Charles Collier Perkins (8 August 1906 – 7 November 1961) was an Australian politician who was a Country Party member of the Legislative Assembly of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

from 1942 until his death. He served as a minister in the government of Sir

David Brand Sir David Brand KCMG (1 August 1912 – 15 April 1979) was an Australian politician. A member of the Liberal Party, he was a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Western Australia from 1945 to 1975, and also the 19th and longest-serving Premi ...

. Perkins was born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

to Gwendoline (née Collier) and Charles Henry Perkins. Educated at

Geelong Grammar School , motto_translation = 1 Corinthians 1:30: "For us, Christ was made wisdom"(1 Corinthians 1:30: Christ, who has been made for us in wisdom) , city = Corio, Victoria , country = Australia , coordinates = , ty ...

, he arrived in Western Australia in 1929 and purchased a farm at

Belka BelKA (an acronym from Belarusian: Беларускі Касмічны Апарат, Belarusian Cosmic Apparatus) was intended to be the first satellite of independent Belarus. Satellite It was a remote sensing satellite that utilizes the USP ( ...

, which he owned for the rest of his life. Perkins became prominent in agricultural circles, serving on the executive of the Primary Producers' Association and as a director of Westralian Farmers Ltd, a co-operative.Charles Collier Perkins
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 23 May 2016. He entered parliament at the 1942 York by-election, which had been caused by the resignation of Charles Latham (a former Country Party leader). After the 1947 state election, Perkins was appointed chairman of the committees in the Legislative Assembly, a position which held until the McLarty government's defeat at the 1953 election. At the 1950 election, he had transferred to the new seat of Roe. After the 1959 election, Perkins was included in the new ministry formed by David Brand, as Minister for Police,

Minister for Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government ag ...

, Minister for Labour, and Minister for Native Welfare. His four portfolios required large amounts of travel, including to interstate conferences and remote Aboriginal communities. Perkins died of a heart attack in November 1961, at his home in

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...

, and was given a

state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of Etiquette, protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive ...

at St George's Cathedral. He had married Kathleen Jennings Laffar in 1938, with whom he had four children.

References

, - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Perkins, Charles 1906 births 1961 deaths 20th-century Australian farmers Chairmen of Committees of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly National Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Western Australia People educated at Geelong Grammar School Politicians from Melbourne 20th-century Australian politicians Wesfarmers people People from Moonee Ponds, Victoria