MEDIA RELEASE

16 March 2010

Two students have won the inaugural Charlie Perkins Scholarships to be the first Indigenous Australians to study at Oxford University.

The Charlie Perkins Trust for Children & Students, together with Hon. Jenny Macklin, Minister for Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs today announced in Canberra that Paul Gray and Christian Thompson were the inaugural winners of the Charlie Perkins scholarship programme that will send them to study at Oxford University. They will begin their studies this year.

The scholarships, covering living expenses, air fares and tuition fees for up to three years, are supported jointly by the Australian Government, through the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations, the British Government and Rio Tinto, with Qantas supporting the program as official airline sponsor.

The scholarships are named in honour of Charlie Perkins, who while playing soccer professionally in the UK, was inspired to return to Australia to undertake university study after competing in a game against Oxford University. He was the first Indigenous Australian man to graduate from university and the first Indigenous head of an Australian Government department.

Charlie Perkins’ daughter Hetti Perkins said she was thrilled at the selection of the two outstanding students. "Until now, for Indigenous students, studying at Oxford was an unattainable dream. With the Perkins Scholarships, these two talented Indigenous scholars can make the dream a reality", Ms Perkins said.

The scholarships were advertised extensively including through The Indigenous students' guide to postgraduate study in Australia and overseas, which is an initiative of the Aurora Project and the Charlie Perkins Trust. The Guide includes 88 scholarship opportunities in Australia targeting Indigenous postgraduates and 33 scholarships to study overseas.

The winners were then selected by a panel comprising Hetti Perkins (Chair of the panel and the Trust), Dr Subho Banerjee (Executive Director – Strategy and Delivery Division, PM&C), Megan Davis (Director, Indigenous Law Centre), Professor Martin Nakata (Director, Jumbunna House of Learning), Dr Michael Spence (Vice Chancellor, Sydney University) and John Virgoe (First Secretary, British High Commission).

Paul Gray is a 26 year old, who holds a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Psychology and Bachelor of Arts in Sociology/Aboriginal Studies from the University of Sydney. He was the first Indigenous Australian student to be admitted to the combined degree at Sydney University and the first to graduate with Honours in Psychology.

Christian Thompson is an acclaimed artist and holds a Masters of Fine Art from RMIT in Melbourne. The 32-year-old plans to undertake doctoral studies in Fine Art at the Ruskin School of Art.

"The scholarship and The Indigenous students' guide to postgraduate study in Australia and overseas are important steps towards ensuring that there will be more Indigenous academics at our top Australian universities acting as role models and mentors to the increasing number of Indigenous students pursuing higher education", Ms Perkins said.

>> Back to News homepage