17c起草社区

ROBERT French鈥檚 proudest moment as an LGBTI rights activist came after police raided and arrested 27 people at a sex club called Club 80 in Paddington, Sydney.

The year was 1983, just one year before NSW decriminalised homosexuality.

摆蝉丑辞飞补诲蝉听补诲=惭搁贰颁闭 鈥淭wenty-eight of us signed statutory declarations to say we had done the same things. Lex Watson and myself were the first two to present our declarations to the vice squad,鈥� French said.

鈥淲e said, 鈥榳e鈥檝e done the same things you鈥檝e arrested these people for, arrest us鈥�.鈥�

They weren鈥檛 arrested and French went on to help form Australia鈥檚 first police gay liaison group, based on the San Francisco model.

French first became involved in the LGBTI community while studying history and political science at the University of NSW (UNSW) in the 70s. Before then he was living in a monastery, which he left in 1969 not because he realised he was gay, but because of 鈥渢heological difficulties鈥� he had with 鈥淗oly Mother Church鈥�.

Since his time at UNSW, the list of French鈥檚 contribution to Canberra and Sydney鈥檚 LGBTI communities is a long one. It includes a five-year stint as co-convenor of the NSW Gay Rights Lobby, two years as vice-president of ACON and board director at the Sydney 17c起草社区, the former name of present-day 17c起草社区.

As a gay man in the 70s he was 鈥渃omfortable in his own skin鈥� because he wasn鈥檛 very politically active, but that changed in 1978 following Sydney鈥檚 first Mardi Gras march where community members were faced with aggression and violence from the police.

鈥淭hat was my moment of activism,鈥� he said.

鈥淚 remember being really angry at what the police had done… and I remember then thinking what can I contribute as a historian and archivist, and that鈥檚 when I started to research gay history.鈥�

Also in 1978, French began researching LGBTI history and has lent his skills to Sydney鈥檚 Pride History Group of which he was the president until this year.

In 1989 he wrote two radio documentaries for Gay Radio Day on Canberra鈥檚 2XX station to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots.

He is the author of French Camping by a Billabong: Gay and Lesbian Stories from Australian History, which he says is 鈥渟till the only book that covers homosexuality in the colonial period in Australia鈥�.

鈥淟ike the statutory declarations this is the second thing I鈥檓 most proud of and done, just to let people know we have a history,鈥� French said.

Two of his other publications include Gays Between the Broadsheets: Australian Media References on Homosexuality 1948-1980 and 鈥�Mossies could spread AIDS鈥�: Australian Media References on AIDS 1981-1985.

From 1991 French wrote a popular column for Sydney 17c起草社区 called In the Past Lane which documented Australian LGBTI history 鈥� it was subsequently syndicated in other gay media nationally.

鈥淸LGBTI history is] important because communities need a memory,鈥� he said.

鈥淎ll communities need to know the antecedent, to know where they come from, to know the struggles of the past 鈥� not to hero worship people who were involved in that, but to have some understanding of where we鈥檙e at at any particular time.鈥�

It鈥檚 clear researching history and the history of Australia鈥檚 LGBTI community sparks a passion in French and he speaks proudly of photographs, newspaper articles and letters he has found over the years.

He points out the group鈥檚 100 Voices project, an oral history with more than 100 interviews of the 鈥渜ueering of Sydney鈥� before 1970 and how important it is to document the stories of older gay and lesbian people.

History, he says, plays an important role in activism today to help learn 鈥渢he tactics we used in gay rights lobby and the mistakes we made鈥�.

Getting involved in community work is 鈥渂ehove on all of us鈥�, according to French.

鈥淚 think everybody as a human being should be involved in some sort of community work at some stage, at some level… particularly for persecuted minorities like us,鈥� he said.

鈥淚 can鈥檛 conceive of not being involved to some level… I can鈥檛 ever not see myself being active in some way.鈥�

He said anyone interested in helping the Pride History Group was welcome and there was no prerequisite of skills needed.

鈥淎nybody is welcome… there鈥檚 always tasks to do. Maybe it鈥檚 listening to an oral history interview and doing a transcript. Some of the older people could help identify people in photographs and at demonstrations,鈥� French said.

鈥淗ands and feet are always necessary.鈥�

You can meet Robert French during Mardi Gras next year on Fair Day as he conducts his Sydney Gay and Lesbian History Walk, which he has been doing for 26 years.

Do you know of an unsung community hero聽who deserves recognition? Email聽editor@starobserver.com.au with your tip.

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**This article was first published in the , which is available now. 聽in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Canberra and select regional/coastal areas.

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