Uncle Jack Charles
There was a State Funeral at Hamer Hall yesterday with a smoking ceremony outside and all three tiers filled inside. Uncle Jack Charles was given a State Funeral by the Victorian Government, it was a funeral like nothing else that I have experienced.
Uncle Jack Charles who described himself as “born again blak fella” was on his last journey after 79 years, a remarkable life on earth. In and out of jail for burglary, drug addiction and everything else known to man and a truly troubled soul due to his upbringing, or lack of it.
I re-read his autobiography, published in his 76th year, which included tributes from those close to him and from his honest recollections. Film maker, Amil Courtin-Wilson spent over 7 years travelling around the streets with him in the later part of his life describing how Jack saw walking out onto stage as an actor, as a kind of re-birth.
He had a purity of expression and intention that stayed with him after being free of drugs. He also followed Uncle Jack into the housing commission flats, introducing him to another family member, another poet, another singer and another ex-cell mate…
He wrote “your radical and tireless personal form of reconciliation, your ability to neutralise a bigoted world view, while busking on the street and then engaging in conversation. I saw you interacting on a daily basis with people who had most likely never spoken to an aboriginal person and these were all remarkable to witness.” He noted “the artist, like the criminal is a social explorer. Your life was spent traversing myriad desperate worlds and you are supremely comfortable doing it, walking the streets of Melbourne for decades. You could lean into every social interaction which was humbling. Whether speaking to a bus driver, an aggressive semi-conscious drunk or a politician, you possess the same candor wherever you went and you taught me about resilience and gratitude and how to move through the world with a lucidity driven by kindness, curiosity and dignity.”
“This is to honour your turn of phrase, mellifluous tones, wicked laugh and your love of chocolate pudding. Your strength was endless you love endless.”
His memory will also be endless, especially among his own people. Vale Uncle Jack.
Thank you to Peter Hollingworth for providing this reflection on 19 October 2022.
