Sydney barman’s 1989 ath near Bondi beach now believed to be rult of gay hate attack, quiry told | LGBTQ+ rights | The Guardian

Contents:

• LARRY HAWORTH'S LIST: GAY PORN TUBE
• DEEP WATER: WERE 30 UNSOLVED SYDNEY ATHS REALLY GAY HATE CRIM?
• BONDI MEMORIAL TO VICTIMS OF GAY HATE CRIM DRAWS HUNDREDS EMOTNAL LNCH
• STT JOHNSON: MAN NFS TO 1988 GAY HATE MURR
• GAY BONDI TRAVEL GUI
• ATRALIA HAS LONG HAD A GAY BEACH SUBCULTURE BUT THEY HAVEN'T ALWAYS BEEN SAFE SPAC
• BONDI RISE MEMORIAL HONOURS VICTIMS OF SYDNEY GAY HATE CRIM DURG 1970S TO 1990S
• SYDNEY BARMAN’S 1989 ATH NEAR BONDI BEACH NOW BELIEVED TO BE RULT OF GAY HATE ATTACK, QUIRY TOLD

LARRY HAWORTH'S LIST: GAY PORN TUBE

In 2012 the New South Wal puty state roner Carmel Forb overturned the suici fdg but uld not terme how he police have formed Operatn Parrabell, a team of eight tectiv who will apply an FBI measure of hate bias – creria to terme if a crime is motivated by bias agast, for stance, sexual orientatn – to see if as many as 88 Sydney aths datg om the 1970s onward, cludg 30 unsolved s, were gay hate s were marked suici or e unknown, but past police nclns are now beg lled to qutn. A new SBS vtigatn has unvered “ser mistak” were ma the ial vtigatns, cludg the misspellg of one ad man’s Johnson tells Guardian Atralia that applyg the FBI hate bias creria is unlikely to unver gay hate crim bee the strgent checklist requir s to be solved, perpetrators to be intified and their hatred of victims to be proclaimed. Instead, he says, a better exercise would be to pull every police file on every ath near a gay Sydney meetg place om the 1970s to about 2000 and ask: was this se properly vtigated?

The aim is to attract a natnal dience to the story, and to unver more possible gay hate crim and murrs producer, Darren Dale, says he was spired by hearg 2012 about the murr of Ahmed Ghoniem, who was found Sydney apartment wh multiple stab wounds and blunt trma juri. “I live Potts Pot [ Sydney], and I thought, if there is someone attackg and murrg gay men – more gay people livg there than I spect anywhere else Atralia – then how e ’s not any of the papers, ’s not been the news? Shawn Seet, the director of the ld Canberra polil drama The Co, is at the the prent day, fictnal Detective Senr Constable Tori Ltigman, played by Yael Stone of Orange Is the New Black, her own DNA to see if match DNA found on a piece of lead pipg, which she spects may be her gay brother’s.

DEEP WATER: WERE 30 UNSOLVED SYDNEY ATHS REALLY GAY HATE CRIM?

His 1989 drowng had been rerd as a drama’s central ncerns are: Did the fictnal Kyle “Hammers” Hampton (Craig McLachlan) – a one-time member of a gay-bashg gang – play a role the men’s aths? Photograph: Sean O'Reilly/SBSThe ‘gay ATM’It was not until 2005, 17 years after Stt Johnson’s ath, that Steve realised his beloved brother might have died vlently: he had been sent a clippg about the vlent aths of three other gay men year the NSW senr puty state roner Jacquele Milledge found that the televisn newsrear Ross Warren, 25, and barman John Rsell, 31, had been murred two separate attacks 1989, most probably thrown off a cliff at Bondi’s Marks Park, which was known as a gay beat. Photograph: Steve JohnsonSteve Johnson believ, along wh many others, that herent bias play a role both the mimal media verage of the stori and the public and police rponse to vlent crim agast gay people.

“I’m unsure what role homophobia played the 1980s, ” he says, “but certaly seemed that the police systematilly avoid vtigatg the aths of gay men, or men prumed to be gay.

BONDI MEMORIAL TO VICTIMS OF GAY HATE CRIM DRAWS HUNDREDS EMOTNAL LNCH

His brother says this was an implsible ncln: many gay men have told his vtigatn that the area had been a popular beat sce the 1960s but gay men were often too sred to report asslts bee “police treated them like perpetrators, not victims”’s vtigatn also clud terviewg former gay-bashg gang members, who had sentially operated wh impuny bee there was still a “lot of hatred towards gays”, he says. The openg of the Bondi memorial to gay and transgenr victims of hate crim provoked strong emotns at Marks Park Tamarama on Saturday, cludg for David McMahon.

“I never saw vlence until happened to me, ” he was an emotnal rponse to the openg of The Bondi Memorial: Rise at Marks Park Tamarama on Rhett WymanMcMahon was one of several gay men who were asslted or murred at Marks Park durg a s-long wave of vlence agast LGBTQ people Sydney. “I wasn’t gog to e today, but I cid, yeah, I should make an appearance, ” he Deputy Coroner Jacquele Milledge said was hard to image Marks Park was once the huntg ground of gangs of btal dividuals rponsible for bashg, robbg, rapg and murrg men “simply bee they were gay” Rhett WymanSeveral hundred people, cludg survivors of hate crim and victims’ fai, gathered the scenic park for the openg of The Bondi Memorial: Rise.

Speakers clud former NSW puty roner Jacquele Milledge who led a 2005 qut to the aths of gay men, cludg Rsell, that were not aquately vtigated by the police. “It’s hard to image this betiful part of Sydney was once the huntg ground of gangs of btal dividuals rponsible for bashg, robbg, rapg and murrg men – targetg them simply bee they were gay, ” she said.

STT JOHNSON: MAN NFS TO 1988 GAY HATE MURR

”LoadgCallaghan said “so-lled poofter bashg” had long been a feature of Atralian society, but ramped up the late 1980s durg the HIV/AIDS epimic and the rise of Sydney as a gay mec. ”ACON print Jt Koon said the unveilg of the memorial was an important step the journey towards healg and jtice for gay and transgenr victims of hate said he hoped the upg Special Commissn of Inquiry to LGBTIQ Hate Crim, announced April by NSW Premier Domic Perrottet, would shed further light on “this dark chapter” Sydney’s history.

“To those we have lost and those who survived, to their fai and loved on, your bravery propels our ntued efforts to eradite homophobia and transphobia this state and beyond. ”Steve Johnson would return to Atralia several tim, doggedly termed to prove his brother uld not have killed the way, Steve and a team of supporters and vtigators would learn of chillgly siar aths other astal of young men were turng up at the bottom of cliffs, not only at Blue Fish Pot where Stt had been found, but at another betiful astal spot the harbour cy’s the men simply vanished, their bodi never to be found, at a place lled Marks Park, which the 1980s was a killg ground for a gang of youths aged as young as 15 huntg gay Stt Johnson died, he had left his cloth neatly fold at the top of Blue Fish Pot. “Took off his cloth, laid down, and so somebody probably walked up to Stt while he was there and proposed sex, proposed somethg, ” Steve told Atralian began vtigatg whether Blue Fish Pot, like Marks Park, was a known as a beat among Sydney’s gay muny.

Homosexualy was only crimalised Atralia the two s between the start of the 1970s and the end of the 1980s, up to 88 gay men Sydney’s east and metro areas were documented to have disappeared spic circumstanc, or were the victims of 1985, 27-year-old French natnal Gill Mattai was livg was last seen walkg along the astal walkg track at Tamarama on September 15 that year by a neighbour. Between 1989 and 1999 around 46 known gay hate murrs took place New South Wal, many of them still one month alone 1990, 38 gay-related beatgs were reported to Surry Hills or Kgs Cross 2000, rpondg to pleas om fai of the murred or missg, NSW Police reopened thoands of s and took more than 400 2002, they prented a brief to then-Deputy State Coroner Jacquele Milledge. “Usg a pack mentaly they [gay-hate gangs] would target people that were unable to fend themselv agast the numbers of offenrs and there was a lot of vlence flicted agast the victims.

GAY BONDI TRAVEL GUI

“For whom, Stt had e to symbolise the many dozens of other gay men who lost their liv the 1980s and 90s a world full of anti-gay prejudice and hatred. Image source, Steve JohnsonImage ptn, Stt me to Atralia 1986 om the USA man has fally nfsed to the murr of Cambridge Universy graduate Stt Johnson after more than 30 27-year-old's naked body was found at the bottom of North Head cliffs, a well known gay cisg ground Sydney, Atralia, back the time, his ath was led as suici - somethg his fay never Whe was arrted and charged 2020, and this week unexpectedly plead guilty at a pre-trial lawyers attempted to have the admissn whdrawn, argug that Whe, 50, was not mentally on Thursday, a Supreme Court judge rejected that motn, wrg the plea was entered " a loud clear voice, and an emphatic and termed manner".

"It was nceivable to me that Stt went somewhere and jumped off a cliff, " his brother Steve told Rad 1 Newsbeat 2018, when he was sperately mpaigng for the tth behd his brother's 2005 Steve says he beme aware of quts to siar aths of gay men at Bondi Beach Sydney - the moment when he says he "woke up" to what might have happened to his younger lol police showed ltle tert re-openg Stt's se, Steve hired an vtigator who unvered urt rerds of gangs who roamed northern beach Sydney at the time mtg asslts agast gay source, Steve JohnsonImage ptn, Steve (left) has spent more than 30 years tryg to fd out the tth about his brother Stt's athAll the years later, Steve told ABC that he was grateful a trial uld be avoid. On both ocsns police found nothg to nvce them Stt hadn't taken his own November 2017 a roner led Stt had been murred by a gay hate gang, which led to a new was timated up to 80 gay men were murred by homophobic gangs and around Sydney the late eighti - wh many phed off third qut created a lot of publicy, wh Atralian police eventually renewg their vtigatn and offerg a $1m reward for rmatn, wh Steve reportedly offerg an addnal $ rerds show "a strike force" was assembled, and followg rmatn received om a member of the public, foc turned to Stt was arrted and charged wh murr on 12 May source, Steve JohnsonImage ptn, Steve says he spent summers wh his brother travellg, readg philosophy and dog maths togetherNew South Wal Police Commissner Mick Fuller prevly said Stt's ath was one of the most challengg s he's ever worked on - mostly bee no-one was willg to talk about his murr. Stt moved om the US to Atralia 1986 bee, at the time, domtic partnership laws (siar to civil partnership) were some of the most clive the homosexualy had only been crimalised New South Wal 1984 and Steve believ police did not take hate crim serly at the time of his brother's source, Steve JohnsonImage ptn, Stt moved to Atralia 1986 to be wh a man he met at Cambridge Universy"The gay muny were send class cizens.

"The gangs would attack the cisg areas bee they knew the police wouldn't e after also knew that the gay muny were aaid of the police, so they wouldn't e and report the crim. He add his brother was a "proud" gay man, as well as his bt to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays - or listen back here.

ATRALIA HAS LONG HAD A GAY BEACH SUBCULTURE BUT THEY HAVEN'T ALWAYS BEEN SAFE SPAC

Before homosexualy was crimalised (1984 New South Wal all the way through to 1997 Tasmania), some beach areas beme “beats” – venu where gay men uld discreetly hook up bee society offered few spac for them to meet and be timate. In September 2018, the Liberal MP Shayne Mallard announced a parliamentary quiry to homophobic hate crim mted between 1970 and 2010. This clus 30 outstandg s of at least 88 murrs rulted gay men beg found ad at the bottom or on top of beach clifftops.

Police are now offerg a $1m reward for rmatn leadg to nvictn – after ially, accurately, nyg the area was a October 2018, Waverley uncil announced a memorial monument will be built at the cliffsi Marks Park, south of Bondi, followg the homophobic attacks and murrs of men at this Atralian beach culture, Murphy says, remas more nservative than beach like Sg Spa, “where there are cktails, DJs and parti right on the sand”. ” The profsnal surfer Barton Lynch explaed was mon to ll someone “faggot” or “poofter” when they didn’t tch a wave – homophobic language he has avoid sce his brother me out.

BONDI RISE MEMORIAL HONOURS VICTIMS OF SYDNEY GAY HATE CRIM DURG 1970S TO 1990S

The uple, who n the blog, ce nudist beach such as Ltle Congwong at La Peroe (an unofficial nudist beach which police have prevly raid), Lady Jane and Obelisk beach Sydney, Port Douglas’s Turtle Cove rort and the “world famo” Kgs Beach at Byron uple say the associated non-nformy and liberatn of nudist beach often make them popular wh gay people: “As gay people, our eedoms were somewhat rtricted. "It was part of life beg a gay man Sydney at the time, you were aware of the hate crim … uld've been me, rather than the people I know, " Mr Wotherspoon lived through the 70s to 90s, a dark chapter of the Harbour Cy's history where dozens of mal were sla btal fashn.

(ABC News: Harriet Tatham)Gay men, or people spected of beg gay, were beaten parks, hurled om cliffs or had vanished om cy's streets s barely probed by law enforcement.

SYDNEY BARMAN’S 1989 ATH NEAR BONDI BEACH NOW BELIEVED TO BE RULT OF GAY HATE ATTACK, QUIRY TOLD

It was a well-known gay beat— a place men met for sual sex — which Warren floated the ia that Warren had staged his own disappearance. "The gay newspapers were reportg hate crim but the wir thori didn't pay any attentn … was jt bshed unr the rpet, " Mr Wotherspoon said. (ABC News: Harriet Tatham)Liberal MP Shayne Mallard chaired the parliamentary mtee rponsible for remendg the legal a victim of a homophobic asslt himself, he said was time for those rponsible to be serve time.