Ron Austin interviewed by James Waites in the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras oral history project [sound recording]
- Bib ID:
- 5155930
- Format:
- Audio
- Author:
- Austin, Ron, 1929-2019, interviewee
- Online Access:
- National Library of Australia digital collection item.
- Access Conditions:
- Access open for research, personal copies and public use.
- Description:
-
- 2011
- 2 sound files (ca. 217 min.)
- Series:
- Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras oral history project.
- Summary:
-
Ron Austin, born in Maitland, N.S.W. (1929) discusses his early memories; his family and the family farm; WWII; schooling; illness; leaving school at age 16; questioning his sexuality and entering a monastery for four years; falling in love; sexual awakening; not discussing his sexuality; attending Art school in Newcastle; working for the Children's Library and Crafts Movement in Sydney; learning through friends and literature about homosexuality; loneliness and struggles regarding his identity; being ‘in the closet’; his generation’s experiences of being gay; joining Campaign Against Moral Persecution (CAMP) (1971); identifying as gay; meeting other homosexual people; descriptions of CAMP meetings and venues; the organisational structure, key figures and friends within CAMP; working within CAMP’s phone counselling and information service; other CAMP services and events; assaults and gay bashings; his determination and activism; deputations to N.S.W. Premier Neville Wran; the first Gay Film Festival; gay pride marches in the U.S.A.; conceiving of the Sydney Mardi Gras.
Austin discusses homosexuality and illegality at that time; Mardi Gras’ strategies for reaching ‘closeted’ gays and non-activists; a description of the first Mardi Gras (1978); police reaction and confrontation; publicity that resulted from the first Mardi Gras; his work as a facilitator; the evolving routes of Mardi Gras; the social impact of Mardi Gras’ popularity and success; recognition and non-recognition of his being one of the original organisers; his reasons for leaving CAMP (1978); the gay scene in the 1980s; the social side of beat life; Mardi Gras’ bankruptcy (2002); his impressions of Mardi Gras in recent years; friendship and relationships; reading and music; his philosophies and outlook on life.
- Notes:
- Recorded on 3 and 8 April 2011 in Camperdown, N.S.W.
- Index/Finding Aid Note:
- Timed summary (7 p.) and uncorrected transcript (typescript, 108 leaves) available.
- Subject:
- Occupation:
- Youth workers
- Other authors/contributors:
- Waites, James, 1955-2014, interviewer
- Related Records:
-
This belongs to the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras oral history project.
This collection contains 21 records. - Copyright:
-
In Copyright
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- Reason for copyright status:
- Until 2081 [Created/Published Date + 70 Years]
Copyright status was determined using the following information:
- Material type:
- Sound Recording
- Published status:
- Unpublished
- Creation date:
- 2011
Copyright status may not be correct if data in the record is incomplete or inaccurate. Other access conditions may also apply. For more information please see: Copyright in library collections.
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