TED KELK, AN HONORABLE AND INSIGHTFUL MAN
Ted Kelk (b.1927 d.1991) was a strong, passionate and articulate gay man, doggedly directing public attention to the terrible injustice the laws of Queensland imposed on gays, determined thereby to achieve law reform, and as a man of courage, determination and vision, he indeed became the catalyst for gay law reform in Queensland;
Queensland born, and brought up on the family farm near Nambour, Ted entered teachers’ training college at only 16, then taught at Dajarra, a little country school near Cloncurry. A brilliant scholar, fluent in six languages with a smattering of several others, his love of travel and appreciation of other cultures definitely contributed to his linguistic proficiency. …show more content…
Ted moved to Brisbane to join the action in those crucial days of law reform but sadly his health deteriorated in 1990. Instead of lobbying he spent the next three months shuffling back and forth from doctor, to specialist, to hospital but, at the same time his previous efforts bore fruit, and during those months the gay law reform movement suddenly came of age.
Proud of the Brisbane Branch and its leadership, Ted exulted that a campaign with a mere twelve months experience could work so effectively, able already to rely on the support and expertise of hundreds of organisations and individuals – ALP politicians, barristers, doctors, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, civil and human rights organisations, clergy, academics etc.
The Association for Gay Law Reform in Queensland aimed for complete equality before the law for homosexual and heterosexual citizens. Many thought Ted expected too much, too soon, but the organisation enjoyed the support of human and civil rights groups, in Queensland and across Australia, and in 1990 the Queensland Government voted to decriminalise consenting adult homosexual
Ted Kelk (b.1927 d.1991) was a strong, passionate and articulate gay man, doggedly directing public attention to the terrible injustice the laws of Queensland imposed on gays, determined thereby to achieve law reform, and as a man of courage, determination and vision, he indeed became the catalyst for gay law reform in Queensland;
Queensland born, and brought up on the family farm near Nambour, Ted entered teachers’ training college at only 16, then taught at Dajarra, a little country school near Cloncurry. A brilliant scholar, fluent in six languages with a smattering of several others, his love of travel and appreciation of other cultures definitely contributed to his linguistic proficiency. …show more content…
Ted moved to Brisbane to join the action in those crucial days of law reform but sadly his health deteriorated in 1990. Instead of lobbying he spent the next three months shuffling back and forth from doctor, to specialist, to hospital but, at the same time his previous efforts bore fruit, and during those months the gay law reform movement suddenly came of age.
Proud of the Brisbane Branch and its leadership, Ted exulted that a campaign with a mere twelve months experience could work so effectively, able already to rely on the support and expertise of hundreds of organisations and individuals – ALP politicians, barristers, doctors, psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, civil and human rights organisations, clergy, academics etc.
The Association for Gay Law Reform in Queensland aimed for complete equality before the law for homosexual and heterosexual citizens. Many thought Ted expected too much, too soon, but the organisation enjoyed the support of human and civil rights groups, in Queensland and across Australia, and in 1990 the Queensland Government voted to decriminalise consenting adult homosexual