By Stephanie Richards

Copyright abc

That was the comment Will Sergeant remembers his boss said to him the day South Australia became the first state in the country to decriminalise homosexuality.

It was September 1975, and the then 24-year-old Mr Sergeant was at the forefront of a growing gay liberation movement which spilled onto Adelaide’s traditionally conservative streets and into the chambers of parliament.

The passing of the landmark bill 50 years ago left an indelible mark on SA, cementing the state as a champion of progressive social reform under the leadership of charismatic premier, Don Dunstan.

For Mr Sergeant — a self-described “unreconstructed 1970s gay liberationist” — the legislative reform filled him with confidence and pride.

“People say identity politics is old fashioned, but it was so important back then to be out and proud — blatant is beautiful, glad to be gay, all those things,” Mr Sergeant reflected.

‘Every day you were scared’

Prior to 1975, being caught engaging in homosexual acts did not necessarily lead to prison, but it could result in a criminal conviction and public shame.

Attacks on gay men were common near the banks of Adelaide’s River Torrens, which was an established gay beat regularly patrolled by police.

“I think people discovered the camp scene or other homosexuals sometimes by chance, or perhaps by coming down here to the river and meeting someone,” said Mr Sergeant as he stood on the banks of the Torrens.

“In fact, when I came out in ’72 to family and friends, no-one knew any other gay person or could tell me how to meet people or where to go — extraordinary, I hadn’t been living under a rock.”

Labor MLC Ian Hunter, who in 2006 became the first openly-gay member of state parliament, recalled feeling scared and isolated growing up in Adelaide in the 1970s.

“All you had was negativity every day,” he said.

“The gay jokes were incessant and every day you were scared at school.

“You were scared you were going to be beaten up, found out, expelled, thrown out of home.”

A reform out of tragedy

The ostracism and violence perpetrated towards the gay community reached a crescendo at around 11pm on May 10, 1972, when 41-year-old University of Adelaide law lecturer, George Duncan, was thrown into the River Torrens by a group of men.

London-born Dr Duncan — who had been in Adelaide for barely six weeks, and could not swim — drowned in the murky water.

Though never proven, suspicions were quickly raised about police involvement in the incident, and two vice squad members were tried and eventually acquitted of Dr Duncan’s manslaughter.

“I remember looking in the paper and there’s a bloke who’s been thrown in the River Torrens because he was gay,” Mr Hunter says.

“The message was pretty clear: No-one is going to support you, no-one is going to make you safe.”

World ‘didn’t change overnight’ after decriminalisation

Dr Duncan’s death is widely considered the catalyst for gay rights reform in SA.

After an early attempt by Liberal MP Murray Hill in 1972, Attorney-General Peter Duncan’s 1975 private member’s bill eventually achieved full decriminalisation of homosexuality.

Despite the significance of the change, it was met with minimal fanfare at the time.

“Just because the legislation passed in 1975, didn’t mean that the world changed overnight,” Mr Hunter said.

“It took a long time for that to change.”

‘We have to be talking about attitudes’

In the 50 years since homosexuality was decriminalised in SA, the state has banned gay conversion therapy, axed the gay panic defence, and passed the Equal Opportunity Act, making discrimination against a person’s sexuality illegal.

For young LGBTQIA+ South Australians, the 50-year anniversary of the decriminalisation of homosexuality has prompted reflection.

“Of course we’ve made a lot of strides, a lot of steps forward … but there are effectively still a lot of people out there who are facing violent actions, facing abuse, a lot of the times ostracism from their families,” University of Adelaide Student Representative Council Queer Officer, April Glynn-Roe said.

“A lot of us still here in South Australia [are] struggling to get gender-affirming care, struggling to be able to walk down certain streets and not be verbally harassed.

“If we’re talking about equality we also have to be talking about attitudes.”

Adelaide University Pride Club president Elizabeth Jagersma agreed there was still a way to go on the path toward equality.

“There are powerful reactionary forces, particularly coming from America, that want to hurt transgender people, whether it’s access to gender-affirming care, whether it’s transgender women in sports,” she said.

“These issues have become sort of a firing ground; a battle zone and I think we need to resist that international trend here in Australia.”

‘Always important to be active, alert and mindful’

Greens MLC Robert Simms, who became the first openly-gay man to represent South Australia in the Senate when he was elected in 2015, said he was still pushing for birth certificates to “appropriately reflect” how same-sex parents want to be recognised, and for anti-discrimination laws to be strengthened.

He said he would also like the state and federal parliaments to be more representative.

“Ian Hunter was the first out gay man elected to state parliament, I was the second and there’s only two of us,” he said.

“We [LGBTQIA+ people] are a big part of the community and of course that should be reflected in the halls of power.”

Mr Simms, alongside Mr Hunter and other MPs from across the political divide, have spent the past year organising a series of events to mark the 50-year anniversary of SA decriminalising homosexuality.

The Greens MP said it was important to celebrate the landmark reform.

“I reflect on the amazing opportunities that I’ve had in my life,” he said.

“I would not have had those opportunities, certainly to be elected as a member of parliament, had it not been for the incredible struggle of those activists at that time.”

One of those activists, Mr Sergeant, said while much had changed since 1975, there was still some way to go towards equality.

“I think a lot has changed — the recognition of same-sex couples and the right to IVF, adoption, parenting now,” he said.

“Those are all very positive developments well into this century.