• Title
  Item 1: Robyn Kennedy interview by Holly Zwalf
• Level of description
  item
• Date
  
  16 November 2022
• Type of material
  Nonmusical Sound Recordings, Oral Histories
• Reference code
  9671044
• Physical Description
  3 audio files (2 hr., 4 min.) - digital, WAV, stereo (48 kHz, 24 bit)
  
• Scope and Content
  Robyn Kennedy recounts her upbrining as the eldest of a large Catholic family that included a bishop and a priest. She describes her sexual identity, and the absence of meeting other LGBTQI+ people until she joined Campaign Against Moral Persecution (CAMP) in 1975. She talks about the radical attitudes to relationships and monogamy that were prevalent within the activist organisation at the time, and also about the emphasis on androgyny within the lesbian feminist community.
  
  Kennedy details CAMP's history and the book she co-authored about this in 2022, she references the first public gay rights demonstration in 1971, the organisation's publication, Camp Ink, the “Phone a Friend” peer counselling service, and the campaign to support David Widdup, the first openly gay candidate to stand for office in Australia. She talks about the challenges LGBTQI+ community encountered, including prevalence of hate crimes and the lack of police response, being permanently disabled as a result of ECT conversion therapy, and the high rate of suicide. She details the political tensions within CAMP and the subsequent split which resulted in the forming of two new organisations: the Gay Task Force and the Gay and Lesbian Counselling Service.
  
  Kennedy recounts the the first Mardi Gras riot in 1978, and describes the events of that night as well as the ensuing protests over the following months, which led to the repealing of the Summary Offenses Act. She talks about the activist response to the AIDS crisis and the initial inaction of the government. She talks about her role in leading the Sydney WorldPride bid, her volunteer work with the Queertopia Sydney queer museum, and her work with InterPride, the international association of pride organisers.
• Language
  English
• Copying Conditions
  In copyright:
  Copyright holder:: State Library of New South Wales
  Please acknowledge:: Mitchell Library, State Library of New South Wales
• General note
  
  Recorded at Forbes Street Studios, Woolloomooloo, New South Wales, on 16 November 2022
• Creator/Author/Artist
  Kennedy, Robyn, 1953-
  
• Subject
  Kennedy, Robyn, 1953---Interviews.
  Lesbians--New South Wales.
  Gay activists--New South Wales.
  LGBT activism--New South Wales.
  WorldPride (Event) (2023 : Sydney).
  Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras--History.
  
• Open Rosetta viewer
  IE20553203

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