Charlie was born in 1936. He was abandoned and raised in orphanages from when he was four days old. At age 15, Charlie was made to leave the only home he knew at St Augustine’s and had to take up what he described as slave labour. Because of the extreme abuse he suffered, Charlie fled his abusers and survived on the streets of Melbourne. Charlie worked hard to improve his life. He became an A grade jumping jockey, and later worked various jobs including being a bird smuggler. After his wife died, he was left to raise four daughters on his own; he was determined to give his daughters the love and protection he never experienced.