Remembering Ralph McLean, Australia’s first openly gay Mayor
Ralph McLean was first elected to the Fitzroy council in 1982. He’d previously studied at Melbourne University and worked as a researcher at the Australian Union of Students.
In 1984 he ran for mayor, publicly sharing that he was gay. His election victory made him the first openly gay Mayor in Australia. He served in the role from 1984 until 1985. He later went on to spend five years as the chair of the Melbourne Fringe Festival, and also was the Executive Director of the Australian Federation of AIDS Organisations (AFAO).
He died in 2010 0f liver failure, aged 53. In 2014 The City of Yarra, a successor to the jurisdiction that he was the mayor of, unveiled a public monument to the region’s LGBTIQA+ community, which was in part dedicated to McLean. Courage by William Eicholtz can be found in Whitlam Place, a small park in Fitzroy. the brass statue shows a young man removing the cowardly lion costume of the character from The Wizard of Oz, finding the courage to be himself.
A portrait of McLean painted by artist Gian Manik was unveiled in 2022.
George Michael died on Christmas Day in 2016
Songwriter and iconic singer George Michael died on Christmas Day in 2016. He was found at his home in Goring on Thames by his partner Fadi Fawaz.
Aged just 53 his death was later revealed to be “dilated cardiomyopathy with myocarditis and fatty liver.”
Dilated cardiomyopathy is a condition in which the heart’s ability to pump blood is limited. Myocarditis is inflammation of the heart muscle.
Following the singer’s death people came forward of stories of his massive generosity. A London charity revealed that he had donated the proceeds of one of his singles to them, raising millions of dollars. Other people shared how he often gave free tickets to his shows to hospital staff, paid for people’s IVF treatments, or left generous tips of hospitality workers.
George Michael first found success with 80’s pop band Wham! He later had a massive solo career becoming one of the most successful musicians in the world.
Despite his iconic status and huge success, Michael was not prolific songwriter and recording artists. Across his entire career he recorded just a handful of albums, and alongside his own writing often interpreted songs by other artists.
Since his passing just one new tune has been released, This How (We Want You to Get High) was featured in the romantic Christmas comedy Last Christmas.
In 2023 the song Last Christmas was the Christmas number 1 in the United Kingdom, 39 years after it was first released.
