Karl Williams was born in Condobolin on 24th January 1954. He Was the eldest Child of John and Coral (née Sloane) Williams. He had six other siblings Pamela (dec.), Joy, Lloyd (dec.), Nicholas (dec.), Terrance (dec.) and Maralea. Karl had one son, Quintin, born in January 1992 in Broken Hill who is said to be a smaller version of his dad.
When he was young he lived with his family at Condobolin, Murrain Bridge and Trida Station. They then moved to Menindee in the early 1960s. After his mother passed away in 1987, he became the head of the family.
Karl attended Menindee Central School and his first job was as a porter at the Parkes Railway Station. He had several jobs before he completed a Course at Charles Sturt University in 1990 and became a Ranger at Cobar that year.
There is now a scholarship “The Karl Williams Scholarship” which is awarded to an Aboriginal student on completion of one year’s study in either the Associate Diploma of Applied Science (Park Management) or Bachelor of Applied Science (Parks, Recreation and Heritage) at the Albury Wodonga Campus. Karl worked in both the Cobar and Lower Darling Districts and was the first Aboriginal Ranger at Mungo National Park.
He loved camping, fishing, singing and playing the guitar and was a member of the Sunraysia Country Music Club where he performed regularly. There is a music award in his honour at the Mildura Country and Western Music Festival held each June.
He was a man who loved the outdoors and a man who felt strongly for his country and his people. His sensitivity was apparent when in a newspaper report on Lake Mungo he said, “If you come out here when the moon is full, it’s like another world. There is a great sense of space and being.”
The family is very proud of Karl and his achievements. He is nominated as our hero because of what he achieved, his loving caring nature. We are very proud of him and his passing has left a great void in our lives. He is our unsung hero.
