Dr Charles Duguid made a voyage to Australia as ships surgeon in 1911 before migrating in 1912. He practiced medicine in Nhill Victoria where he was married for the first time to Irene Young with whom he had one son, Charles. Mrs Duguid died in 1927. Dr Duguid moved to Adelaide in 1914. Duguid served in Egypt as volunteer medical officer with the Light Horse Brigade in 1917, returning to Scotland for post graduate study in 1919.
Dr Duguid married his second wife Phyllis Lade in 1930. They had a son Andrew, daughter Rosemary and an adopted Aboriginal son Sydney James Cook. Together Dr Duguid and his wife founded the Aboriginies Advancement League with Duguid as President in 1935. He served a further term as President from 1951 to 1961. Dr Duguid was also elected Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in South Australia in 1935.
In 1937 Dr Duguid helped to found the Ernabella Mission station in the Musgrave Ranges of South Australia with part funding from the Smith of Dunesk Bequest.
Dr Duguid undertook several expeditions to Australian Aboriginal lands, including the Haast Bluff patrol 1936 and the Petermann Patrol of 1939.
Dr Charles Duguid was a member of (or was associated in some way with) a large number of other organisations, including:
- the Council for Aboriginal Rights;
- the Association for the Protection of Native Races;
- the English Speaking Union (chair 1932);
- the District and Bush Nursing Society of South Australia (President 1954);
- the Anti-Slavery Society;
- the Student Christian Movement;
- the United Nations Association of Australia;
- the National Union of Australian University Students;
- the Council for Aboriginal Rights;
- the Aborigines Protection League;
- the Australian Inland Mission;
- the Australian Aerial Medical Services;
- Alice Springs Army Native Labour Unit;
- Fullerton Girls Home;
- the Common Cause (President 1946-?1948).
Duguid came to the notice of the Australian Commonwealth Investigation Service in 1946 over his involvement in protests agains the establishment of the atomic weapons testing facility at Womera South Australia.
Dr Duguid's publications include the books:
Doctor and the Aboriginies, Rigby 1973;
Desert Trial (under pseudonym Scotty's Brother); and
No dying race, 1963., and pamphlets
From Suez to Gaza with the Light Horse;
The Rocket Range, Australian Aboriginies and war; and
The Aboriginies of Darwin and the Tropic North. In addition he made many public addresses and broadcasts (published as "The Aboriginals in Australia Broadcasts and an address" 1946).
Other archival organisations holding collections created by or records relating to Charles Duguid include: the National Library of Australia (MS 5068); the National Archives of Australia (series A452, A1336, A1539, A1608, A6119, B2455 and D1918); the State Library of South Australia (PRG 387; eight series including correspondence, maps and photographs).
The South Australian Museum archives contains