Charlie King OAM

[1951 - ]

SPORTS COMMENTATOR

Charlie King is the Northern Territory's Grandstand Presenter (ABC Local)
(Source: ABC)

Introduction

Charlie King OAM is an Indigenous Australian sports commentator and award-winning anti-family violence campaigner working in Darwin in the Northern Territory of Australia. He is of Gurindji descent.

Charlie King was born in Alice Springs in 1951, and is the 8th child of Jack and Ruby King. He has 11 children in his family [8 sisters & 2 brothers]. He has a twin sister.

Jack King was an outback truck driver who delivered stores and goods to most outback stations in the Northern Territory (NT) in the 1930-40s and Ruby King was a Gurindji woman from Limbunya Station [Wave Hill], near Kalkarindji, who was taken from her family as a young child [8 - 9 years] and placed in the Kahlin Compound, near Darwin. Ruby was later returned to her country as an adult married woman. Ruby's father was white and a policeman.

King is a commentator for ABC Radio's Grandstand sport program based in Darwin. He commentates on various sports including Australian rules football and cricket. His expertise on and off the sporting field has made him much-loved in the Northern Territory and around Australia.

Did You Know? (Source: AFL_NT) King’s passion is the driving force behind the Northern Territory’s explosion in women playing participation numbers, which has been embraced by all NT clubs, not just in Darwin. King coordinated one-off women’s matches for decades and created the NT launching pad for the competitions, junior grades and representative teams. His work, along with a small but passionate group, enabled the Northern Territory Football League (NTFL) and affiliated leagues to embrace the ambitions of female footballers. After reaching the 600 game Australian Football commentating milestone in February 2016 after beginning at Gardens Oval in 1996, King’s total calls, if Tiwi Island and other NT leagues are counted, would most likely exceed double that number. King, by his own statements, had an inauspicious playing career but his modesty may impinge on that. He played Reserves and Premier League with Wanderers before enthusiastically embracing the brotherhood of University Rats in the then Northern Territory Football Association where he won a best and fairest. In 1999, King earned All Australian Super Rules selection in what is now called Masters Football. King has also umpired over 100 games of junior, women’s and masters football and has coached Wanderers' juniors and women’s teams as well as a University Rats premiership team. As further evidence of his passion, he coached the first NT women’s team at the 2000 and 2002 National Championships. 2019 AFL NT Hall of Fame – Media: Charlie King OAM https://youtu.be/_ISNA9LGJL8

At the 2006 Commonwealth Games, he was the lawn bowls commentator for ABC radio. King was a commentator at the 2008 Beijing Olympics for ABC, becoming the first Indigenous Australian to commentate at an Olympic Games.

King has worked in child protection for more than 25 years, volunteering as an independent person supporting children without a parent or guardian in trouble with the law. Charlie is also a passionate campaigner against domestic violence and initiated the zero-tolerance campaign 'NO MORE' in 2006. Reaching the Indigenous and wider Australian community, the NO MORE campaign has links with more than five sporting codes and nearly a hundred teams – and is still growing.

Charlie King awarded an Order of Australa Medal
(Source: NT News 26 January 2015)

King was awarded an Order of Australia Medal (OAM) for his service to broadcast media and the Indigenous community in 2015. Charlie won a Northern Territory human-rights award in 2016 and used the moment to call for an end to family violence over Christmas. For 25 years he has also volunteered to sit with children in trouble without a parent or guardian during police interviews.

Did You Know? Momentum for the campaign [No More] began in 2006, and was consolidated in 2008 when NO MORE Campaign founder Charlie King visited remote Indigenous communities in the Northern Territory to discuss family violence. Charlie noticed a trend among the top end and central desert communities. Charlie saw that some men had very strong opinions on how men should care and look after their family in a positive way. He saw these men as future leaders, though they were small in number. Then in the middle was the majority, who made no strong action either for or against the violence. Then, at the other end of the spectrum was a group who felt as strongly as the first, but in that they should be allowed to control their families however they choose. Charlie saw the challenge as figuring out how to empower the men in the first group who want to see a peaceful change. In talking with these men, Charlie noticed two independently recurring phrases said by all the local elders. These phrases were ‘no more’ and ‘all men should link up’. From this the NO MORE Campaign took its name and symbol of linked arms. Our name is a homage to those Indigenous men in remote Northern Territory communities taking action in their communities. When we link arms as a symbolic gesture, we are referring to the words of indigenous elders. Family violence is not, however, exclusive to indigenous communities. Accordingly, the campaign has reached out to the wider Australian community. The key theme of the campaign is placing the responsibility of reducing family violence on men, the most common perpetrators. Central to the program is the respect of women. While men may have the power to be destructive, they have an equal power to care and look after their families. The reduction of family violence needs men to stand up, as individuals and a group, and take ownership for finding a solution. To engage with large numbers of men, it is important to be present where large numbers of men gather. Sport, therefore, acts as a way to engage with men on a large scale and is the ideal place to engage with men on family violence. On this basis, the campaign began to involve itself in the sporting community. Today Today the NO MORE Campaign has links with more than five sporting codes and nearly a hundred teams, and is still growing. A unique NO MORE approach to family violence has been developed, the domestic violence action plan. The concept of a domestic violence action plan started with the local Northern Territory NTFL team Nightcliff and has since rolled on to be embraced by national teams such as the NRL’s Parramatta Eels. The linking of arms has become a staple of big matches, such as recent NTFL Grand Finals and national sporting code visits to the Northern Territory. The importance of staying connected to grassroots teams has not been forgotten, with the campaign being heavily involved in the Alice Springs Lightening Carnival and associated regional communities. The NO MORE Campaign has also garnered support from all levels of government, and the wider public. Wider public awareness of the campaign is growing through our increasing engagement with the sporting community. Charlie King’s recent appearance on Q and A also provided significant coverage of the campaign on the national stage, as well the launch of the Parramatta Eels Domestic Violence Action Plan. (Source: No More)

AI Overview

Charlie King AM is a veteran Indigenous Australian sports broadcaster and anti-domestic violence campaigner based in Darwin.

His career and public persona are defined by several key attributes:

Professional Attributes

• Veteran Broadcaster: Charlie has been with the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) since 1990. He is best known as the host of Territory Grandstand and has decades of experience calling diverse sports like AFL, Rugby Union, and Cricket.

• Cultural Background: He is a Gurindji man born in Alice Springs. His heritage deeply informs his storytelling, including sharing his mother’s history as a survivor of the Stolen Generations.

• Versatile Commentator: He is highly regarded in the Northern Territory for his "legendary" ability to commentate almost any sport, from high-level professional matches to local community games. King was a commentator at the 2008 Beijing Olympics for ABC, becoming the first Indigenous Australian to commentate at an Olympic Games.

Community & Social Advocacy

• Anti-Violence Campaigner: Before his radio career, Charlie worked as a youth worker for 20 years. He is the founder of the "No More" campaign, an initiative aimed at reducing domestic violence through the influence of sporting clubs.

• Advocate for Change: He frequently speaks on the role of sports in driving social change and equality for Indigenous Australians.

• Decorated Citizen: His community contributions have been recognised with several awards, including:

  • Member of the Order of Australia (AM).

  • Northern Territory Indigenous Person of the Year (2001).

  • Darwin Citizen of the Year (2003).

Personal Interests

• Active Sportsman: Beyond broadcasting, Charlie is an avid runner, a football umpire, and has coached the NT Women’s Australian Rules team.

• Musician: He has a background as a drummer in a band.
  

Links

Australian of the Year Awards 2019 NT State Recipient Senior Australian of the Year
"No More" Campaign against Domestic Violence
ABC News 27 October 2017 Aljazeera 3 May 2017 BTG Foundation	Conversations with Richard Fidler July 2008 mp3 Introduction (Now in WebArchive) Charlie was born in Alice Springs to a mother of Indigenous descent and an Irish father and their great love story is one he never tires of telling. He grew up a mad sports lover but never imagined earning his living at it. He's now something of a legend in the Territory for his ability to call any sport. Before forging a radio career, Charlie was a youth worker for twenty years. Making a difference to disadvantaged young people and victims of domestic violence is still high on his agenda. Charlie King has been the recipient of a number of awards for his contribution to the community, including: the inaugural Children's Champion in 2005; 2003 Darwin Citizen of the Year, and 2001 Northern Territory Indigenous Person of the Year.
Conversations with Richard Fidler 5 July 2021

YouTube: https://youtu.be/Kg76pgJWrQU

 

YouTube: https://youtu.be/vnO8RbTKKEo

How Sports can tackle violence against women and girls: An analysis

Secondary

Australian Curriculum General Capability: Ethical Understanding

Australian Curriculum General Capability: Critical and Creative Thinking

Australian Curriculum General Capability: Personal and Social Capability

Australian Curriculum Cross Curriculum Priorities: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures

Australian Curriculum General Capability: Literacy

Cooperative Learning Activity

 Teacher
Optional Extra: Convert this activity to a Community of Inquiry. Click on this link to see how to conduct a CoI.

1. Select groups of 3 - 4 students. Read the following article from The Conversation 6 December 2018

2. Using the following Question Quadrant, list questions you would like to discuss or explore further. With your group, list 4 questions in each quadrant [one question from each student].

3. Write all the questions from "Questions for Thinking" on the board. Group the same questions together. As a class, discuss the group of questions with the most number. Create one question out of all the questions and discuss that question. 

Material sourced from
Australian of the Year
BTG Foundation
Wikipedia
Conversations with Richard Fidler