Charles Symmons was not only one of the 20 people who formed the Western Australian Turf Club in 1852
Charles Symmons was not only one of the 20 people who formed the Western Australian Turf Club in 1852 but also one of the eight original members empowered to draw up the racing rules for the organisation.
Symmons, who arrived in Western Australia aboard the Jean in 1839, was a government official, performing the roles of protector and police officer. Symmons recorded word lists of the Noongar language in the course of his work and George Moore included them in his seminal book, A Descriptive Vocabulary Of The Language In Common Use Amongst The Aborigines Of Western Australia.
Symmons was a tireless worker and he held many public positions, often several simultaneously, before his death in 1887.