Fridae

ACON has paid tribute to Australian LGBTQ+ activist and historian Robert French AM, who died on Thursday, 22 October. In a statement published on 26 October, the New South Wales health organisation recalled his campaigning and work preserving queer history.

French was a driving force in the campaign to decriminalise male homosexuality in New South Wales, ACON said. He served as its vice president in 1986–87 and spent five years as co-convenor of the NSW Gay Rights Lobby and then the NSW Gay and Lesbian Rights Lobby.

His research became the 1993 book Camping by a Billabong: gay and lesbian stories from Australian history. From 1990, he also led Pride History Walks for 35 years, beginning alongside fellow historians Bob Hay and Garry Wotherspoon and the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence.

Those walks often included participants in ACON’s SPARK programme for younger gay, bi+ and queer men, the organisation said.

French was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 2024 for service to the LGBTQIA+ community and history preservation. He supported the Australian Queer Archives from its beginnings and later donated his photographs and periodicals to its collection.