Charles Henry "Harry" Perkins AO (5 August 1939 – 14 December 2002) was an Australian farmer, businessman, and philanthropist who was best known as the chairman of

Wesfarmers Wesfarmers Limited is an Australian conglomerate, headquartered in Perth, Western Australia. It has interests predominantly in Australia and New Zealand, operating in retail, chemical, fertiliser, industrial and safety products. With revenue o ...

from 1986 to 2002. He also served as chancellor of

Curtin University Curtin University, formerly known as Curtin University of Technology and Western Australian Institute of Technology (WAIT), is an Australian public research university based in Bentley, Perth, Western Australia. It is named after John Curtin, ...

and helped establish the Western Australian Institute for Medical Research, which was later renamed the

Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research The Harry Perkins Institute of Medical Research is a medical research centre based in Perth, Western Australia. It has facilities at the Queen Elizabeth II Medical Centre in Nedlands and Fiona Stanley Hospital in Murdoch. The institute was establ ...

in his honour.

Early life and family

Perkins was born to a farming family in

Bruce Rock, Western Australia Bruce Rock is a town in the eastern Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, approximately east of Perth and southwest of Merredin. It is the main town in the Shire of Bruce Rock. History Originally known as Nunagin or Noonegin, the name of ...

. His father, Charles Collier Perkins, had moved there from Victoria in the 1920s and was also involved with Wesfarmers; he was later elected to state parliament and became a government minister. Perkins was 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 ...

, which his father had also attended. He then returned to Bruce Rock to run the family farm in his father's absence."Wesfarmers chairman embodied common sense", ''The West Australian'', 18 December 2002 In 1972, Perkins was awarded a Nuffield Farming Scholarship, which allowed him to spend six months in Europe on a study tour. He subsequently became one of the first farmers in his districts to employ chemical weed control and

no-till farming No-till farming (also known as zero tillage or direct drilling) is an agricultural technique for growing crops or pasture without disturbing the soil through tillage. No-till farming decreases the amount of soil erosion tillage causes in certai ...

techniques.

Business career

Perkins was appointed to the board of Wesfarmers in 1975, at a time when it was still organised along the lines of a farmers'

cooperative A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...

. The company was publicly listed in 1984, after a push from general manager

John Bennison John Bennison Order of Australia, AM Order of the British Empire, OBE (3 July 1924 – 6 May 2017) was an Australian businessman known for his long involvement with Wesfarmers. He began work at the company in 1954, and as managing director from 19 ...

. Perkins retained his place on the board, and in 1986 succeeded Sir

Marcus Beeck Sir Marcus Truby Beeck (28 December 1923 – 2 May 1986) was an Australian farmer and businessman. He served as president of the Royal Agricultural Society of Western Australia from 1975 to 1978 and as chairman of Wesfarmers from 1983 until his de ...

(deceased) as chairman. His period as the head of the board was marked by massive growth and expansion, as Wesfarmers diversified into the industrial conglomerate that it is today. Perkins resigned from Wesfarmers in December 2002, having suffered a decline in health due to lung cancer as a result of cigarette smoking. He died the day after his resignation.Vale Harry Perkins 1939 – 2002
''Business News'', 17 December 2002

Michael Chaney Michael Alfred Chaney (born 15 April 1950) is an Australian businessman and former Chancellor (education), chancellor of the University of Western Australia. Early life Chaney was born in Perth on 15 April 1950. He was the third-youngest of s ...

, Wesfarmers' managing director, said his chairmanship was "marked by the teamwork and harmony he was able to create and maintain"."Chairman who changed Wesfarmers dies", ''

Australian Financial Review ''The Australian Financial Review'' (abbreviated to the ''AFR'') is an Australian business-focused, compact daily newspaper covering the current business and economic affairs of Australia and the world. The newspaper is based in Sydney, New Sou ...

'', 16 December 2002 He was succeeded by Trevor Eastwood as chairman of the Wesfarmers Board.

Community service and philanthropy

Perkins served on the Bruce Rock Shire Council as a councillor and deputy president. He had a long-standing involvement with the

Nuffield Foundation The Nuffield Foundation is a charitable trust established in 1943 by William Morris, Lord Nuffield, the founder of Morris Motors Ltd. It aims to improve social well-being by funding research and innovation projects in education and social pol ...

(particular its scholarship programme), and served as an advisor to the federal government's

Cooperative Research Centre Cooperative Research Centres (CRCs) are an Australian Federal Government program and are key bodies for Australian science, scientific research. The Cooperative Research Centres Programme was established in 1990 to enhance Australia's industri ...

s programme. In 1997, Perkins was appointed

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

– a position he held until his death. Around the same time, he was involved in the establishment of the Western Australian Institute for Medical Research. He organised a $5-million donation from Wesfarmers, and in 1998 became its inaugural chairman. In 2013, the organisation was renamed the

in his honour. In the 2001 Australia Day Honours, Perkins was made an

Officer of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

(AO), "for service to primary industry, particularly as a leader and researcher in farm management practices and the new utilisation of grain, to tertiary education, and to the community".It's An Honour
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Perkins, Harry 1939 births 2002 deaths Australian chairpersons of corporations Australian farmers Curtin University faculty Officers of the Order of Australia People educated at Geelong Grammar School People from Bruce Rock, Western Australia Wesfarmers people