by Carla Caruso

The Rainbow Walk on Light Square / Wauwi is set to get a lick of paint.

Back in 2016, former Adelaide city councillor (and now Greens MLC) Robert Simms endorsed the installation of the rainbow-coloured path. 

The walk – located in the square’s north-western section, near the Adelaide College of the Arts – celebrates Adelaide’s LGBTIQ history. It features a timeline of milestones.

But current Adelaide city councillor Keiran Snape said: “Sadly, our Rainbow Walk is looking all the worse for wear at the moment. 

“With the 50th anniversary of the tragic death of Dr Duncan on May 10 fast approaching – which is also the first date on the walk – it seems fitting to me that we restore the Rainbow Walk by then.”

In 1972, law lecturer Dr George Duncan tragically died after attackers threw him into the River Torrens / Karrawirra Parri in a gay hate crime. The riverbanks were the site of a gay beat at the time and well-known to both gay men and the police.

Duncan’s unsolved murder would eventually lead to SA becoming the first state in the nation to decriminalise homosexuality. 

On the walk repaint, Councillor Snape was successful in passing a motion at the March 8 council meeting. The council’s administration has committed to restoring it.

Fellow LGBTIQ councillor – and motion seconder – Greg Mackie said: “The notion of a fading Rainbow is not my wish for Adelaide. More than neglected public art, [the] Rainbow Walk is a reminder that progress demands eternal vigilance, and renewal.”

The upgrade will involve repainting all the stencilled dates, including the most recent addition: the 2020 abolishment of the so-called ‘gay panic defense’. This was added to the walk late last year after a question on notice from Councillor Snape in the City Council chamber.

This defense used to be available to accused persons to get a murder charge downgraded to manslaughter. In this, SA was the last state in Australia to scrap it.

Earlier this month, a new opera at the Adelaide Festival – Watershed: The Death of Dr Duncan – also honoured Duncan’s passing. Author Christos Tsiolkas co-wrote the libretto.  

As well, architecture students from the University of Adelaide unveiled a 10m high Dr Duncan Rainbow Campus Arch. It’ll remain on campus all month.

Meanwhile, APA’s guided walk in Red Gum Park / Karrawirra (Park 12) on June 26 will include a stop at Duncan’s murder site.

Even sooner, though - this Sunday, March 20 - our guided walk in Veale Park / Walyu Yarta (Park 21) will feature another stop which has some tragic history for SA’s gay community.

An access road to Park 21 was closed in 2007. For many years before that, it was a well-known beat for gay men.

Even after homosexuality was decriminalised in 1975, the remaining cultural stigma forced many to continue to meet in secret after dark and put themselves at the mercy of those who would harm them.