Cooma 'gay prison' podsters ll for ernment apology for entrapment, persecutn of homosexual men

Cooma is small town the south east provce of New South Wal Atralia. It is home to the world's only prison that begng 1957 operated as specifilly for tag men nvicted of homosexual offens. It is the subject of journalist Patrick Abbod's latt Audible podst The Greatt Menace: Insi the Gay Prison * gay prison cooma *

Homosexualy was not crimalised NSW until 2014, the Crimal Rerds Act 1991 was amend to allow people nvicted of historil homosexual offenc to apply to have their rerds cleared if the offence volved a nsensual partner who was above the age of nsent at the 2022, the impact of NSW police difference toward hate crim mted agast homosexual and transgenr people me unr scty the Special Commissn of Inquiry to LGBTIQ Hate world-first quiry is due to hand down s fal report June this year.

Photograph: Corrective Servic NSW“The first place to go is to thk about the young people who are still livg Cooma, the current generatn, ” Abboud told Guardian performg artist Mark Salvtro divis his time between Cooma and Canberra, but had no ia about the gay prisoners locked up his hometown until Abboud terviewed him September 2020. Numbers beme so great that Maland Gaol the NSW Hunter Valley alloted a wg to them the 1950s, before Cooma’s Victorian-era gaol was reopened man behd the polici was Reg Downg, who hailed om Tumut and beme NSW attorney general unr Labor ernments the 1950s and 1960s, durg which he set up a mtee of quiry about homosexualy. Sign up for the Rural Network email newsletterHe got support om the then state police missner Col Delaney, who grew up regnal Victoria and did a stt of untry policg at Tamworth the late was Delaney who labelled homosexualy “the greatt menace facg Atralia” Abboud reveals the podst, the move to rcerate gay prisoners at Cooma clud a plan to fd a cure for homosexualy.

ATRALIA HAD A PRISON FOR CURG GAY MEN, NOW PODSTERS WHO TOLD THE STORY WANT AN APOLOGY

Disver the shameful history of Cooma jail, possibly the only "gay prison" the world, om the 1950s to the 1970s. A former mate speaks about his experience for the first time the follow-up episo of "The Greatt Menace" podst. #CoomaJail #TheGreattMenace #LGBTQHistory * gay prison cooma *

”Acknowledge and apologiseCurrently ed as a mimum- and medium-secury prison, Cooma rrectnal centre attracts visors to s Correctnal Servic Mm, which Abboud says has expand s displays to clu mentn of the gay men jailed the he believ more should be done, particularly the light of higher suici rat among ral rints, cludg a disproportnate number of LGBTQ+ people. Photograph: Sare ClarkeThe NSW ernment has yet to schle s judicial quiry to gay and transgenr hate crim, which may have ramifitns for ral LGBTQ+ people, and an omnib equaly bill is preparatn which will seek to remove a range of gay and trans discrimatn, cludg gay nversn practic. It is home to the world’s only prison that begng 1957 operated as specifilly for tag men nvicted of homosexual is the subject of journalist Patrick Abbod’s latt Audible podst The Greatt Menace: Insi the Gay Prison BBC:Reopened 1957 wh the specific purpose of rceratg men for “homosexual offens, ” was also said to be ed as a human ttg ground wh the ultimate goal of eraditg homosexualy om ’s jail is believed to have been the only known homosexual prison the world, acrdg to a new podst.

HOW ATRALIA HID THE EXISTENCE OF A GAY PRISON OM HISTORY SAVAS ABADSIDIS DECEMBER 23, 2022SHARE COOMA IS SMALL TOWN THE SOUTH EAST PROVCE OF NEW SOUTH WAL ATRALIA. IT IS HOME TO THE WORLD’S ONLY PRISON THAT BEGNG 1957 OPERATED AS SPECIFILLY FOR TAG MEN NVICTED OF HOMOSEXUAL OFFENS.IT IS THE SUBJECT OF JOURNALIST PATRICK ABBOD’S LATT AUDIBLE PODST THE GREATT MENACE: INSI THE GAY PRISON EXPERIMENT.THE BBC:REOPENED 1957 WH THE SPECIFIC PURPOSE OF RCERATG MEN FOR “HOMOSEXUAL OFFENS,” WAS ALSO SAID TO BE ED AS A HUMAN TTG GROUND WH THE ULTIMATE GOAL OF ERADITG HOMOSEXUALY OM SOCIETY.COOMA’S JAIL IS BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN THE ONLY KNOWN HOMOSEXUAL PRISON THE WORLD, ACRDG TO A NEW PODST.ACRDG TO THE BBC, UNTIL NOW, EVEN SOME PRISON STAFF SAY THEY DIDN’T KNOW THE REAL REASON GAY PRISONERS WERE SEGREGATED THERE.L STRZELECKI, 66, STARTED AS A CTODIAL SERVIC OFFICER AT THE PRISON 1979, AND LATER SET UP THE CORRECTIVE SERVIC MM COOMA. HE BELIEVED MAT WERE SENT THERE FOR THEIR OWN SAFETY. “COOMA WAS A PROTECTIVE STUTN. WE’D RED STAMP HOMOSEXUAL PRISONERS WH ‘N/A’: NON-ASSOCIATN WH MASTREAM PRISONS,” HE TELLS THE BBC. “THEY WERE AT RISK OF VLENCE AT BIGGER PRISONS LIKE LONG BAY [ SYDNEY].”BUT ANOTHER FORMER EMPLOYEE, CLIFF NEW, CLAIMS WAS FOR LS PASSNATE REASONS. HE TOLD AUDIBLE’S PODST SERI THE GREATT MENACE THAT PSYCHOLOGISTS AND PSYCHIATRISTS WERE “G ALL THE TIME” AFTER THE JAIL REOPENED 1957. HE UNRSTOOD THE AS ATTEMPTS TO NVERT THEM: “THEY WERE TRYG TO GET THEM ON THE ‘RIGHT’ TRACK… THEY RECKONED THEY ULD CURE THEM.”IT’S ALSO WHY PRISONERS WERE SGLE CELLS, HE SAID. “YOU WOULDN’T BUNK TWO TOGETHER… THAT WAS ONE OF OUR BIGGT PROBLEMS – KEEPG AN EYE ON THEM,” SAYS MR NEW, NOW 94.HISTORIL DOCUMENTS SUGGT NEW SOUTH WAL (NSW) JTICE MISTER REG DOWNG TOOK CRED FOR TABLISHG THE PRISON. HE REPORTEDLY EXPRSED “PRI” AT HIS PET PROJECT, TELLG THE SYDNEY MORNG HERALD 1957: “NOWHERE EUROPE OR AMERI DID I FD ANY PRISONS WHERE HOMOSEXUALS WERE SEPARATED OM OTHER PRISONERS.”A 1958 PRS STATEMENT OM MR. DOWNG NAM COOMA PRISON AS “THE ONLY PENAL STUTN THE WORLD, SO FAR AS IS KNOWN, VOTED SPECIFILLY TO THE TENTN OF HOMOSEXUAL OFFENRS”.PRISONERS AT COOMA WERE RCERATED FOR BEG GAY, OR CRIM RELATED TO BEG GAY; HOMOSEXUALY WASN’T CRIMALIZED NSW UNTIL 1984.REG DOWNG EXPRSED PRI SEPARATG GAY PRISONERS OM OTHERSNEW DRANIAN STATE LAWS 1955 HAD CRACKED DOWN ON HOMOSEXUALY. THEY FOLLOWED PRSURE OM THE STATE’S POLICE MISSNER, COL DELANEY, WHO, ACRDG TO THE THEN ATTORNEY GENERAL, FELT “THAT REMEDIAL LEGISLATN [WAS] AN URGENT NECSY TO BAT THE EVIL”.“NEW CLS CLUD ‘SOLICG’ – A MAN ULD BE ARRTED FOR SIMPLY CHATTG UP ANOTHER MAN,” HISTORIAN GARRY WOTHERSPOON TELLS THE BBC. “THE LEGISLATIVE CHANG WERE VERY WI-RANGG THEIR ASSLT ON THE CIVIL LIBERTI OF MEN THOUGHT TO HAVE HOMOEROTIC SIR.”THE CRIME OF BUGGERY RRIED A 14-YEAR SENTENCE. ATTEMPTED BUGGERY RRIED FIVE YEARS, AND A HARSHER CRACKDOWN, A CLSE WAS ADD STATG “WH OR WHOUT THE NSENT OF SUCH PERSON.”“DISVERG WHAT SOME OF THOSE MEN WENT THROUGH THE PROCS OF BEG TRAPPED AND CHARGED, ’S HORRIFYG. IT REALLY IS,” ABBOUD TOLD EARLIER THIS YEAR. “THEIR LIV WERE STROYED, AND THEY’RE STILL REELG OM .”WHAT PRISONERS EXPERIENCED THE COOMA FACILY WAS CHILLG. BUT AT THE HEART OF THE GREATT MENACE REMAS A MYSTERY. “THEY TABLISHED A PRISON SPECIFILLY TO RCERATE GAY MEN, SPECIFILLY TO RCERATE HOMOSEXUALS AND THEY HAD AN TENTN BEHD THAT,” ABBOUD SAID. “WE UNVERED THE TENTN. AND THEN WHAT ME OF THAT TENTN? AND THAT’S THE PART THAT REALLY NIGGL AT ME THE WHOLE TIME. WHERE’S THE REPORT? WHERE’S THE FDGS OF WHAT HAPPENED? MY STCT IS THAT THEY DIDN’T WANT TO BE WILY KNOWN.”

Patrick Abboud’s Greatt Menace podst reveals the untold history of a jail set up to rcerate gay men and experiment to fd a ‘cure’ for homosexualy." name="scriptn * gay prison cooma *

”“Whatever they did, eher they didn’t disver what they wanted to, and they wanted to bury bee didn’t turn out how they wanted to, or there’s somethg kd of explosive that they didn’t want to get out, ” he is known, and is revealed through Abboud’s terviews and recreatns of actual urt transcripts, is the history of persecutn that gay men faced. Set one of the lst and wdit small towns Atralia, Cooma prison holds a dark only was reopened 1957 wh the specific purpose of rceratg men for "homosexual offenc", was also said to be ed as a human ttg ground wh the ultimate goal of eraditg homosexualy om 's jail is believed to have been the only known homosexual prison the world, acrdg to a new now, even some prison staff say they didn't know the real reason gay prisoners were segregated Strzelecki, 66, started as a ctodial servic officer at the prison 1979, and later set up the Corrective Servic Mm Cooma. Historil documents suggt New South Wal (NSW) Jtice Mister Reg Downg took cred for tablishg the reportedly exprsed "pri" at his pet project, tellg the Sydney Morng Herald 1957: "Nowhere Europe or Ameri did I fd any prisons where homosexuals were separated om other prisoners.

It would volve "experts the fields of medice, psychiatry, penology and social and moral welfare", a statement clud two relig reverends, two senr penal system staff and two amics om the Universy of nam Cooma prison as "a special stutn for nvicted homosexual offenrs" which will "facilate the vtigatn" a "scientific evaluatn of the problem and possible solutn" has been found, Mr Downg is quoted as sayg, "the ernment nsirs that the problem mt be attacked wh vigour".

INSI COOMA JAIL: THE ATRALIAN FACILY THAT OPERATED AS A ‘GAY PRISON’

Sarah Gay is gog to prison for 10 years after LaQuenta Holey and Andrew Griff were killed a wrong-way crash on the North Freeway 2021. * gay prison cooma *

Corrective Servic NSW and the NSW Department of Communi and Jtice cled to ment on the allegatns, cg their "historil nature" Abboud believ gay prisoners may have been sent there until the early 1980s, cg a 1982 statement om the rrective servic mister claimg the policy still offenrs were also sent to Cooma and this further stigmatised gay prisoners, says Mr Wotherspoon says, wh recent parliamentary bate of a Relig Discrimatn Bill threateng to allow discrimatn based on sexual orientatn, such recent history rri a soberg warng. The gay marriage bate Atralia had boiled over, and while he was verg an anti-gay marriage prott, the openly gay journalist was mobbed and the SBS work Christmas party, he was unwdg wh a uple of drks, then planned to h the dancefloor before gog home and takg a break om reportg for a while. ’”Abboud, wh Cunich as -producer, voted the next three years of his life to fdg out about , and the rult is The Greatt Menace, an eight-part Audible Origal lotn of the jail NSW shocked Patrick Rohan ThomsonIt sounds like somethg out of Rsia or East Germany or the US ep south, but happened Cooma, the small town an hour-and-a-half drive south of Canberra known as the gateway to the Snowy 1957, the town’s jail, which had been closed the early 1900s, was re-opened wh a new rem – was to be a prison for homosexuals.

Homosexual sex was illegal NSW until 1983, and for s before nsired an 'abomable crime' by police who ed handsome officers to tch men 'unnatural' state's Vice Squad round up hundreds of men parks, public toilets, railway statns and cemas and charged them wh acts of cency, or more dire, a year of Cooma openg as a special prison for nvicted men classified as 'homosexual remedials' or 'homosexual recidivists', the NSW Government had lnched a 'scientific evaluatn' of s mat who would be studied to fd 'a cure'. In the 1950s, the lst jail the state Cooma Prison (above) beme the world's only exclively gay penentiary where nvicted homosexuals were sent to be 'cured'Shirtls prisoners sun themselv the yard at Cooma Correctnal Centre the 1970s when the jail was still the place for men nvicted of havg homosexual sex, which was not crimalised until 1983 ONLY GAY JAIL IN THE WORLDThe state's leadg judicial officer, the Attorney General, would proudly clare Cooma as the only exclively homosexual prison the world.

COOMA JAIL: PRISON THAT WAS ONCE 'WORLD'S ONLY JAIL FOR GAY MEN'

Kev Maxen, an associate strength ach wh the Jacksonville Jaguars, has bee the first male ach a major U.S.-based profsnal league to e out as gay. * gay prison cooma *

It would ntue as such to the 1970s, when a royal missn to prisons heard the Cooma jail sewg room - where footballer Jarryd Hayne was recently employed for $24 a week makg prison greens - was a place of rampant sex for chapla Reverend Brian Burton later wrote a homoerotic novel about the gogs on the cupboards at the end of this tailorg was still happeng at Cooma 1976, crimal Raymond John Moore told the 1977 Royal Commissn Prisons, plag that '30 or 40 worked the tailor shop and jt about all of them were homosexuals. The prison sewg room the 1970s was known for rampant sex between gay male mat and trysts the cupboards down the back wh prison guards turng a bld eye The Cooma sewg room today, where high profile mat like footballer Jarryd Hayne earnt $24-a-week when imprisoned on a rape charge which has been over turned on appeal'They rried on their love affairs durg workg hours often full view of everyone the shop' said prisoners bought stockgs and female unrwear on the weekly buy-ups and prisoners 'performed homosexual acts que openly ont of prisoners and prison officers' but he never saw a prison officer attempt to stop Cooma me to have the only gay prison on the pla is explored the the ABC rad eight-part podst 'The Greatt Menace' by award-wng documentary maker Patrick Abboud.

EXPOSG THE SHOCKG PLAN BEHD ATRALIA’S GAY PRISON

It is now the state's preferred prison for celebry mat, but Cooma jail has a dark past as the world's only gay jail, where nvicted homosexuals were sent to be 'cured'. * gay prison cooma *

Above, the yard of the 150-year-old prison mat today still endure nfement si the state's lst prison which is the largt town the Snowy Mountas NSW Police Commissner Col Delaney was a shockg anti-homosexual who whipped up muny fear wh the aid of the rabid tabloid Tth and set his Vice Squad after gay men'SHOCKING MALE VICE' It seems to have been the rult of the perfect storm of a rabidly anti-homosexual police chief, a moralistic mister, a willg psychiatrist, a shockg tabloid newspaper and the parative backwater that was 1950s police chief was Col Delaney, a highly rated policeman wh an obssn agast homosexualy. A year to his appotment as NSW Commissner, Delaney clared at a lunch 1953 that his biggt problems were the burgeong road toll and the 'growg ncer of perversn' He proclaimed that homosexualy was the greatt menace facg Atralia Delaney would later proclaim that 'homosexualy is the greatt menace facg Atralia', givg Abboud the tle of his podst, and that this danger to society had to be stamped his missn to do so was a climate of hysteria, whipped up by Tth 1954, the racy tabloid ran a story - and wasn't an opn piece, headled 'Shockg male vice mt be wiped out Sydney'. Reg Downg (above) was the Attorney General rponsible for turng Cooma prison to the world's only gay jail at a time when homosexualy was seen as a threat to society Mol of Cooma prison shows the four wgs for up to 130 mat when the 19th century prison reopened 1957 to exclively hoe men nvicted of 'homosexual crim'HYSTERIA ABOUT 'PERVERTS'The story said: 'Gaol and the lash are the only way to put a stop to shockg homosexual perversn this state before gets out of hand.

' Darcy Dugan, a bank robber and a habual pee known for his hatred of gay mat, told the 1977 Royal Commissn on Prisons that 'homosexualy spread like a disease jails' Profsor Trethowan's fabled report on how to 'cure' homosexualy was never released after he went back to England and the sexologist who died of a mystery illns left illegible notWHIPPING UP FEARA public bate began, wh one doctor suggtg surgery might cure homosexualy, while a prison psychiatrist said was like a disease and 'there is a risk that male love will spread'. Even late 1977 the so-lled surge of homosexualy prisons was beg examed wh certa mat mandg transfers om Cooma should they fd themselv locked up there Jtice Michael Kirby, above as a young man wh Johan van Vloten, said he was keen not to end up prison simply for beg wh his partner and would not have been ma a judge if had been known 'HOMOSEXUALITY COMMITTEE'Greatt Menace host Abboud unvered an old letter om Downg, boastg that he 'was rather proud of the fact that I was able to have the ernment spend many thoands of pounds on the nversn of the old Cooma gaol to an stutn to which all nvicted or known homosexuals are sent' terviews openly gay former high urt judge Michael Kirby, who speaks kdly of Downg as a iend and 'quiet, gentle, honourable cent man’, but a 'Roman Catholic who adhered to his church’s view, thought he was fulfillg word of God pied statu of the law'. He thought he was fulfillg the word of God Kirby adms as a young man he knew special prisons for homosexual men existed 'where I was keen not to end up' simply for sleepg wh his partner behd closed doors, to where zealots like Delaney extend his force's powers of July 1, 1958, Downg, after whom Sydney's urt plex the Downg Centre is named, tablished a 'homosexualy mtee' to make 'an exhstive scientific vtigatn' to Cooma's mat, subject them to tts and evaluatn.

Michael Kirby and Johan van Vloten (above) married 2019, but back the 1960s the judge kept his sexualy a secret even though he has spoken kdly of zealot Reg Downg Profsor William Trethowan (above) led the ill-fated homosexualy mtee which failed to produce a report after setback cludg s sexologist leavg behd not that were ‘virtually cipherable’.

JAGUARS ASSOCIATE STRENGTH ACH OUT AS GAY A FIRST FOR US-BASED PRO LEAGU

We spoke to Patrick Abboud about his new te crime podst 'The Greatt Menace', which centr around Atralia's secret gay only prison. * gay prison cooma *

The Greatt Menace podst was piled by award wng documentary maker Patrick Abboud (above) who explor Sydney's gay history the 20th century The 'homosexualy mtee' head profsor Trethowan was iends wh Dr Harry Bailey (above) whose disastro ep sleep therapy at Chelmsford hospal saw 26 patients dieSECRET REPORT Commtee members ma regular viss to Cooma prison to terview homosexual mat, gettg 350 to plete 30-page qutnnair and 100 to do 'Catell' personaly tts to duce mascule and feme the qutnnair and tts were to be given to ‘normal’ people as a ntrol group, but never were as the wheels fell off the mtee.

WORLD'S ONLY GAY JAIL: HOW MEN WERE SENT TO ONE PRISON TO 'CURE' HOMOSEXUALY

Patrick Abboud and Simon Cunich spent years unearthg tails of the “gay prison experiment” at Cooma prison. (Supplied) It is a shameful secret buried history — how om 1957 to the 1970s, Cooma jail the New South Wal Snowy Mountas operated as a “gay prison”, possibly the only facily of s kd ... * gay prison cooma *

FOUR 'TYPES' OF HOMOSEXUAL But the herald quiry to homosexualy would never release s fdgs, and March 1963 the Sydney Morng Herald published a story sayg the mtee had only a 'highly secret' terim Herald article anticipated what the report might fd, cludg that 'most homosexual are produced by their environment, not born' and 'often experienced fective relatnships childhood' 'staff rrponnt' thor had clearly been leaked some ntent, sayg other fdgs would clu gay men had a 'lack of balance and affectn fay, lack of socialisatn and often a domeerg mother'. A tolerant attu towards homosexuals is sadly lackg Also, that 'homosexuals felt sense of isolatn or "apartns" even as young children' and there were 'four very different typ of homosexuals' were the 'adolcent gog through normal stage of experimentatn', the 'practisg homosexual who is a nsentg adult', the 'male prostute' and 'the homosexual who terfer wh young children'.

A TE CRIME POD ABOUT ATRALIA’S ‘GAY ONLY’ PRISON IS HERE AND WE’RE ALREADY FKN HOOKED

Cooma's prison mm (above) ntas artefacts om the days when mat nvicted of 'homosexual crim' such as buggery were flogged wh the jail lash Dpe beg eezg temperature wter when sever ld onts move through the Snow Mountas town, Cooma prison is ed for celebry mat who need protectnROYAL COMMISSION It also asked if laws uld be changed 'so that homosexualy between nsentg adults no longer be punishable'. In 1973, the publitn Woroni ran a letter om Bob McLeod, cryg Cooma prison as 'an stutn for 'homosexuals or pimps, men who have raped young girls or boys' as well as young men raped heavy jails who need scribed the 'disgt' felt by Aborigal mat who look 'at men kissg the cells at warrs walkg away and upon disverg one male (engaged a sexual act wh) another'. Young men are equently raped when they enter jail In 1977, notor crimal Darcy Dugan, a bank robber and a habual pee who had once been sentenced to ath, told Royal Commissn on Prisons that 'homosexualy spread like a disease jails' and that was cultivated unr 'ial laboratory ndns'.

In recent years has hoed so-lled celebry prisoners cludg si trar Oliver Curtis, seen leavg Cooma prison 2017 after a year si A jubilant Jarryd Hayne walks om Cooma prison after his nvictn on a rape charge was overturned FebaryJAIL'S MODERN ERAStrzelecki explas that at least more recent s Cooma fulfilled the need 'for a smaller stutn to hoe prisoners at risk', the son of doctor who went si Cooma prison to treat prisoners, said that if mat who were homosexuals were 'put Long Bay or Goulburn, they would be attacked.