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 (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

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

David Brand Sir David Brand Order of St Michael and St George, KCMG (1 August 1912 – 15 April 1979) was an Australian politician. He was the longest-serving premier of Western Australia, in office from 1959 to 1971, and was state leader of the Liberal Pa ...

. Perkins was born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

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

Geelong Grammar School Geelong Grammar School is a private Anglican co-educational boarding and day school. The school's main campus is located in Corio on the northern outskirts of Geelong, Victoria, Australia, overlooking Corio Bay and Limeburners Bay. Establ ...

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

Belka BelKA or BKA (an acronym from Belarusian: Беларускі Касмічны Апарат, Belarusian Cosmic Apparatus) is the first satellite of independent Belarus. First attempt It was a remote sensing satellite that utilizes the USP (satel ...

, 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 Sir Charles George Latham (26 January 1882 – 26 August 1968), often shortened to simply C. G. Latham, was an Australian politician, former leader of the opposition in Western Australia and the 10th President of the Western Australian Legisla ...

(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 a ...

, 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 the London Borou ...

, and was given a

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

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 Chairpersons 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 Farmers from Western Australia