<
https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/article/2024/jun/06/thousands-of-lgbtq-australians-are-about-to-get-a-long-awaited-apology-but-many-arent-alive-to-receive-it>
"Peter De Waal remembers fondly the last time his partner smiled before he
died.
De Waal was sitting by Peter “Bon” Bonsall-Boone’s bedside in Sydney, reading a
letter. The letter contained long-awaited news: Bonsall-Boone’s second
conviction for expressing his sexuality had finally been quashed.
Bonsall-Boone was first convicted at age 19 of having consensual sex with a man
in 1957 – and since then, he had been coping with the consequences.
He was kicked out of his studies to become an Anglican priest and his options
for work were severely limited after being convicted twice on different
offences. In 1969, De Waal and Bonsall-Boone struggled to get a home loan
because of the convictions. Three years later, Bonsall-Boone lost his job again
after he and De Waal shared a kiss broadcast as part of an ABC documentary. It
was the first same-sex kiss by men to be aired on Australian TV.
“[The convictions] caused us a huge amount of difficulty and pain, we always
felt like second class citizens,” says 86-year-old De Waal, who was never
convicted himself.
On Thursday, the NSW premier, Chris Minns, delivered a formal state apology to
the estimated thousands, who like Bonsall-Boone, were convicted under laws that
criminalised people for expressing their sexuality, ranging from buggery to
assault and gross indecency charges. The apology came 40 years after
homosexuality was decriminalised in NSW under former premier Neville Wran.
“It’s bittersweet,” De Waal told Guardian Australia ahead of the apology being
delivered. He wished Bonsall-Boone were alive to attend the apology.
“It would be wonderful if I could sit in parliament with Bon and hold hands.”"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
