‘Men were stterg everywhere’: quiry hears of strg of vlent cints at Sydney gay beats | Sydney | The Guardian

Contents:

• A GAY BEAT, A FATAL CLIFF FALL, AND ONE FAY'S 26-YEAR BATTLE WH POLICE FOR ANSWERS TO STT JOHNSON'S ATH
• ‘MEN WERE STTERG EVERYWHERE’: QUIRY HEARS OF STRG OF VLENT CINTS AT SYDNEY GAY BEATS
• MAN’S FURY OVER ‘PRAVED’ TOILET ACT SPARKS BATE OVER GAY BEATS
• NSW POLICE: HUNTG GAY MEN AT BEATS
• INQUIRY HEARS OF VLENCE AT GAY BEATS
• GUILTY VERDICT FOR 1987 MURR SYDNEY 'GAY BEAT'
• GAY HATE BEHD 27 SYDNEY MURRS, POLICE REVIEW REVEALS

A GAY BEAT, A FATAL CLIFF FALL, AND ONE FAY'S 26-YEAR BATTLE WH POLICE FOR ANSWERS TO STT JOHNSON'S ATH

NatnalNSWThis was published 8 years agoA gay-hate murr or an unsolvable tragedy? They had a few hnts for gay-bashg – Manly, Long Reef, or up on the Manly si of North Head, near Blue Fish murr? "The guys were the homosexual men who equented gay beats.

He has e back to Atralia om the USA to follow up on a police vtigatn lookg to gay hate crim towards Rebec Johnson's Jam Brickwood"Of urse, I don't thk like that now, " he, not his real name, has e forward to help the fay of Stt Johnson, a brilliant 27-year-old Amerin mathematician who plunged to his ath om a 50-metre cliff near Blue Fish Pot almost 26 years ago. Steve Johnson, Stt's olr brother by two years, never believed at the time he had never heard the term "gay beat" – a place where men met for sex, often anonymoly.

Cickshank had told the urt the area where Johnson died was not equented by homosexual men. A 45-year-old gay man had been sunbakg at Blue Fish Pot. The stranger then stabbed the sunbaker, who fled wh the knife his young Freddy and his crew been followg the Johnson ronial quiry, they would have been surprised to hear that homosexuals did not equent their stompg se might have rted wh the police versn of history had not been for another roner's fdgs 2005 about the aths of three gay men around the Bondi and Tamarama cliff-tops the late 1980s, when gangs of youths went on "poofter bashg" rampag.

‘MEN WERE STTERG EVERYWHERE’: QUIRY HEARS OF STRG OF VLENT CINTS AT SYDNEY GAY BEATS

Their aths joed a succsn of gay-hate asslts and murrs that era, amid the "Grim Reaper" advertisg rponse to the HIV alert and soon after homosexual sex was crimalised NSW Johnson's long-term partner, Michael Noone, ntacted Steve Johnson after the Milledge fdgs. And that, he says, is symptomatic of a long history of police quiri to the unexplaed aths of gay men the 1970s, '80s and '90s – and his mpaign is as much for them and their fai as his own. Police had asserted was a popular suici spot – and, curly, one officer had told the victim's brother, "particularly for homosexuals".

MAN’S FURY OVER ‘PRAVED’ TOILET ACT SPARKS BATE OVER GAY BEATS

It took Glick days to fd ttimony that was a gay beat where homosexual men undrsed, sun-baked and found sexual pany. This officer had told him that Doreen Cickshank still sisted was not a gay beat and "we were wastg our time".

And December 2012, an Unsolved Homici tective had advised them the se had a "zero solvabily x" and that he had on good thory that the cliff area was not a gay beat. "Among those helpg the Johnsons has been Sue Thompson, a lawyer and former gay liaison officer wh the police force. Last year Fairfax Media featured the timat of Thompson and crimologist Stephen Tomsen of about 30 potential unsolved gay-hate murrs om the late 1970s to late early Augt, Willg said police had asssed them and found "fively" that eight may f the gay-hate tegory.

Jenks says that of 31 s asssed, two had been solved wh "no evince of a gay-hate bias" while eight had evince or "ditns" of potential gay-hate bias. We looked at those aths the ntext of the gay-hate phenomenon.

NSW POLICE: HUNTG GAY MEN AT BEATS

We looked at all the known gay-hate murrs and asslts. "The leads offered by the Johnsons clu a uple of crooked ps, long kicked out of the force, who allegedly took brib om crimals who bashed and robbed gay men.

It appears police uld not regard this as hard Willg has ma clear that police now accept that the area where Stt Johnson died was a gay beat.

INQUIRY HEARS OF VLENCE AT GAY BEATS

Men at a popular Sydney gay beat had to stter when a r reered towards them “like was on a kangaroo shoot”, an quiry has r’s headlights and an apparent spotlight were blazg as the r drove at men at Rhcutters Bay Park Sydney’s east the 1990s. “It was a by Saturday night and men were stterg everywhere, nng like the dickens, ” Barry Charl said on 72-year-old longtime gay rights activist was givg evince at the New South Wal Special Commissn of Inquiry to LGBTIQ hate is vtigatg historil hate crim agast the queer muny, particularly a wave of gay hate homicis and other crim Sydney durg the Aids epimic of the 1980s.

“While as a young man om Punchbowl ( Sydney’s wt) I had no ia how to fd a gay bar, beats were somethg I uld fd, ” he equented them between 1969 and 1998, visg at least 40 different on around sex was mostly anonymo and wordls, as the majory wanted to get over and done wh as quickly as possible.

GUILTY VERDICT FOR 1987 MURR SYDNEY 'GAY BEAT'

“Hangg around for longer than necsary was dangero, bee you knew you uld be apprehend, or were danger of vlence and some men were at risk of beg exposed as gay. ”But another acced the poster of homophobia. Gay men?

Sharg a screenshot of the post to the “Marrickville Rantg/Complats” page, she mocked the man sayg he had “accintally happened across a ‘beat’” — public plac where gay men meet for sex.

”One woman agreed, “The historil beats should be honoured for the role they played gay male life and culture this cy and others. I’m an old school gay, so ’s neato, groovy, and crazy ol that beats still exist. Acrdg to an SBS Pri article om 2016, beats — which “explod” the 1960s and ‘70s — are “still around and very much a part of gay culture”.

GAY HATE BEHD 27 SYDNEY MURRS, POLICE REVIEW REVEALS

”More CoverageOne man who attend beats on a “semi-regular basis” told SBS, “It’s simply bee a part of gay culture and some men — spe beg able to fd someone nearby on Grdr to f**k the fort of their own home — prefer to go cisg at a beat bee that’s what turns them on.

In the ‘70s and ‘80s, young men were targeted a wave of bashgs and murrs of at popular gay beats across the related topics:Sydney.

Beats ed to be a place where men uld meet before gay pri movements won the right to meet pubs and clubs. Beat ers have reported hourly patrols by several police vehicl, vert patrols on foot, the wrongful "banng" people om the area for 28 days, rogatory personal ments, threats to e pepper spray, e of unnecsary force, arrt whout charge and other homophobic behavur. In a letter to cy admistrators, LECD says that by regulatg sex public, the safety of homosexuals om "queer-bashers" n be better guaranteed.