George Ian Ogilvie Duncan (20 July 1930 – 10 May 1972) was an Australian law lecturer at the
University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...
who drowned in 1972 after being thrown into the
River Torrens by a group of men believed to be police officers. Public outrage generated by the murder became the trigger for homosexual law reform which led to
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
becoming the first Australian state to
decriminalise
Decriminalization or decriminalisation is the reclassification in law relating to certain acts or aspects of such to the effect that they are no longer considered a crime, including the removal of criminal penalties in relation to them. This reform ...
homosexuality.
Early life and education
George Duncan was born on 20 July 1930 at
Golders Green,
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, England, the only child of New Zealand-born parents Ronald Ogilvie Duncan (d.1952) and his second wife Hazel Kerr née Martell (d.1944). Emigrating to
Victoria in 1937, Duncan attended
Melbourne Grammar School, graduating
dux
''Dux'' (; plural: ''ducēs'') is Latin for "leader" (from the noun ''dux, ducis'', "leader, general") and later for duke and its variant forms (doge, duce, etc.). During the Roman Republic and for the first centuries of the Roman Empire, ''dux' ...
in 1947.
While taking an honours degree in classical
philology
Philology () is the study of language in oral and writing, written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defin ...
at the
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...
, Duncan's studies were interrupted in 1950 after contracting
tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
. In 1957, Duncan entered
St John's College, Cambridge
St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corpo ...
, where he was awarded a number of degrees, including a B.A. in 1960; a
Bachelor of Laws
Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...
in 1961; an M.A. in 1963 and a Ph.D. in 1964. From 1966 to 1971, he taught law part-time at the
University of Bristol
, mottoeng = earningpromotes one's innate power (from Horace, ''Ode 4.4'')
, established = 1595 – Merchant Venturers School1876 – University College, Bristol1909 – received royal charter
, type ...
and published his doctoral thesis in 1971.
[
]
Career in Adelaide
Duncan returned to Australia on 25 March 1972 to take up a lectureship in law at the University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...
, moving into Lincoln College in North Adelaide.[
]
Death
Around six weeks after Duncan's arrival in Adelaide, he was thrown from the southern bank of the River Torrens, near Kintore Avenue, and drowned.[ In 1988, Julian Clarke gave a police statement about what he saw at the beat on the banks of the River Torrens in 1972. He stated that after hearing screaming, he saw a group of men throw two other men in the river. He said members of the group then punched him and told him to "fuck off" before the same happened to him.
However, Julian Clarke later told Ivan Felisatti he saw three police officers attack Dr Duncan. “Two of them held Dr Duncan and Julian heard bones breaking and the men shouting.”
As homosexuality was still illegal in South Australia at that time, the banks of the Torrens River, or "Number 1 beat" as it was then known, was a popular place for gay or ]bisexual
Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...
men to meet. Around 11.00 p.m. on 10 May 1972, Duncan and Roger James (and a third unidentified man) were all thrown by a group of men into the river in separate incidents, and Duncan, being unable to swim, drowned. One of the perpetrators then stripped and entered the river in search of Duncan, but the victim was unable to be found in the murky waters. James suffered a broken ankle and, after crawling to the road, was rescued by a passing driver, Bevan Spencer von Einem
Bevan Spencer von Einem (born 29 May 1946) is a convicted child murderer and suspected serial killer from Adelaide, South Australia. An accountant by profession, he was convicted in 1984 for the murder of 15-year-old Adelaide teenager Richard ...
(who was later convicted of child murder), who then took him to the Royal Adelaide Hospital.
Investigations and trial
After James and other witnesses declined to identify the attackers and reportedly feared for their lives, the Premier of South Australia, Don Dunstan, offered government protection to witnesses who came forward.[Wilfrid Prest ''Wakefield Companion to South Australian History'' Wakefield Press 2001 Pg 153 ] Within days of the murder, it was suspected that the group of men who killed Duncan were three senior vice squad police officers. Witnesses claimed that the detectives were also accompanied by a tall civilian, who was never identified.
Public debate was so great that Dunstan permitted Police Commissioner Harold Salisbury to call in detectives from New Scotland Yard to investigate the murder. Their report, written by Detective Chief Superintendent Bob McGowan, which was not made public until tabled in the South Australia parliament in 2002, indicated that vice squad officers Francis John Cawley, Michael Kenneth Clayton, and Brian Edwin Hudson had taken part in the three assaults. The inquiry, described as "a frolic", had failed to find sufficient evidence to prosecute any of the officers due to a lack of witness testimony. Further, the detectives were called upon to give evidence at the coronial inquiry but had refused to answer any of the questions put to them and were subsequently suspended from duty and eventually resigned. The coroner returned an open finding on 5 July 1972, which led to the crown solicitor
A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...
announcing on 24 October 1972 that he had decided against proceeding with any prosecution.[
On 30 July 1985, former vice squad officer Mick O'Shea, who had resigned in 1981, told '' The Advertiser'' that the group involved in Duncan's death were vice squad officers and that there was a cover-up to protect them. On 5 February 1986, Cawley, Clayton and Hudson, were charged with the manslaughter of Duncan. Cawley and Clayton eventually went to trial in 1988, with both being acquitted of the charges on 30 September after refusing to testify.][
During the trial, O'Shea made specific allegations that it was a common practice for vice squad officers to throw homosexual men into the river, that certain members assaulted homosexual men, and that on one occasion they had chased an individual while firing shots. A further allegation was later raised that there had been an attempt to influence a juror to find the two officers charged not guilty.][Duncan Report "Closed"](_blank)
State Library of South Australia
The State Library of South Australia, or SLSA, formerly known as the Public Library of South Australia, located on North Terrace, Adelaide, is the official library of the Australian state of South Australia. It is the largest public research l ...
Scan of newspaper article May 1990 Pg 6. A police task force was set up, reporting to the SA parliament in 1990 that there was insufficient evidence to charge any person with the murder. Repeated calls for a royal commission have been ignored.[
On the 40th anniversary of the bill being passed, in August 2015, ]SAPOL
South Australia Police (SAPOL) is the police force of the Australian state of South Australia. SAPOL is an independent statutory agency of the Government of South Australia directed by the Commissioner of Police, who reports to the Minister fo ...
Police Commissioner Grant Stevens talked publicly about the murder, saying that the case remained open and that reward was on offer for information leading to a conviction. He also said that SAPOL was now an inclusive police force and had an excellent relationship with the LGBTQI community.
Legal impact
The murder attracted national media coverage, and public outrage resulted in Duncan being held up as a martyr by the gay rights movement.[ Gay and feminist activists, led by Jon Ruwoldt, opened the Doctor Duncan Revolution Bookshop as an organising centre in June 1974, at King William Road ]Hyde Park
Hyde Park may refer to:
Places
England
* Hyde Park, London, a Royal Park in Central London
* Hyde Park, Leeds, an inner-city area of north-west Leeds
* Hyde Park, Sheffield, district of Sheffield
* Hyde Park, in Hyde, Greater Manchester
Austra ...
, also selling political books by mail-order, which fulfilled its purpose and closed in May 1977. When closed, the stock was transferred to International Bookshop in Melbourne.
As a result of the media attention, Murray Hill, a Liberal Party member of the Legislative Council, introduced a bill on 26 July 1972 to amend the ''Criminal Law Consolidation Act'' (1935–1971) that criminalised homosexuality. The amendment was assented to on 9 November 1972, however, a further amendment weakened it to only allow a legal defence for homosexual acts committed in private. In 1973, the Labor member for Elizabeth, Peter Duncan, introduced the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill into Parliament which, although passed by the Lower House
A lower house is one of two Debate chamber, chambers of a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house. Despite its official position "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has co ...
, was defeated twice in the Legislative Council.
On 27 August 1975, the unaltered bill was again introduced, defeated, reintroduced, defeated, reintroduced a third time and passed, all on the same day, making South Australia the first Australian state to fully decriminalise homosexuality.[Gay Rights: South Australian law reform 1859 to 1975](_blank)
State Library of South Australia
The State Library of South Australia, or SLSA, formerly known as the Public Library of South Australia, located on North Terrace, Adelaide, is the official library of the Australian state of South Australia. It is the largest public research l ...
Memorials and legacy
Duncan is buried in Centennial Park Cemetery
Centennial Park Cemetery is a large, 40.5 hectare (or 100 acre) cemetery in the southern Adelaide suburb of Pasadena, located on Goodwood Road. It is the largest cemetery in the southern suburbs and one of the largest in the Adelaide metropolit ...
. In November 2022 a ceremony was held at the grave to mark 50 years since Duncan's death, and the lease on the grave was extended for a further 50 years by the university.
On 10 May 2002, the 30th anniversary of Duncan's death, a memorial monument was erected near the site of the murder. The inscription reads:"In memory of Dr George Duncan, whose death by drowning on 10th May, 1972 near here, at the hands of persons unconvicted, precipitated homosexual law reform in South Australia, making it the first state in Australia in 1975 to decriminalise homosexual relations between consenting adults. We will remember him."
Also on 10 May 2002, Radio Adelaide
Radio Adelaide (call sign: 5UV) is Australia's first community radio station. The signal reaches across the Adelaide metropolitan area to the Mid North, the Yorke Peninsula and Fleurieu Peninsula, the southern Barossa, Kangaroo Island, Riverl ...
broadcast a feature documentary ''The Killing of Dr George''. On 1 October 2002, the South Australia Institute of Justice Studies awarded a special commendation to Radio Adelaide, praising the documentary for its historical significance and inclusion of comment from people who had been gay activists at the time of Duncan's death.
The national George Duncan Memorial Award was inaugurated in 2004. The award is presented for an outstanding piece of work contributing to legal reform and the betterment of the Australian lesbian, gay, queer, bisexual, transgender or intersex community. In 2005, Baden Offord won the award for his 2003 book ''Homosexual Rights as Human Rights''.
In 2016, SBS highlighted the case in a five-part podcast
A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosing ...
series called ''Out of Sight: The Untold Story of Adelaide's Gay Hate Murders'', narrated by journalist Mark Whittaker
Mark Cornelius Whittaker (born 29 July 1965) is an Australian journalist, non-fiction writer and writing coach. He lives in Berry, New South Wales.
Early life
Whittaker was born in Sydney, New South Wales, the son of journalist Bill Whitt ...
. The series also connected to SBS's '' Deep Water'' and documentaries about other unsolved anti-gay hate crimes in Sydney.
In 2020, the City of Adelaide installed a new sign to honour Duncan's memory next to the 2002 memorial next to the Torrens. Headed by the words "Dr Duncan: A life tragically lost but a state transformed", the sign includes details of the story, and a large photograph of Duncan.
In 2022, the University of Adelaide offered the Dr Duncan Memorial Scholarship, worth , to an undergraduate law student in need of financial assistance. The scholarship was established by a group of donors who were supported by a grant from the Government of South Australia
The Government of South Australia, also referred to as the South Australian Government, SA Government or more formally, His Majesty’s Government, is the Australian state democratic administrative authority of South Australia. It is modelled o ...
.
In February–March 2022, the Adelaide Festival
The Adelaide Festival of Arts, also known as the Adelaide Festival, an arts festival, takes place in the South Australian capital of Adelaide in March each year. Started in 1960, it is a major celebration of the arts and a significant cultural ...
featured ''Watershed: The Death of Dr Duncan'', a modern oratorio
An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is mus ...
about Duncan's life, death, and its impact. The work was set to music composed by Joseph Twist
Joseph Edward Twist (born 1982) is an Australian composer from Gold Coast, Queensland, who resides in the United States.
Twist composed music for other artists including Moby, Missy Higgins, Guy Sebastian, Kate Miller-Heidke, The Idea of North, ...
, with a libretto by Australian playwrights Alana Valentine
Alana Valentine is an Australian playwright, dramatist, librettist and Director working in theatre, film, opera and television. As a playwright, she won the Helpmann Award. Valentine first worked with Vicki Gordon Music Productions to create the F ...
and Christos Tsiolkas, directed by Neil Armfield
Neil Geoffrey Armfield (born 22 April 1955) is an Australian director of theatre, film and opera.
Biography
Born in Sydney, Armfield is the third and youngest son of Len, a factory worker at the nearby Arnott's Biscuits factory and Nita Armf ...
and performed by the Adelaide Chamber Singers
Adelaide Chamber Singers is an Australian chamber choir. Along with Greta Bradman, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and Luke Dollman they received a nomination for the 2018 ARIA Awards for Best Classical Album with the album ''Home''.
Discography Alb ...
. It received good reviews, and in November 2022 won the Ruby Award
The South Australian Ruby Awards, also known as the Ruby Awards, are annual awards which recognise outstanding achievement in South Australia’s arts and culture sector. They were named in honour of arts champion Dame Ruby Litchfield (1912–2001) ...
for Outstanding Work within a Festival.
On 10 May 2022, the 50th anniversary of his death, a memorial event was held at the footbridge near where he died, and the freshly repainted Pride Walk (aka Rainbow Walk) in Light Square
Light Square, also known as Wauwi (formerly Wauwe), is one of five public squares in the Adelaide city centre. Located in the centre of the north-western quarter of the Adelaide city centre, its southern boundary is Waymouth Street, Adelaide, Wa ...
was officially unveiled.
Also in 2022, Adelaide historian Tim Reeves published ''The Death of Dr Duncan'', about the case, which he had been investigating for decades.
See also
*Gay panic defense
The gay panic defense or homosexual advance defence is a legal strategy in which a defendant claims to have acted in a state of violent, temporary insanity, committing assault or murder, because of unwanted same-sex sexual advances, usually b ...
* List of unsolved murders
References
Further reading
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Duncan, George
1930 births
1970s in Adelaide
1972 murders in Australia
1972 in LGBT history
Australian murder victims
British emigrants to Australia
British people of New Zealand descent
Murder in Adelaide
Deaths by drowning in Australia
Deaths by person in Australia
LGBT history in Australia
May 1972 events in Australia
People murdered in South Australia
Unsolved murders in Australia
Victims of anti-LGBT hate crimes
Victims of police brutality