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Brenton Stacey
Public relations officer

Avondale College icon Charles Pointon died today (November 9) after a car hit him while he crossed Freemans Drive in Cooranbong just before 1 pm.

The impact of the collision threw Charles from his electric scooter and caused multiple fractures to his right leg. An ambulance transferred Charles to the Emergency Department at John Hunter Hospital in New Lambton, where he died at 4 pm.

Dr Wayne French, chaplain on Avondale's Lake Macquarie campus, provided support for Charles at the hospital. He reports that Charles, while not lucid, did respond when prompted to remember the cake he received from students on his 98th birthday. He also responded to the voice of his friend Ian Barrett, who called before Charles died. "He tried to talk, but because he didn't have his teeth in, it was hard to understand what he was saying," says Wayne.

Charles celebrated his birthday almost two months ago to the day (September 10). The former Avondale student--Charles enrolled as recently as 2006--continued to serve as general secretary of COSMOS, which he has pioneered for 30 years. The student club has raised $140,000 for mission work, mostly in India and the Pacific islands. He had been selling his autobiography, A Friend in High Places, at the first annual Heritage Day in Cooranbong today to raise money for COSMOS.

"Charles is famous," says Brad Watson, a lecturer in international development studies at Avondale and the staff advisor for COSMOS. "Most students know him as the man who sits patiently in the cafeteria with a sign asking for donations. Newer students know him as the man on the orange scooter. Others know him as a man with a heart for poor children. And just about anyone who meets Charles knows of his passion for COSMOS."

At 74, Charles sought sponsorship for COSMOS to walk the 50 kilometres from Cooranbong to Newcastle. At 91, he walked halfway. "Helping others is important," Charles told Brad in 2006. "The world is full of those in need and it gives me great joy to spend the money for their good, rather than for mine." At the time, Charles described COSMOS as his "greatest accomplishment."

Charles, born in London in 1910, survived the Blitz during World War II and migrated to Australia in 1969 after the death of his wife. He became a Seventh-day Adventist in 1937, attributing his longevity to the church's health message--Charles adhered to a vegetarian diet for more than 70 years, abstained from alcohol and tobacco and walked up to 15 kilometres a day well into his 90s. Staff members and students at Avondale raised the money to buy him his electric scooter, not so much because he needed it, but because he made them feel guilty.

"Charles typified the saying, 'The purpose of life is a life of purpose,'" says Dr Darren Morton, a senior lecturer in health and exercise at Avondale. "The world is full of people who know what to do but do not do what they know. Charles was an exception. So many people practice health principles to achieve something--loose fat, gain muscle, increase fitness. But Charles discovered and embraced the truth that living a healthy life justifies itself. It is not a means to an end--it is the end!"

Charles also loved God. "God is the one," Charles told Brad. "He has inspired me to serve."

"Charles has lived an amazing life," says Wayne. "When you think about the number of lives he's helped change for the better, it's incredible. I'm proud I knew him."

Wayne invites you to write a message about Charles and his legacy to include in a book of memories. Email your message to Wayne (wayne.french@avondale.edu.au) or deliver it in person to Wayne's office in College Hall.

Brad is also inviting you to contribute to a collection of photographs. Email your photographs of Charles to Faculty of Arts secretary Tereena Tew (tereena.tew@avondale.edu.au).

Credit: Kent Marcus Photography

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