In 1972, appearing on the ABC documentary Chequerboard, Peter ‘Bon’ Bonsall-Boone and Peter de Waal kissed, reportedly becoming the first male same-sex couple to do so on Australian television.
1 Peter de Waal and Peter Bonsall-Boone, St Kilda, October 1966, 1966 Unknown artist. Australian Queer Archives collection. Donated by Peter de Waal. © Australian Queer Archives. 2 Ron Austen’s 85th VIP Mardi Gras party (Peter de Waal and Peter Bonsall-Boone), 27 February 2014 Steve McLaren. Australian Queer Archives collection. Donated by the artist. © Australian Queer Archives.
Couple and lifelong activists Peter ‘Bon’ Bonsall-Boone and Peter de Waal spent over 50 years fighting for recognition and rights for LGBTQIA+ people. They were among the founding members of the Campaign Against Moral Persecution (‘CAMP’), Sydney’s first gay and lesbian political organisation, established in 1970. Bon worked as a personal carer during the AIDS crisis, and witnessed firsthand what the lack of legal recognition meant for spouses at the time. They were both part of the nation-wide push for marriage equality, and wrote directly to then Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. Sadly, Bon passed away in May 2017, mere months shy of witnessing the success of the marriage equality campaign.
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