Atralia has long had a gay beach subculture but they haven't always been safe spac | Gary Nunn | The Guardian

Contents:

• MAN ACCED OF HISTORIC MURR A SYDNEY PARK WOULD ALLEGEDLY 'SET UPON' GAY MEN, URT HEARS
• ‘MEN WERE STTERG EVERYWHERE’: QUIRY HEARS OF STRG OF VLENT CINTS AT SYDNEY GAY BEATS
• NSW POLICE: HUNTG GAY MEN AT BEATS
• MAN’S FURY OVER ‘PRAVED’ TOILET ACT SPARKS BATE OVER GAY BEATS
• GUILTY VERDICT FOR 1987 MURR SYDNEY 'GAY BEAT'
• FOUR OTHER GAY-HATE CRIM BEG VTIGATED BY NSW POLICE AFTER STT JOHNSON MURR CHARGE
• NSW ERNMENT ANNOUNC QUIRY TO SYDNEY'S UNSOLVED GAY AND TRANSGENR HATE CRIM, MURRS
• INQUIRY HEARS OF VLENCE AT GAY BEATS
• ATRALIA HAS LONG HAD A GAY BEACH SUBCULTURE BUT THEY HAVEN'T ALWAYS BEEN SAFE SPAC
• GAY BEAT TO TRIBUTE: BONDI'S MARKS PARK TO GET HATE CRIME MEMORIAL
• LGBTQ+ AFFIRMG COUNSELLORS MALAND, NSW
• A GAY BEAT, A FATAL CLIFF FALL, AND ONE FAY'S 26-YEAR BATTLE WH POLICE FOR ANSWERS TO STT JOHNSON'S ATH
• ‘YOU HAD TO FD A SECRET PLACE’: GROWG UP GAY A VLENT SYDNEY SHADOW WORLD

MAN ACCED OF HISTORIC MURR A SYDNEY PARK WOULD ALLEGEDLY 'SET UPON' GAY MEN, URT HEARS

A 77-year-old man is on trial the Supreme Court after pleadg not guilty to murrg Raymond Keam a Sydney park nearly four s pots:Stanley Early is acced of allegedly murrg Raymond Keam 1987Mr Keam was found a park known for beg a gay beat Sydney's RandwickThe urt was told Mr Early was part of a group who would "set upon" gay men at nightStanley Early was arrted Augt 2021 what police alleged was a gay-hate crime based on a false perceptn of Mr Keam's sexual body was found face up the grass Randwick's Alison Park on the morng of January 13, 1987 wh var juri, and a post-mortem examatn later revealed he had died om a bra an openg statement, Crown prosecutor Ken McKay SC had argued there was evince that prr to the alleged murr the Victorian man had on ocsn been part of a group who had "set upon" men the park late at night bee they believed them to be the time of Mr Keam's ath the acced went by the name Stanley "Spir" Sutton and lived a boardg hoe oppose the park.

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.

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

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. Communy Actn Agast Homophobia (CAAH) is mpaigng to end harassment of men Sydney beats and will provi onle rmatn for beat ers to bee better rmed of their rights when approached by police.

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. ”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.

NSW POLICE: HUNTG GAY MEN AT BEATS

As Garry Wotherspoon observ: “[H]omosexuals have been imagative creatg other for a range of stutns … sce the ways which heterosexuals n meet each other openly are not available to homosexuals. A NSW Supreme Court jury returned s guilty verdict on Wednday after hearg that Early had attacked the 43-year-old martial arts expert Randwick's Alison Park spectg he was homosexual. A post-mortem examatn revealed he died om severe head juri and a 1988 qut found Mr Keam died after beg stck by a person or persons Park had a reputatn for beg a gay beat, crown prosecutor Ken McKay SC told the jury as the trial verdict spe a wholly circumstantial se beg brought agast Early wh no wns seeg he had any ntact wh Mr June 2021 a $1 ln reward was offered for rmatn about the was arrted at a home Clayton, Victoria two months later and was extraded to NSW where he remaed for the Keam's hherto unsolved ath was one of 88 killgs between 1976 and 2000 recently reviewed by police probg potential gay-hate vlence and allegatns of prr intified as heterosexual, was divorced om one woman and a facto relatnship wh another, havg a child wh each.

It's a vlent slice of Sydney history — gay men beaten parks, hurled off cliffs or vanishg om the cy's streets s barely probed by horrific crim were dredged up aga this week when police charged a man over the 1988 murr of Stt 27-year-old's ath was the most high-profile gay hate attack Harbour Cy events that lead to his smashed body beg found at the base of cliffs near North Head were examed three ronial quts.

(Supplied: Johnson fay)NSW Police Mister David Elltt this week nced " was a time where people were slightly dismissive of hate crim and where was too easy to make exc or to move on" are four other gay murrs that fell through the cracks the late Warren Ross Warren, a news prenter om Wollongong, was last seen at Darlghurst 1989.

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

A iend found his r keys two days later on a rock ledge below a cliff at Marks Park, Tamarama; was a well-known gay beat — a place men met for sual sex — which Warren floated the ia that Warren staged his own disappearance and four days later nclud he accintally fell to the sea. His body was never 2005, then-puty roner Jacquele Milledge characterised the vtigatn as "grossly aquate and shameful" and said Warren was "a victim of homici" year, the NSW Upper Hoe mtee quirg to gay and transgenr hate crim between 1970 and 2010 received evince police officers lookg to Warren's disappearance chose to "sile" the mtee heard that 2001, former NSW Police Detective Sergeant Steve Page found major issu wh the way Warren's se was Detective Sergeant would go on to form Strike Force Taradale, which intified lks between Warren's spected murr and many other gay killgs. (Supplied)Raymond Frerick Keam's body was found lyg the grass at the northern end of Alison Park Randwick on January 13, 44-year-old father-of-two, who had a black belt karate, was beaten to right troer pocket was pulled out and the glove box and boot of his r, parked 40 metr away, were ransacked, their ntents strewn around the said the Alison Park public toilets were a well-known gay beat and men who were perceived to be gay were often the victims of ser asslts and robberi the time, the ma spect was a man who intified as gay and lived oppose the park where Keam was found.

Authori believed he told other men, who were prevly volved the robbery and asslt of gay men the park, that child molters were equentg the Alison Park charg were laid relatn to Keam's Rsell John Rsell's ath 1989 was rerd as "misadventure".

William AllenWilliam Allen was found ad his Newton Street home on December 29, 1988 wh several head juri which he staed the prev eveng Alexandria was driven by a passg motorist who spotted him wh blood over his hands and retired school teacher, who worked at Newgton College, said he was bashed and kicked to the ground by "a uple of Aborigal boys" who then took his keys and the time of his murr, he was unr vtigatn for cultivatg and sellg nnabis to young mal for sex and was known to equent a gay beat at Alexandria were no clear spects, but NSW Police noted the circumstanc around his ath were siar to the later murr of Richard Johnson 1990, which led to the nvictn of the "Alexandria Eight", who bashed him to retrospectively vtigated the eight offenrs — aged 16 to 18 — but did not have enough evince to charge anyone wh Allen's murr. Media verage of the early years of the HIV epimic ntributed to the high level of vlence agast the LGBT muny NSW the 1980s, an quiry has pots:An quiry is vtigatg spected gay hate crim mted over 40 years NSWIt hears Grim Reaper ad mpaign 1987 had a "particularly damagg" impact of LGBT peopleMedia verage of the HIV epimic drove vlence agast the muny, the quiry is toldThe special missn of quiry is vtigatg spected hate crime aths between 1970 and 2010, which rema unsolved, and was tablished this year followg remendatns om a parliamentary quiry.

GUILTY VERDICT FOR 1987 MURR SYDNEY 'GAY BEAT'

This week's public heargs are explorg the social, legal and cultural factors affectg the LGBT muny the 40-year Mackie, peak LGBT group ACON's director of policy, strategy and rearch, today gave evince that the 1987 Grim Reaper advertisg mpaign was signed to put HIV "on the agenda" but had a "particularly damagg" effect on gay said "alienated" those wh HIV bee didn't clu rmatn about how HIV was transmted, safe sex practic or what to do if you were HIV Mackie said was such a major mpaign that still ronat the Atralian psyche said at the time whipped up "hysteria" and rulted many people perceivg gay men themselv as Grim Reapers, while rhetoric the media and om some policians also didn't help.

FOUR OTHER GAY-HATE CRIM BEG VTIGATED BY NSW POLICE AFTER STT JOHNSON MURR CHARGE

"The quiry was also shown a 1993 ACON report which followed creasg reports of police and uncil surveillance at gay beats between 1988 and showed police practic sometim volved "punishment by spectacle", where beat ers were not only arrted but "ma an example of" ont of members of the report said some police practic were "unnecsary", cludg stanc Albury, Penrh and St Marys where offic had allegedly rmed spects' fai or employers that they had been apprehend at a beat. The NSW ernment has announced an quiry to btal hat crim mted agast members of Sydney's gay muny over 40 pots:The quiry will have the power to pel wns to prent evinceLiberal MP and gay man Shayne Mallard said was an emotnal dayHe said there was evince of at least 88 gay and transgenr murrsIn July 1989, 25-year-old newsrear Ross Warren disappeared om Sydney's eastern r had been parked on a street near the popular gay beat Marks Park, and his keys were found at the bottom of a cliff closed his se jt three weeks later, whout lotg his is spected to be among the dozens of men murred  Sydney through the 1980s and will form the basis of a judicial quiry announced by the NSW ernment on Wednday.

NSW ERNMENT ANNOUNC QUIRY TO SYDNEY'S UNSOLVED GAY AND TRANSGENR HATE CRIM, MURRS

(Supplied: Marton Dobras-Vcze)"The crim took place at a time when many the muny thought gay and transgenr people were sick, perverted or crimals, " chief executive Nilas Parkhill said.

"Details about the ntent of the quiry, cludg s terms of reference, are yet to be month a memorial was unveiled at Marks Park Tamarama, the se of many spected murrs, to acknowledge and honour the victims of gay hate 4 Nov 2021Thu 4 Nov 2021 at 1:20am, updated 4 Nov 2021Thu 4 Nov 2021 at 3:29am. (PR HANDOUT IMAGE PHOTO)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 long-time gay rights activist was givg evince at the NSW 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.

INQUIRY HEARS OF VLENCE AT GAY BEATS

Dcribg himself as a "beats queen", Mr Charl said he was aware that vlence agast gay men at beats was occurrg before the equented them between 1969 and 1998, visg at least 40 different on around Sydney. "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, " he Charl listed a strg of vlent acts he wnsed or experienced at beats, tellg the quiry he managed to sprt over the footbridge away om the r at the Rhcutters Bay cint. Another time an adolcent boy h him wh a tree saplg om the park, which was later the scene of a bashg murr of a gay outled his years of activism, notg a gay solidary Sydney rally phed the marchers back and began arrtg people after they cid to lay a wreath at the war memorial, to memorate gay and lbian service people.

"Durg the early 1980s, the gay muny's growg visibily and nfince also meant growg vlence agast he rejected opns that the advent of HIV/AIDS gave rise to more anti-gay vlence wh beg ed as an exce or jtifitn.

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. 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.

GAY BEAT TO TRIBUTE: BONDI'S MARKS PARK TO GET HATE CRIME MEMORIAL

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. Marks Park south of Bondi was for s a known gay beat Sydney's eastern suburbs where multiple men were savagely bashed, robbed and some s, cliff-si park will bee a memorial to those men after was chosen as the se for a monument to victims of the cy's wave of gay hate crim om the 1970s to the 1990s.

"The memorial will be built a natural amphheatre-like space, created by a slope the ground and a clter of tre, on the Tamarama si of the will face south, towards the ocean and Waverley Warren, Stt Johnson and John Rsell were victims of Sydney's s-long gay hate crime wave. The uncil will ll for tenrs before a public nsultatn Park, a former notor gay beat, is on the Bondi to Tamarama Jam BrickwoodCr Sally Betts said anisers of Sculpture by the Sea, the yearly two-week public art display that the park, should be nsulted over the memorial's the meetg, Cr Wakefield said the anisatn had been nsulted but the memorial was ultimately a matter for the uncil and ACON. A NSW Police review of 88 spic aths Sydney between 1976 and 2000 found almost a third were the rult of crim volvg spected or nfirmed gay-hate Force Parrabell this year found evince of gay-hate bias or spected bias 27 s, while 23 of the aths also rema unsolved.

LGBTQ+ AFFIRMG COUNSELLORS MALAND, NSW

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. 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.

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. 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.

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

Police overlooked “pellg evince” of homophobia the btal 1989 Sydney murr of John Gordon Hugh, the New South Wal special missn of quiry to LGBTQ+ hate crim has an quiry scribed as a world first, this week’s heargs foc on seven aths prevly reviewed by NSW police’s strike force Parrabell , 45, was disvered ad his Potts Pot un May 1989.

‘YOU HAD TO FD A SECRET PLACE’: GROWG UP GAY A VLENT SYDNEY SHADOW WORLD

Kathleen Heath, unsel assistg missner Jtice John Sackar, on Tuday told the quiry that Hugh was a gay man and low-level dg aler whose sexual orientatn was known to his iends and acquatanc, cludg Jon. “It n be hypothised that Mr Hugh’ stat as a gay person ma Mr Jon perceive him as a target that would be ls protected by police and by the urts, ” Heath told the quiry.

Reviews of topsy reports for Paynter and Payne, recently nducted by forensic pathologist Dr Lda Il, were prented to Il reported some ncerns wh the qualy of Paynter’s postmortem examatn, she found that his juri were nsistent wh the impact of a no evince of suici, or that Paynter was LGBTQ+, Heath prented proof of his high blood alhol level, the fact that the stairse at that time had no barrier and the time of his ath around said the possibily of the Tathra headland havg an outdoor gay beat – a place where same sex-attracted men gather for sexual and other ntact – was vtigated. The submissn of L Peterk, a ral-based gay man who onted the quiry November, noted that outdoor beats are mon regnal no evince of a beat was found at the place where Paynter’s body was found, Heath ’s former brother--law Terry Forster submted a statement that Payne privately me out as gay about a year prr to his submted that the primary e of Payne’s ath was Fournier’s gangrene, a life-threateng bacterial fectn of the reports on Paynter and Payne should be remend to the NSW Registry of Births Deaths and Marriag orr for ath certifit to be rrected, Heath Paynter’s se, was remend his e of ath be rerd as “multiple juri staed a fall om a height the settg of alhol toxitn”.