Charles Duguid

The son of Charles Duguid and Jane Snodgrass Kinnier, Charles Duguid was born in Saltcoats, Ayrshire on 6 April 1884. He was the nephew of Captain Douglas Reid Kinnier, D.S.C. Duguid later attended the Ardrossan Academy High School and studied medicine at Glasgow University.

Whilst teaching at Glasgow University, Duguid worked as a doctor in the slums of Glasgow but in 1911 he signed on as the ship's surgeon for a voyage to and from Australia. This experience led him to emigrate to Australia in 1912.

Life in Australia
Duguid practised as a General Practitioner in Nhill, Victoria where he married his first wife Irene Young. They had one son, also called Charles. In 1941 Duguid moved to Adelaide to practise as a gynaecologist and obstetrician.

In February 1917 Duguid sailed for Egypt as a volunteer medical officer with the Light Horse Brigade. He returned to Scotland in 1919 for post-graduate study and to sit the examinations for surgical fellowship.

After his wife died in 1927, Duguid married Phyllis Lade. They had two children, Andrew and Rosemary.

Aboriginal rights
The murder of a white man by Aboriginals at Landers Creek sparked Duguid's interest in Aboriginal rights. The police shot 17 Aboriginals during the course of the hunt for the murderer. His wife founded the Aboriginal Advancement League in 1935 and Duguid served as President in 1935 and later between 1951 and 1961.

In 1937 Duguid helped to found the Ernabella Mission in the Musgrave Ranges of South Australia. He lectured and spoke in the United Kingdom as well as Australia and New Zealand about the conditions of the Australian Aborigines.

He was active in other organisations concerned with the advancement of Aborigine rights such as the Council for Aboriginal Rights and the Association for the Protection of Native Races.

In 1970 Duguid was awarded the O.B.E. for his work with Aborigines and four years later, in 1974 he received the Anisfield-Wolf Award in Race Relations for his autobiography "Doctor and the Aborigines".

Other interests
In addition to his work with Australian Aborigines, Duguid helped to found the English Speaking Union of which he was the chairman in 1932.

In 1935 he was elected Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of South Australia.

Duiguid died in Adelaide on 5 December 1986 at the age of 102. He was buried at Ernabella.