Ron Austin (1929 – 13 April 2019) was an Australian LGBT rights activist, who was known for being one of the founders of the

Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras or Sydney Mardi Gras is an event in Sydney, New South Wales attended by hundreds of thousands of people from around Australia and overseas. One of the largest LGBT festivals in the world, Mardi Gras is the ...

in 1978.

Early life and education

Ronald Patrick Austin grew up in

Maitland, New South Wales Maitland () is a city in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales, Australia and the seat of Maitland City Council, situated on the Hunter River, New South Wales, Hunter River approximately by road north of Sydney and north-west of Newcastle, New S ...

and was the oldest of five children. He entered the Redemptorist monastery in Mayfield,

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

at the age of 16 but left in 1951. He enrolled in the

National Art School The National Art School (NAS) is a tertiary level art school, located in , an inner-city suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The school is an independent accredited higher education provider offering specialised study in studio arts ...

in Newcastle before moving to

Darlinghurst Darlinghurst is an inner-city suburb in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Darlinghurst is located immediately east of the Sydney central business district (CBD) and Hyde Park, within the local government area of the Ci ...

, Sydney to enroll in the National Art School there.

Activism

Austin was an early member of the

Campaign Against Moral Persecution The Campaign Against Moral Persecution (also known as CAMP or CAMP Inc.) was an LGBT activism group. It was officially established on 6 February 1971, at the first public gathering of gay women and men in Australia, which took place in a church h ...

(CAMP) group, an LGBTIQ rights activism group working to end discrimination against members of the LGBTIQ community, having joined in 1971. In 1978, this group were planning protests in support of LGBTIQ rights. From 21–27 May 1978, 900 people attended Sydney's first gay

film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theater, cinemas or screening venues, usually annually and in a single city or region. Some film festivals show films outdoors or online. Films may be of recent ...

at the

Paris Theatre The Paris Theatre (also known as the Paris Studios) was originally a cinema located at 12 Lower Regent Street in central London which was converted into a studio by the BBC for radio broadcasts requiring an audience. It was used for several ...

. One of the films, ''

Word is Out "Word Is Out" is a song by Australian singer and songwriter Kylie Minogue, recorded for her fourth studio album ''Let's Get to It'' (1991). Written and produced by English production team Mike Stock and Pete Waterman, without Matt Aitken whom ...

','' which included footage from the San Francisco Freedom Day Parade inspired Austin, a member of

CAMP Camp may refer to: Areas of confinement, imprisonment, or for execution * Concentration camp, an internment camp for political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or minority ethnic groups * Extermination ...

, with the idea of a street party which later became the first

Mardi Gras Mardi Gras (, ; also known as Shrove Tuesday) is the final day of Carnival (also known as Shrovetide or Fastelavn); it thus falls on the day before the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday. is French for "Fat Tuesday", referring to it being ...

in June of that year. The suggestion that the demonstrations should be a street party led to the first march on 24 June 1978. His friend

Lance Gowland Lance Gowland (1935–2008) was an Australian LGBT rights activist, unionist, peace activist and Communist Party member. He was a member of the Campaign Against Moral Persecution (CAMP) and as one of the organisers drove the truck in the first Sy ...

assisted with obtaining the permit, driving the truck and setting up the sound system. 53 people were arrested for participating. This event became a catalyst for a series of protests and led to the repeal in April 1979 of the NSW Summary Offences Act, under which the arrests had been made. The Mardi Gras became an annual event, and Austin marched in every parade for decades.

Death and legacy

Austin died on 13 April 2019, at the age of 90. The Mardi Gras Awards, given out annually, include the Ron Austin Award for Most Fabulous Parade Entry.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Austin, Ron 1929 births 2019 deaths LGBTQ culture in Sydney Australian LGBTQ rights activists