Charles Perkins (fourth from left) stands with other activists next to the Student Action for Aborigines bus in Bowraville (1965), State Library of NSW.
Freedom Ride
A Documentary Screening to acknowledge the 60th Anniversary of the 1965 Freedom Ride
In 1965, a group of Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians embarked on the Freedom Ride, a bus journey across New South Wales led by Charles Perkins, an Arrernte and Kalkadoon civil rights activist. The ride aimed to raise awareness of the widespread racial discrimination faced by Indigenous Australians. It is now regarded as a pivotal moment in the fight for civil rights for Indigenous people in Australia.
To acknowledge the 60th anniversary of this seminal moment in Australia’s history, BAMM is screening Dr Rachel Perkins Freedom Ride. The documentary covers the events of 60 years ago when Rachel's father, Dr 'Kumantjayi’ (Charlie) Perkins AO, was the first Aboriginal person to attend university. He led fellow students from the University of Sydney on a 'freedom ride’ through rural NSW to expose racial segregation in Australia.
Director: Dr Rachel Perkins
Screening: 19–22 February 2025
Times: 11am, 1pm & 3pm Wed, Thurs and Friday; 11am Saturday
Where: The Vault, BAMM Gallery
FREE
The Vault is an intimate screening room. Please register which session you would like to attend with BAMM on 02 5764 0955.
Biographies
Charles Nelson Perkins AO, usually known as Charlie Perkins (16 June 1936 – 19 October 2000), was an Aboriginal Australian activist, soccer player and administrator. It is claimed he was the first known Indigenous Australian man to graduate tertiary education. He is known for his instigation and organisation of the 1965 Freedom Ride and his key role in advocating for a "yes" vote in the 1967 Aboriginals referendum.
Rachel Perkins (born 1970) is an Indigenous Australian film and television director, producer, and screenwriter. She founded and was co-director of the independent film production company Blackfella Films from 1992 until 2022. Perkins and the company were responsible for producing First Australians (2008), an award-winning documentary series that remains the highest-selling educational title in Australia, and which Perkins regards as her most important work. She directed the films Radiance (1998), One Night the Moon (2001), Bran Nue Dae (2009), the courtroom drama telemovie Mabo (2012), and Jasper Jones (2017). The acclaimed television drama series Redfern Now was made by Blackfella Films, and Perkins directed two episodes as well as the feature-length conclusion to the series, Promise Me (2015).
Perkins is an Arrernte and Kalkadoon woman from Central Australia, who was raised in Canberra. She is the daughter of Aboriginal activist Charles Perkins and his wife Eileen.