Charles Samuels (1863/1864–1912) was an

Aboriginal Australian Aboriginal Australians are the various indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, excluding the ethnically distinct people of the Torres Strait Islands. Humans first migrated to Australia 50,000 to 65,000 year ...

athlete known for being a

pedestrianism Pedestrianism was a 19th-century form of competitive walking, often professional and funded by wagering, from which the modern sport of racewalking developed. 18th- and early 19th-century Britain During the late eighteenth and nineteenth ce ...

practitioner and a competitive sprinter. As an Aboriginal Australian, he grew up in a community of

Baruŋgam The Baruŋgam are an Aboriginal Australian people of Southeast Queensland. Language The earliest wordlist of the Barunggam language was compiled by Harriott Barlow, from Warkon Station on the Balonne River, and which was published in 1873. C ...

people (Bunyinni people). He was also acquainted with the family of Australian politician Joshua Peter Bell. In 1887 Samuels raced and won against British celebrity runner Harry Hutchens. In that same year he also raced against athletes Tom Malone and Ted Lazarus. According to a researcher for the

State Library of Queensland State Library of Queensland (State Library) is the state public reference and research library of Queensland, Australia, operated by the Government of Queensland, state government. The Library is governed by the Library Board of Queensland, whi ...

, it is believed that Samuels once met the Queensland Governor Sir William MacGregor in 1911. Samuels was regarded as a popular figure in Australian sports despite having a reputation for fighting and alcoholism. However his reputation was ruined following his arrest and commitment to the Callan Park Hospital for the Insane after being diagnosed with "

melancholia Melancholia or melancholy (from ',Burton, Bk. I, p. 147 meaning black bile) is a concept found throughout ancient, medieval, and premodern medicine in Europe that describes a condition characterized by markedly depressed mood, bodily complain ...

". He died of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

in 1912. His death was reported in ''

The Brisbane Courier ''The Courier-Mail'' is an Australian newspaper published in Brisbane. Owned by News Corp Australia, it is published daily from Monday to Saturday in tabloid format. Its editorial offices are located at Bowen Hills, in Brisbane's inner norther ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Samuels, Charles 1912 deaths Year of birth uncertain People from the Darling Downs Indigenous Australians in Queensland Australian prisoners and detainees Australian runners