Remembering Charlie

The committee will be charged with raising funds for a statue - for cost comparison a bronze statue of flamboyant former Whitlam Immigration Minister, Al Grassby was unveiled in Canberra on May 18 at a cost of $72,000; consulting with Sydney’s traditional owners on cultural protocols; consulting with the Sydney mayor and town councillors on a prominent and accessible location; opening a bank account for public donations and setting a significant date for an unveiling.

For what its worth I would recommend to the committee that they aim high and include a water feature, similar to the Martin Luthur King Memorial in San Francisco Square that would allow for an in-depth reflection, images and quotations on the walls, on the many achievements of Charlie - but of course would cost significantly more than the Al Grassby statue.

A further suggestion would be to aim to raise $250,000 by offering naming rights; individual, family, organisation or corporation, to each tile or brick at a price of $250 per 1,000 on offer.

I would take great pride in seeing my family name on a tile at this location marked “Hagan family - Toowoomba” as I’m sure many others would of their mob.

There are literally hundreds of NAIDOC balls, sporting carnivals, business conferences taking place in the coming months around the nation where organisers may wish to ask for a gold coin donation to go towards the “Remembering Charlie” fund raising campaign.

Indigenous organisations; medical, legal, housing, native title, education, and so on, could have a money tin at their reception for clients who may wish to make a gold coin donation. The tile will have an inscription of the community event or organisation on it as a permanent record of their contribution to making the statue and its associated feature possible.

Charlie, throughout his working life, displayed honour of the highest order and in turn should be honoured for outstanding service to the Australian community, especially his beloved Indigenous population.