JAY CARMICHAEL

– Marlo

Set in 1950s Melbourne, this novella is grounded in historic research (and elaborated on in an author’s note at the end) and the text is interspersed with vintage images of the settings, and of camp life at this time.

Christopher moves from his small country town to Melbourne and is quickly made aware of the perils that someone with same-sex desires faces. His roommate is a journalist who specialises in “moral crimes” and takes pleasure in salacious headlines and reports that demonise men who have sex with men. He dictates his reports from home to the copy boys at the newspaper, “each word enunciated, each piece of punctuation declared”.

When Christopher encounters Morgan in a pub, he’s drawn to him and follows him to the Botanical Gardens. Contact is made, but many weeks pass before either man dares to reach out again. Adding difficulty to their burgeoning bond, Morgan is Indigenous and his appearance draws attention. This is a problem when two gay men don’t want to be seen. In one of the novella’s most startling moments, Morgan shows Christopher his certificate of exemption from the Aborigines Protection Act, a paper he is obliged to carry that states he is “a citizen of the ordinary community”, although the paper also warns that his freedom could be revoked at any time.

Although it’s undoubtedly realistic and true to the times, the repression the characters strain under and the spare, underwritten style of the book doesn’t make for the most satisfying reading experience. Although the prospect of a happier ending does glimmer at the conclusion. Still, an important history lesson to those who may have scant knowledge of the hardships our queer elders faced. – Graeme