01/05/2026
In February 1965, a bus carrying 29 university students left Sydney and headed into regional NSW. What happened over the next two weeks would become one of the most defining moments in Australian civil rights history.
Charles Perkins - Arrernte man, student activist, and future trailblazer - helped organise and lead what became known as the Freedom Rides. Inspired by the American civil rights movement, the group travelled through towns where Aboriginal people were legally and socially excluded from public life. Pools, clubs, civic spaces - all off limits to the people whose country this had always been.
In Moree, the confrontation became iconic. Aboriginal children were refused entry to the public swimming pool. The Freedom Riders walked them in anyway. Journalists and television cameras captured what followed, and for the first time, many Australians were forced to confront the reality of discrimination happening in their own backyard.
There was real hostility. The bus was jostled. Riders were abused. But Perkins and the group held firm. They knew that visibility was everything - that Australia could not continue to look away from what it had long tolerated in plain sight.
Perkins went on to graduate from the University of Sydney, becoming the first Aboriginal Australian to do so. He entered the Commonwealth public service, worked tirelessly as an advocate, and eventually became the first Aboriginal Australian to lead a federal government department. Through it all, he remained outspoken, principled, and deeply committed to his people.
He once said that he never wanted to be remembered as a token. He wanted change. Real, structural, lasting change. And much of what he fought for is now part of the foundation that others continue to build on.
At Bunji, stories like Charles Perkins' are part of why we exist. Bunji Organic Kombucha was built on the belief that First Nations people and culture belong at the centre of Australian life - not as history, but as living, present, active leadership.
Our Remarkable People series honours the individuals who shaped this country and whose legacy continues to matter. We share these stories because we believe knowing them makes all of us better.
Who in First Nations history has inspired you? We would love to hear in the comments.
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