loader from loading.io

Defending with Pride Voices: The Power of the Wreath Part 1

Shrine of Remembrance

Release Date: 07/28/2022

Shrine Stories: The Stamp show art Shrine Stories: The Stamp

Shrine of Remembrance

Warning: This podcast contains themes that may be distressing for some listeners. Listener discretion is advised.  The Shrine Stories podcast takes you on a deep dive behind the objects in the Galleries. In this episode, Major David Bergman explains his role in the recovery efforts following the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Major Bergman was one of only five Australian Defence Force personnel embedded with the NYPD and other units who worked in the months after the attacks.  Music: Across the Line - Lone Canyon    

info_outline
Shrine Stories: The Flying Suit show art Shrine Stories: The Flying Suit

Shrine of Remembrance

The Shrine Stories podcast takes you on a deep dive behind the objects on our gallery floor. In this episode, we delve into the story of Flight Sergeant Keith Meggs. Keith had a passion for aviation from an early age and in December 1950, he arrived in Korea to serve as a fighter pilot. Over the course of his service, he was involved in two very close calls. Listen as Shrine Curator Neil Sharkey uncovers these stories and the peculiar way Keith got his hands on an American survival vest.  Music: Across the Line - Lone Canyon 

info_outline
Shrine Stories: The Sheet Music show art Shrine Stories: The Sheet Music

Shrine of Remembrance

The Shrine Stories podcast takes you on a deep dive behind the objects on our gallery floor.   In this episode, we uncover the story behind the song, Dream of Australia, which plays in our galleries. Petty Officer Ted McHaffie wrote it in 1936 during a particularly lonesome and frustrating time in his service.   Tragically, five years later, Ted was one of the 645 Australian soldiers killed when HMAS Sydney II was sunk by a German raider, and so the song was never recorded.   That was until Ted’s nephew, Dr Robert Hoskin, decided it was time that this tune had an...

info_outline
Defending with Pride: Midsumma panel talk show art Defending with Pride: Midsumma panel talk

Shrine of Remembrance

  This podcast was recorded during the 2023 Midsumma Festival and explores stories of LGBTQ+ service.  Chaired by Midsumma Chief Executive Karen Bryant, listen as current and ex-service members share their experiences in the ADF.  Content warning: Parental guidance is recommended: this audio program contains adult themes and concepts and occasional coarse language. Support: If this program raises any issues for you, feel free to call Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Qlife on 1800 184 527. Or please scroll down for additional support services. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this...

info_outline
Backstage Pass: Behind Forces Entertainment show art Backstage Pass: Behind Forces Entertainment

Shrine of Remembrance

Entertainers have performed in war and peacekeeping zones for decades, but what does it take to get them over there? And what happens if things don't go according to plan?  In this podcast, Warrant Officer Class 1 Mark Langley shares a peek behind the curtain of a Forces Entertainment concert from recruiting to the curtain call. Listen as he unpacks stories of escorting comedians, musicians and performers to gigs all over the world.  Image: Cold Chisel's Ian Moss with WO1 Mark Langley in East Timor. Music: Sylvester Subconscious Cast Of Characters Disclaimer: The opinions expressed...

info_outline
Tours De Force Live Part 1: Lehmo, Nick Cody and Ami Williamson show art Tours De Force Live Part 1: Lehmo, Nick Cody and Ami Williamson

Shrine of Remembrance

Australian entertainers have performed for troops in war zones and peacekeeping operations since the Vietnam War. Their talent and celebrity have lifted spirits and brought a slice of home to service personnel abroad. In this podcast, hear first-hand the trials and tribulations of entertaining on the front line with host Merrick Watts in conversation with Anthony ‘Lehmo’ Lehmann, Nick Cody and Ami Williamson. This podcast was recorded live at the Shrine in November 2022 to mark the opening of Tours De Force: Entertainers on the Front Line. Listen to part two here. Content warning: This...

info_outline
Tours De Force Live Part 2: Normie Rowe, Little Pattie, Tom Gleeson and Charlie Pickering show art Tours De Force Live Part 2: Normie Rowe, Little Pattie, Tom Gleeson and Charlie Pickering

Shrine of Remembrance

Australian entertainers have performed for troops in war zones and peacekeeping operations since the Vietnam War. Their talent and celebrity have lifted spirits and brought a slice of home to service personnel abroad. In this podcast, hear first-hand the trials and tribulations of entertaining on the front line with host Merrick Watts in conversation with Tom Gleeson, Charlie Pickering, Little Pattie and Normie Rowe.  This podcast was recorded live at the Shrine in November 2022 to mark the opening of Tours De Force: Entertainers on the Front Line. Listen to part one Content warning:...

info_outline
For Kin and Country Yarns: Ron Schultz show art For Kin and Country Yarns: Ron Schultz

Shrine of Remembrance

Corporal Ronald Schultz has been in the Air Force for more than two decades, spanning a variety of roles and serving both in Australia and overseas. He now works in Indigenous recruiting, helping other First Nations people across Australia enter the Defence Force. In this podcast, guest host and acclaimed Gunditjmara actor Tom Molyneux yarns with Ron about his entry into the defence force, the highlights of his service and his hopes for the future of First Peoples in the ADF.  Credits: Speaker: Corporal Ronald Schultz Interviewer:  Editor: Laura Thomas Music: Title: Emu and Brolga...

info_outline
Defending with Pride Voices: Phil show art Defending with Pride Voices: Phil

Shrine of Remembrance

Phil Neil, a former Leading Aircraftman with the RAAF, was one of the five members of the Gay Ex-Services Association (GESA) who tried to unsuccessfully lay a wreath at the Shrine of Remembrance on ANZAC Day in 1982. GESA formed after inflammatory and homophobic comments were made in the media about gay service people by then RSL president, Bruce Ruxton. On a cold and rainy 25th of April, 1982, Phil Neil, Mike Jarmyn, Terry Yates and two other gay ex-servicemen walked the steps of the Shrine to try and lay a wreath in the name of their “fallen gay and lesbian brothers and sisters”, who had...

info_outline
August in Kabul: Andrew Quilty in conversation with Tracey Curro show art August in Kabul: Andrew Quilty in conversation with Tracey Curro

Shrine of Remembrance

When the Taliban entered Kabul on the evening of 15 August 2021, Western troops and embassy staff scrambled to flee a country of which its government had lost control. To the world, Kabul in August looked like Saigon in 1975.  Andrew Quilty was one of a handful of Western journalists who stayed as the city fell. His book, August in Kabul: America's last days in Afghanistan is a first-hand account of those dramatic final days told through the eyes of Afghans whose lives have been turned upside down.   In September 2022, Andrew sat down in front of a live audience at the...

info_outline
 
More Episodes

This podcast is part of a powerful two-part series that explores the history of LGBTIQ+ military service in Australia, produced by award-winning podcast maker, Megan Spencer.

It begins in 1982 with the unsuccessful attempt of five gay ex-servicemen to lay a wreath at the Shrine of Remembrance on Anzac Day, to honour their “fallen gay and lesbian brothers and sisters”. Forty years later, on ANZAC Day 2022, the story comes full circle with the annual Rainbow Wreath-laying service by DEFGLIS uniformed members and allies, in the Shrine’s hallowed Sanctuary.

In between these two landmark moments, the story of LGBTIQ+ service unfolds through the voices and lived experience of current and former ADF service members, pre- and post- the 1992 ban on “homosexual service” in Australia’s military.

The Power of the Wreath podcast accompanies the Shrine’s new exhibition, Defending with Pride: Stories of LGBTQ+ service, on from August 1st 2022 - August 2023.

Content warning:

Parental guidance recommended: this audio program contains adult themes, mild coarse language and sexual references. It also contains references to suicide. If you need support, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14. A comprehensive list of support services is also included below.

Disclaimer:

The opinions expressed in this podcast are those of individual contributors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Shrine of Remembrance.

Credits

Speakers:

Squadron Leader Nathan White

Professor Noah Riseman

Stuart Martin (former Flight Lieutenant)

Max Campbell (former Warrant Officer, dec.)

Flight Lieutenant Lachlan Saunders

Phil Neil (former Leading Aircraftman)

Group Captain Mick Janson

Grateful thanks to each speaker for generously sharing their insights, research and/or lived experience for this podcast.

Interviewer/Producer/Sound: Megan Spencer

Archival audio:

Max Campbell: oral history interview with Noah Riseman. Recorded 13 March 2015. Donated to the Australian Queer Archives used with kind permission.

Additional audio:

Excerpts of The Dawn Service at the Shrine of Remembrance, Melbourne, ANZAC Day, 25th April 2022, recorded by the Shrine of Remembrance.

Music:

Didgeridoo: Bunurong man Eric Edwards. Live recording from the Victorian Aboriginal Remembrance Service 31st May, 2022, recorded by the Shrine of Remembrance. Used with kind permission.

Original “Kissed” music: Philip Brophy

Selected tracks from The Diggers’ Requiem: arranged, curated and conducted by Christopher Latham (musical artist in residence at the Australian War Memorial) with soloists. Used with kind permission.

  • ’62,000 Bells For 62,000 Australian Dead’, recorded at the ANU School of Music by Veronica Bailey, Thomas Laue and Chris Latham (in Movement 12: ‘Lux Aeterna – In Paradisum’).
  • ‘Dead March from Saul’, for accordion, choir, soloists & orchestra. Composer: GF Handel (in Movement 1: ‘Requiem Aeternum / Rest Eternal’).
  • ‘Lament For The Pipers Who Fell In The Great War’. Composer: Pipe Major John Grant  (in Movement 12: ‘Lux Aeterna – In Paradisum’).

The Diggers’ Requiem was co-commissioned by Australian War Memorial and the Australian Government Department of Veterans’ Affairs. The concert performed in Amiens, France, on April 23, 2018, by Orchestre de Picardie and the Jena Philharmonic and with Australian soloists, conducted by Chris Latham. Listen here

Audio mastering:

Kris Keogh

Special thanks:

Professor Noah Riseman; Nick Henderson, Ange Bailey and Graham Willett from the Australian Queer Archives.

Bunurong man Eric Edwards for sharing his didgeridoo music in this program. Read more about his grandfather Uncle Henry “Harry” Thorpe (Brabuwooloong), who fought in WWI and was awarded a Military Medal.

Chris Latham and The Flowers of Peace project, and the musicians from The Diggers’ Requiem.

Thank you:

Department of Defence and Defence Media; Nathan White, Rachael Cosgrove and DEFGLIS; the Shrine team: Sue Burgess, Laura Thomas and Kate Spinks, curator of Defending with Pride.

See the Defending with Pride: Stories of LGBTQ+ service exhibition now at the Shrine of Remembrance, Melbourne, until August 2023.

Wreath-laying at the Shrine:

We welcome all members of our community to lay wreaths or other floral offerings at any of the many memorials at the Shrine. The Shrine hosts more than 150 official commemorative services each year to remember the service of Australian men and women, particularly Victorians, and we welcome our community to attend and participate. To find out more about remembrance services, or to apply to hold your own, visit this link. 

Support:

If this podcast raises any issues for you, support is available from the following services:

  • QLife Australia’s first nationally-oriented counselling and referral service for LGBTI people. Phone: 1800 184 527
  • Defence Gay and Lesbian Information ServiceDefence Gay and Lesbian Information Service provides policy and community information to gay, lesbian and bisexual, transgender, intersex and non-binary serving and ex-serving members of Defence and their families.
  • Discharged LGBTI Veterans' Association (DVLA) A support and advocacy association for Australian Defence Force personnel, their family and their friends who were adversely impacted by Defence's historic anti-LGBTI policies. Phone 0400 124 213.
  • Thorne Harbour HealthProvides professional, affordable counselling for members of LGBTIQ+ communities and individuals or couples who are affected by or at risk of HIV.
  • Open Arms Free and confidential, 24/7 national counselling service for Australian veterans and their families, provided through the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (DVA). Phone: 1800 011 046 
  • Lifeline Suicide and crisis support. Phone: 13 11 14
  • Beyond Blue Free, immediate, short-term counselling advice and referral. Phone: 1300 224 636 
  • Suicide Call Back Service 24-hour counselling service for suicide prevention and mental health. Phone: 1300 659 467 

Read:

Visit:

Victorian Pride Centre 

Episode duration:

 44:54