Three young Indigenous Australians have been given the opportunity to study at Oxford and Cambridge, after being named as recipients of Charlie Perkins Scholarships.
As of two years ago, there had never been an Indigenous Australian studying for an undergraduate or postgraduate degree at either of these British universities.
In 2010, Paul Gray and Christian Thompson were the inaugural scholarship recipients and the first Indigenous students to study at Oxford.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard, Minister Evans and Minister Macklin congratulated the three students and their families at a morning tea held in Parliament House today.
The three Charlie Perkins Scholarships recipients for 2012 are:
• Lilly Brown, 26, finishing Honours in Indigenous Studies at the University of Melbourne. She has been accepted to a Masters degree in Politics, Development and Democratic Education at Trinity College, Cambridge. She will be the first indigenous Australian to study an undergraduate or postgraduate degree at Cambridge.
• Krystal Lockwood, 25, has completed her Criminology and Criminal Justice degree with first class honours at Griffith University. She will study a Masters of Evidenced Based Social Intervention at Green Templeton College, Oxford.
• Kyle Turner, 27, received first class honours in his Bachelor's degree in Archaeology Practice and a Masters of Applied Epidemiology from the Australian National University. He has been accepted to the Doctor of Philosophy in Public Health at Jesus College, Oxford.
These three outstanding Indigenous students have already achieved so much in their chosen fields of study, and will now have the opportunity to continue their studies overseas.
The Charlie Perkins Scholarships give students the opportunity to become leaders, not only in their field but in the broader community.
The scholarships were launched in 2009 in memory of Aboriginal leader and activist Dr Charlie Perkins - the first Indigenous Australian man to graduate from university.
The Gillard Government today announced $200,000 for the Charlie Perkins Scholarships, to support this year's scholars overseas and to provide funding for three Roberta Sykes scholarships which will be announced later this year.
The British Government, Rio Tinto, the Pratt Foundation, the Cambridge Commonwealth Trust, the Cambridge Australia Trust and The McCusker Foundation are also generous supporters of the Charlie Perkins Scholarships.