The moment I knew: we held each other and cried after Woomera

I met Rohan in 1998 in Lismore, New South Wales, where we were both at university. I had noticed him around town in a sarong and peacock feather earrings; he was distinctive, sometimes wearing dresses on campus. I had another partner at the time, but after a friend introduced us we became housemates and began hosting dinner parties that ran late into the night.

Rohan once invited a member of the Black Panthers to stay with us. We lost contact when he moved to Lamb Island, but in 2001 we reconnected at a May Day rally in Naarm. That night we went to see his friend’s folk punk band Mutiny at the Tote hotel; because I lived nearby I invited him to stay over.

We shared some intimacy, though I still thought of it as casual, and soon after we took a road trip to protest at Woomera, where the Howard government had set up a detention centre. My role on the protest was providing first aid for injured demonstrators while Rohan helped set up the camp.

Australia, Lismore, New South Wales

woomera, detention centre, howard government, protest, may day, lismore, new south, lamb island, first aid, tote hotel