . Pan across office to manager sign on door. Interview Charles Perkins talking about Foundation for Aboriginal Affairs,1999.
Access No. 131274 | 23 secs | 1960s | Sydney, NSW, Australia | © ABC Television | Colour |
Archival b&w footage Charles Perkins in meeting with others around table. Rear view Perkins addressing crowd / rally from podium. Aboriginal man sitting next to Salvation Army lady. WS podium with National Aborigines Day banner. Track of boys lined up. Perkins addressing women's meeting. Women sitting around tables listening. Tea cups on tables. Perkins seated in chair in front of television camera in studio. Pull back to WS studio through window above control panel.
Access No. 131275 | 35 secs | 1960s | Australia | © ABC Television | B&W |
Interview Charles Perkins talking about how he had spoken in the media about Aboriginal rights,1999. Archival b&w footage Perkins walking into office building through glass doors, 1960s.
Access No. 131276 | 15 secs | 1960s | Australia | © ABC Television | Colour |
Still b&w photograph Charles Perkins on telephone,1970s. Zoom to smiling face. Interview Perkins talking about Gough Whitlam and the establishment of the Department of Aboriginal Affairs, 1999.
Access No. 131277 | 26 secs | 1970s | Australia | © Charles Perkins | Colour |
Archival colour footage outdoor gathering of Aboriginal people, 1970s. PM Gough Whitlam with elder Aboriginal man during land rights ceremony. Interview Charles Perkins talking about effects on relationships with Aboriginal people, 1999. 15:46:22 Archival colour footage moustached Charles Perkins giving talk outside building in Canberra. Policemen in B/G. Interview Perkins talking about troubles with Canberra bureaucrats and politicians.
Access No. 131278 | 54 secs | 1970s | Australia | © ABC Television | Colour |
Still b&w photograph Charles Perkins standing with three other men, 1970s. Zoom to Perkins. Interview Perkins talking about complications of his job in Canberra. Still b&w photo Charles Perkins with another man, 1970s. Zoom to Perkins. Interview Perkins talking about need to speak out,1999. B&W photo Perkins with elder Aboriginal man. Interview Perkins talking about loss of kidneys and illness, 1999.
Access No. 131279 | 1 min 6 secs | 1970s | Australia | © Charles Perkins | Colour |
Still b&w photograph Charles Perkins on dialysis machine, 1970s. Pull back from hand on dial to Charles with young daughter beside him. Interview Perkins talking about having no fear and speaking out, 1999.
Access No. 131280 | 22 secs | 1970s | Canberra, ACT, Australia | © Canberra Times | Colour |
Still colour portrait photograph Charles Perkins, 1970s with sideburns and moustache. Interview Perkins talking about suspension, 1999. Newspaper clippings of headlines ÒPerkins may face charges: SenatorÓ and ÒPerkins: I won't back downÓ and ÒCourt seeks strong action on PerkinsÓ. Still b&w photograph Charles Perkins standing over his three children who are sitting in pram, 1970s. Interview Perkins talking about leaving Canberra for Alice Springs, 1999. B&W photo Perkins and others holding Land Rights Movement banner. Zoom to Perkins.
Access No. 131281 | 59 secs | 1970s | Australia | © Charles Perkins | Colour |
Archival colour footage PM Malcolm Fraser, 1970s. Interview Charles Perkins talking about Malcolm Fraser and his contribution to Aboriginal affairs, 1999.
Access No. 131282 | 28 secs | 1970s | Australia | © ABC Footage Sales | Colour |
Still b&w photograph Charles Perkins shaking hands with PM Malcolm Fraser, both in dinner suits at function.
Access No. 131283 | 7 secs | 1970s | Australia | © Charles Perkins | B&W |
Archival colour footage Charles Perkins walking, with hand in pocket, to entrance of MLC Tower building in Canberra, 1970s. Pan up building. Interior office, Perkins at desk with secretary, takes papers. Perkins walking into office and sitting down behind desk. Zoom in to Perkins at desk working with papers. Interview Perkins talking about Aboriginal people being involved in own affairs, 1999. Archival colour footage people around boardroom table, media present. Perkins at table. Aboriginal man. Interview Perkins, 1999.
Access No. 131284 | 1 min 1 sec | 1970s | Australia | © ABC Television | Colour |
Still b&w photograph Clyde Holding with PM Bob Hawke shaking hands with Charles Perkins, 1980s. Interview Charles Perkins talking about land rights legislation, 1999. Still b&w photo Perkins looking thoughtful in meeting, 1980s. Other Aboriginals in B/G.
Access No. 131285 | 34 secs | 1980s | Australia | © Charles Perkins | Colour |
Still b&w photograph Charles Perkins and Clyde Holding, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, with group of young Aboriginal men, 1980s. Perkins with cloth on head. Detail of photo Perkins and Holding.
Access No. 131286 | 8 secs | 1980s | Australia | © Canberra Times | B&W |
Still b&w photograph Charles Perkins at microphone with smiling Aboriginal man standing behind him, 1980s. Zoom to Perkins. Interview Perkins describing national land rights legislation. B&W photo Perkins sitting in circle with white people and Aboriginals in outback desert setting. Interview Perkins talking about failure of land rights process, 1999.
Access No. 131287 | 38 secs | 1980s | Australia | © Charles Perkins | Colour |
21:40:09 Archival colour footage Charles Perkins and Clyde Holding, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, being shown didgeridoo at outdoor function, 1980s. 21:44:19 Archival colour footage Gerry Hand, new Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, walking with bag in hand to doorway. Interview Charles Perkins talking about bad relationship with new minister, 1999. 21:53:08 Archival colour footage zoom to Canberra office tower block, 1980s. Interior office building directory. Tilt up to Aboriginal Affairs sign. VS workers inside office.
Access No. 131288 | 27 secs | 1980s | Australia | © ABC Television | Colour |
Interview Charles Perkins talking about the loss of the Department of Aboriginal Affairs, 1999. Archival colour footage Gerry Hand being interviewed by press / media, 1980s. Interview Perkins saying he should have resigned, 1999.
Access No. 131289 | 57 secs | 1980s | Australia | © ABC Television | Colour |
Still b&w portrait photograph Charles Perkins sitting at desk, holding glasses, 1980s. Zoom to CU face. Interview Perkins talking about accusations aimed at him in Parliament, 1999.
Access No. 131290 | 31 secs | 1980s | Australia | © Charles Perkins | Colour |
Archival colour footage Charles Perkins with head in hand as he writes, 1980s. WS pan inquiry meeting. MS attendee at inquiry. Interview Perkins talking about missing letter. Archival footage inquiry / hearing. Interview Perkins talking about stealing, 1999.
Access No. 131291 | 41 secs | 1980s | Australia | © ABC Television | Colour |
Still b&w photograph Charles Perkins at press conference, 1980s. Strained look on his face behind microphones. Interview Perkins talking about shame, 1999.
Access No. 131292 | 25 secs | 1980s | Australia | © Canberra Times | Colour |
Still colour photograph Charles Perkins with family, 1980s. Pull back to group. Interview Perkins. Still b&w photo Charles Perkins talking at microphones, 1980s. Pan from Aboriginal painting. Still colour photograph Perkins and Bob Katter with elder Aboriginal man in brightly coloured shirt. Zoom to smiling Charles. Colour photo shirtless Perkins sitting on rock on beach. Interview Perkins talking about Aboriginal initiation in Alice Springs, 1999.
Access No. 131293 | 46 secs | 1980s | Australia | © Charles Perkins | Colour |
Still colour photograph Charles Perkins laughing with Aboriginal man and women at outdoor function, 1980s. Perkins holding drink can. Colour photo CU Perkins with two Aboriginal men in hats. Interview Perkins talking about disregard for his white heritage, 1999. Still b&w photo Perkins with Aboriginal man . Zoom to Charles, sea in B/G. Interview Perkins talking about father. Still b&w photo Perkins' father. Interview Perkins talking about ancestry., 1999. Detail of photo of father. Interview Perkins.
Access No. 131294 | 1 min 39 secs | 1980s | Australia | © Charles Perkins | Colour |
Still b&w portrait photograph Charles Perkins and family, 1990s. Interview Perkins talking about ancestry and merging of different cultures.
Access No. 131295 | 14 secs | 1990s | Australia | © Charles Perkins | Colour |