Set in one of the coldest and windiest small towns in Australia, Cooma prison holds a dark secret.
Not only was it reopened in 1957 with the specific purpose of incarcerating men for "homosexual offences", it was also said to be used as a human testing ground with the ultimate goal of eradicating homosexuality from society.
"Cooma was a protective institution. We'd red stamp homosexual prisoners with 'N/A': non-association with mainstream prisons," he tells the BBC. "They were at risk of violence at bigger prisons like Long Bay [in Sydney]." Historical documents suggest New South Wales Justice Minister Reg Downing took credit for establishing the prison.
"New clauses included 'soliciting' - a man could be arrested for simply chatting up another man," historian Garry Wotherspoon tells the BBC. "These legislative changes were very wide-ranging in their assault on the civil liberties of men thought to have homoerotic desires."
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