Murder of George Duncan

George Ian Ogilvie Duncan (20 July 1930 – 10 May 1972) was an Australian law lecturer at the University of Adelaide who drowned in 1972 after being thrown into the River Torrens by a group of men believed to be police officers.

"[3] As homosexuality was still illegal in South Australia at that time, the banks of the Torrens River, or "Number 1 beat" as it was then known, was a popular place for gay or bisexual men to meet.

[5] James suffered a broken ankle and, after crawling to the road, was rescued by a passing driver, Bevan Spencer von Einem (who was later convicted of child murder), who then took him to the Royal Adelaide Hospital.

[citation needed] Public debate was so great that Dunstan permitted Police Commissioner Harold Salisbury to call in detectives from New Scotland Yard to investigate the murder.

Their report, written by Detective Chief Superintendent Bob McGowan, which was not made public until tabled in the South Australia parliament in 2002,[5] indicated that vice squad officers Francis John Cawley, Michael Kenneth Clayton, and Brian Edwin Hudson had taken part in the three assaults.

[6] On the 40th anniversary of the bill being passed, in August 2015, SAPOL Police Commissioner Grant Stevens talked publicly about the murder, saying that the case remained open and that A$200,000 reward was on offer for information leading to a conviction.

[1][6][7] Gay and feminist activists, led by Jon Ruwoldt,[12] opened the Doctor Duncan Revolution Bookshop as an organising centre in June 1974, at King William Road Hyde Park, also selling political books by mail-order,[13] which fulfilled its purpose and closed in May 1977.

[15] As a result of the media attention, Murray Hill, a Liberal Party member of the Legislative Council, introduced a bill on 26 July 1972 to amend the Criminal Law Consolidation Act (1935–1971) that criminalised homosexuality.

In 1973, the Labor member for Elizabeth, Peter Duncan, introduced the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill into Parliament which, although passed by the Lower House, was defeated twice in the Legislative Council.

On 1 October 2002, the South Australia Institute of Justice Studies awarded a special commendation to Radio Adelaide, praising the documentary for its historical significance and inclusion of comment from people who had been gay activists at the time of Duncan's death.

The award is presented for an outstanding piece of work contributing to legal reform and the betterment of the Australian lesbian, gay, queer, bisexual, transgender or intersex community.

[19] In 2016, SBS highlighted the case in a five-part podcast series called Out of Sight: The Untold Story of Adelaide's Gay Hate Murders, narrated by journalist Mark Whittaker.

The work was set to music composed by Joseph Twist, with a libretto by Australian playwrights Alana Valentine and Christos Tsiolkas, directed by Neil Armfield and performed by the Adelaide Chamber Singers.