Ian Stephenson, President, Bulletin 1/2022 (March)

In September last year the NSW Government called for communities to nominate places linked to notable personalities and events for recognition as part of the NSW Blue Plaques program. The then Minister for Heritage, Don Harwin, said ‘whether it’s buildings or people that have had an important impact, across NSW there are hidden gems with stories that deserve to be told’.

Citizens were invited to recommend eligible places to their members of parliament who then nominated selected sites to the NSW Heritage Office to be assessed for a Blue Plaque.

A working party of the Glebe Society made a number of nominations to our local member, Jamie Parker. Over the course of the year we will share with you the places we recommended and the words we suggested for the plaque.

Our first nomination was 27 Catherine Street Glebe which was the home of the civil rights activist Charles Perkins and his wife Eileen and daughter Hetti while he was studying at the University of Sydney. The Glebe Society is indebted to Eileen and Hetti Perkins for their help.

Blue Plaque at the Charles Perkins Centre, 2022 (photo: James Grabowski, Blue Plaques NSW)

UPDATE (May 2022)

On 18 April, NSW Heritage Minister James Griffin announced a Blue Plaque for Charles Perkins.

The plaque is located at the Charles Perkins Centre at the University of Sydney, not at his former home in Catherine Street Glebe.