Remembering Buka
On this day in 2014, much-loved local community member Buka passed away at the age of 79.
Many community members have fond memories of Aunty Buka, and countless stories about them continue to be shared.
Connections Nightclub added a cocktail to its menu in Buka’s honour, noting that anyone who spent time in Perth’s gay scene over several decades would likely have encountered the much-loved community figure, who was widely remembered as having once been a member of Fiji’s national rugby team.
After arriving in Perth, the rugby shorts had been swapped for a Hawaiian-print muu-muu, and they were rarely seen without a hibiscus in their hair.
Following their unexpected death, people shared stories of how Buka had given them the confidence to come out, countless accounts of them defiantly standing up to homophobia, and many recollections of nights spent living life to the fullest.
In 2004 LGBTI rights activist FannyAnn Eddy is murdered
FannyAnn Eddy was an LGBTI rights activist in her homeland of Sierra Leone and throughout Africa. In 2002, she founded the Sierra Leone Lesbian and Gay Association, the first LGBTI rights organisation in the war-torn African nation.
Eddy travelled widely, speaking to audiences around the world, and addressed the United Nations about the challenges faced by LGBTI+ people in Sierra Leone.
On September 29, 2004, she was murdered when, according to widely reported accounts, a group of at least three men broke into the association’s offices. She is survived by her son, who was 10 years old at the time of her death, and her partner, Esther Chikalipa. FannyAnn Eddy was 30 years old when she died.
Earlier in 2004, Eddy attended the annual session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in Geneva. Speaking before a gathering that included a delegation from her own country, she highlighted the harassment and violence experienced by LGBTI+ people.
“We face constant harassment and violence from neighbours and others,” she told the U.N. Commission on Human Rights. “Their homophobic attacks go unpunished by authorities, further encouraging their discriminatory and violent treatment of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.”
Her organisation also began documenting cases in which LGBTI+ people were treated unfairly by authorities.
In 2005, a man was arrested in connection with her murder. He later escaped from custody before the case could proceed to trial.
In 1969 a Melbourne court finds actors in ‘The Boys in the Band’ used obscene language
A Melbourne court found three actors appearing in a production of The Boys in the Band guilty of using obscene language in a public place in 1969.
The Supreme Court overturned an earlier decision from a lower court that had described the charges as trivial.
The groundbreaking play about a group of gay men gathering for a birthday party contained a sprinkling of colourful language, but it proved too much for the Victorian Police Vice Squad.
At the initial trial, Magistrate D.J. Kelly said the charges “were of such a trifling nature as to not warrant punishment”. He added: “A conviction in this case would leave this city and this State a laughing stock.”
The Crown disagreed and appealed the decision, taking the matter to the Supreme Court. Justice Little rejected the finding that the charges were trivial and ruled that the three actors should be convicted.
Producer Harry M. Miller said the case against the play was “a dreadful waste of public money” before announcing that his next production would be the controversial musical Hair.
The following year, the Australian Film Classification Board banned the film version of Mart Crowley’s play. It was not available to Australian audiences until 1972, when it was released with an R rating that restricted admission to people aged 18 and over.
Poet W.H. Auden died on this day in 1973
British poet W.H. Auden died on this day in 1973 aged 66. Auden collaborated with composer Benjamin Britten and author Christopher Isherwood, who he had a long friendship with. The two friends moved to America in 1939, Isherwood eventually settled in California while Auden remained in the New York area. Over the following decades he would continually travel and spend time living in Italy, and Austria.
Over his career he published over 400 poems, some of them were book length. He also wrote many essays discussing literature, politics, religion and history. In the 1990’s he became more widely known when one of his poems Funeral Blues was featured in the film Four Weddings and a Funeral.
Paul Jabara died on this day in 1992
Musician Paul Jabara died on this day in 1992. Aged just 44 he is one of the many people from the entertainment industry lost to HIV/AIDS.
Jabara recorded several albums of disco music, but his greatest success was writing songs for other artists. He penned Last Dance for Donna Summer and also wrote No More Tears (Enough is Enough) her anthemic duet with Barbra Streisand. He’d go on to write songs for Diana Ross and Bette Midler too.
His tune Somethings Missing (In My Life) was originally recorded as a duet with Donna Summer, but it became a massive hit in Australia in 1979 when it was re-recorded by Marcia Hines. In 1983 he released an album Paul Jabara and Friends which featured one of the very first recordings by Whitney Houston.
Jabara’s greatest success came in 1983 with It’s Raining Men. The song was turned down by Donna Summer, Barbra Streisand, Cher and Diana Ross, but it became a massive hit for The Weather Girls.
‘My Own Private Idaho’ was released in 1991
Gus Van Sant’s film My Own Private Idaho was released on this day in 1991, it had its debut screening earlier in September 1991 at the Venice Film Festival.
The film follows two street hustlers as they search for connection and belonging, the story follows them from Seattle to Portland, and then to Italy before returning to the USA. The film is based around Shakespeare’s play Henry IV.
The film was incredibly controversial upon its release but would be considered very tame by today’s standards. Both Keanu Reeves and River Phoenix were praised for their roles in the film.
