Charles Porter

Charles “Chilla” Porter won a silver medal in the high jump at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, losing a long drawn-out competition to Charles Dumas. Porter also won silver medals in the high jump at the 1958 and 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games. He was a seven-time Australian Champion, winning consecutively from 1965-61. He also competed at the 1960 Roma Olympics, but did not make the final, and he retired after the 1962 British Empire and Commonwealth Games.

Porter came from a family that was prominent in Australian politics, as his father was a Queensland Liberal state MP between 1966 and 1980 and served in the ministry of Joh Bjelke-Petersen. Chilla himself became the director of the Western Australian Liberal Party’s state division in the 1970s and 1980s. He was later appointed as chief executive officer of Athletics Western Australia in 1996, serving until 2001. He was a board member from 2002-13 and was association president from 2002-04. Chilla’s son, Christian, became a federal Attorney-General in the Australian cabinet.

Personal Best: HJ – 2.10 (1956).