Sydney Morning Herald apologises to Mardi Gras 78ers, 38 years after outing many of them
Image: A group of 78ers walk across the former rainbow crossing at Taylor Square in 2013. (Photo: Steve McLaren)
THE Sydney Morning Herald has offered a formal apology to the Mardi Gras 78ers, almost 40 years after the newspaper published the names, addresses and occupations of people who took part — many of whom were not out of the closet.
In statement released this morning, editor-in-chief Darren Goodsir said they have also made contact with representatives of the 78ers so they could apologise in person.
The news comes just days after it was announced that the NSW Government — with bipartisan support — would make a formal apology to the 78ers during a parliamentary sitting on Thursday.
On June 24, 1978, more than 500 people descended on Sydney’s Taylor Square for a march down Oxford St in solidarity with New York’s Stonewall movement and to also call for the end of the criminalisation of homosexual acts, discrimination against gay people and for a public celebration of love and diversity.
The march, which grew to 2000 people, would soon become known as the first Mardi Gras parade and its participants named the “78ers”.
However, the march ended in Kings Cross with police arrests and mistreatment — many people were thrown in jail or were attacked.
Three days later, the Herald published the names, addresses and occupations of 53 people who were charged with “taking part in an unlawful procession”.
Many were also charged with hindering police, resisting arrest and using “unseemly words”.
This led to people being outed to their friends and work colleagues, and many of those arrested lost their jobs as homosexuality was a crime in NSW until 1984.
Goodsir said it was the “custom and practice of the day” to publish full details of people who appeared in court, regardless of the offence they had been charged with.
“In 1978, The Sydney Morning Herald reported the names, addresses and professions of people arrested during public protests to advance gay rights,” Goodsir said in his statement.
“The paper at the time was following the custom and practice of the day.
“We acknowledge and apologise for the hurt and suffering that reporting caused. It would never happen today.
“We have made contact with representatives of the 78ers so we can apologise in person.”
The Star Observer has contacted members of the 78ers for comment.
At the time of print, NSW Police have yet to indicate if they will also offer an apology to the 78ers.
The SMH has always been homophobic, often refusing to publish letters about gay hate crimes and other gay, lesbian transgender and HIV/AIDS issues. In addition, when we protested at the ongoing use by the SMH and its reporters of the expression AIDS “victims” at a time when there were so many critical issues, the complaints ended up with the Australian Press Council who decided against us.
In 1990 the SMH infamously put a demeaning photgraph of the late Paul O’Grady when he became the first open homosexual in any Australian parliament. It was nasty media. I appreciate Darren Goodsir (SMH editor) apology – I look forward to the same from today’s NewsCorp bullies at the Australian, Telegraph etc
Too little, too late. The SMH long had an anti-gay agenda. They are hiding behind the line ” as was practice at the time” in referring to naming people, their employers and their addresses. It was a tactic to scare people and make them hide and know their real place in society – at the bottom of the lowest shit-pile.
If I was a 78er I would not accept their apology. I would spit at their feet. How about the newspaper actually write an accurate article about the times and how they were part of perpetuating and inflaming the hate of the times.
Some people lost everything as a result of the SMH’S actions.
This sounds like we can sue them now! But alas I am getting too old for this now. The Age and the SMH are the papers that are good to read today, they actually campaign for marriage equality today. Remember Both the Australian and the Daily Telegraph newspapers are now that holds homophobic attitudes with headline grabbing garbage, such as “gay at school” and “how to win the religious freedom arguments against gay marriage” and even “Labor are the Nazis”. These papers encourage and inflame more neo-Liberal party ideology and dribble! The UK Daily Mail (or as I call them the daily fail) are also encouraging homophobia with headlines “political correctness gone mad” “boy and girl is banned”, “husband and wife is banned” and “mum and dad is banned” shit! What is wrong with the word person, parent and or spouse? These words have been around long before we started to genderize everything! It is better to have gender-neutral phases, because it is inclusive and avoids confusion! It is so simple with parent 1 and parent 2 on certificate’s or forms and even spouse 1 and spouse 2 – see the picture!
Long Overdue!
Welcome to Sydney, Australia – where the Liberal party restrict your freedom more than China and North Korea – by so-called lockout laws “bans on going out partying” (pubs, bars, restaurants, DJs, drinking, etc.), metadata, anti-bikie laws, Israel sealing our passports, terrorism offences – without being charged, ASIO/ADF power raids on aged care facilities, government lying to us, lack of government freedom of information, Russian mafia spying into our mobile phones and email, Centrelink checking your twitter/facebook, lack of freedom of speech, tiny babies being locked-up in Nauru and still a ban on getting married to someone of the same sex! I just must have woken up in North Korea, China or something! Now Australia wants to sell us off to China! Wake up Australia and take a good look at yourselves, we were once a nation of a fair go, mateship and socializing – what have we become Australia? Now it seems everything must go!
Now for the apology from the police!
SSO yet again makers the mistake of referring to the first Mardi Gras night time parade on 24 June 1978 as a march. It was conceived and started as a festival and mardi gras in Oxford Street, and only became a march after police attacked. As one of the 1978 MG organisers, I feel there is irony about the parliament’s apology and that of SMH, since we were trying to celeberate freedom, and in so many ways our freedoms as gay men transgenders and lesbians, as sex workers, party goers, drug uisers or protesters in public places in Sydney now are so tightly controlled by laws and police, and Mardi Gras it self is hyper-regulated