Julie McCrossin

Last updated

Julie McCrossin

AM
Born (1954-10-02) 2 October 1954 (age 68)
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Occupation(s)Radio broadcaster, journalist, comedian
Years active1975−present
Known for Good News Week
PartnerMelissa Gibson

Julie Elizabeth McCrossin AM (born 2 October 1954) [1] is an Australian radio broadcaster, journalist, comedian, political commentator and activist for women's and gay rights. She is best known for her role as a team captain on the news-based comedy quiz show Good News Week between 1996 and 2000.

Contents

Personal life

Born in 1954, McCrossin grew up in Sydney. She had troubles with alcohol in her youth and describes herself as having been a "hopeless drinker" before she stopped drinking altogether at age 24. [2] She lives with her long-term partner, Melissa Gibson, and Melissa's two children from a previous relationship. [3] [4]

McCrossin was educated at SCEGGS Darlinghurst, the University of Sydney (BA), Sydney Teachers College (DipEd) and the University of Technology, Sydney (GradDipEd). She later went back to university and obtained a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of New South Wales.

Career

McCrossin, who describes her job as "[talking] for a living", began her career in children's theatre. [2] [4] From the mid-1970s she has been involved with the gay liberation movement, including the 1975 demonstration outside Sunday Mass at St Mary's Cathedral against the sacking of CAMP spokesperson Mike Clohesy from his teaching position at Marist Brothers, Eastwood. She was also involved with the 1978 protests that became the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, and has advocated the legalisation of same-sex marriage in Australia. McCrossin is one of the group known as the “78ers” who participated in the events in Sydney in 1978 including the first Mardi Gras, protests at Darlinghurst and Central Police Stations and Central Court, and marches through the city. [5] [6] [7] In 1981 she published Women, wimmin, womyn, womin, whippets-On Lesbian Separatism, a critique of some aspects of the feminist separatist movement of the day from an anarcho-feminist perspective. [8]

McCrossin her first broadcasting job on "Gaywaves" for the community radio station 2SER. [4] She began working for the ABC's Radio National in 1983, initially as presenter of the women's radio program The Coming Out Show and later as the host of other programs, including "The Arts Show" and "Background Briefing". Between 2000 and 2005, she presented the social issues program "Life Matters", initially with Geraldine Doogue and later as a solo presenter. [3] In 2005, 702 ABC Sydney chose her to replace popular host Angela Catterns in the breakfast shift, [4] however one month after starting McCrossin resigned for health reasons (neck cancer). "I found the early hours really hard, and it's affected my health and, despite their desire for me to stay, I've made the decision that it's just not good for my health," she said. [9]

Between 1996 and 2000, McCrossin was a weekly participant on the news-based television comedy Good News Week as captain of one of two competing teams. [10] She was also a co-presenter of the television coverage of the 2002, 2009 [11] and 2010 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parades. [12] [13]

In 2009, McCrossin was named one of the 25 most influential lesbians in Australia by readers of the website samesame.com.au. [14]

Philanthropy

In 2014, McCrossin participated in a Coastrek fundraiser to promote The Fred Hollows Foundation and raise awareness of health issues within underserved communities and Indigenous Australia. With McCrossin's help, Coastrek raised $2.6 million in funds for the non-profit organization. [15] McCrossin became a distinguished ambassador for the Fred Hollows Foundation. [15]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras</span> LGBT pride event

The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras or Sydney Mardi Gras is an event in Sydney, New South Wales attended by hundreds of thousands of people from around Australia and overseas. One of the largest such festivals in the world, Mardi Gras is the largest Pride event in Oceania. It includes a variety of events such as the Sydney Mardi Gras Parade and Party, Bondi Beach Drag Races, Harbour Party, the academic discussion panel Queer Thinking, Mardi Gras Film Festival, as well as Fair Day, which attracts 70,000 people to Victoria Park, Sydney.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Everlasting Night</span> 1999 single by Dannii Minogue

"Everlasting Night" is a song written by Australian singer Dannii Minogue, Mark Percy, Tim Lever, Ian Masterson and Terry Ronald for the compilation Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras of 1999 (1999). The song was produced by Ian Masterson. It was released as a single in January 1999 in Australia and reached number 42 on the singles chart, largely helped by the fact that the song was the official theme of the 1999 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.

<i>SX News</i>

SX News was a weekly gay and lesbian newspaper based in Sydney, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Art School</span> Art school in Sydney, Australia

The National Art School (NAS) is a tertiary level art school, located in Darlinghurst, an inner-city suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The school is an independent accredited higher education provider offering specialised study in studio arts practice across various disciplines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matthew Mitcham</span> Australian diver and trampoline gymnast

Matthew John Mitcham OAM is an Australian retired diver and trampolinist. As a diver, he was the 2008 Olympic champion in the 10m platform, and he is the 2nd highest single-dive score in Olympic history. This made him the first openly gay athlete to win an Olympic gold medal. He is also the first Australian male to win an Olympic gold medal in diving since Dick Eve at the 1924 Summer Olympics.

Elaine Blanche Nile was an Australian politician who represented the Christian Democratic Party in the New South Wales Legislative Council between 1988 and 2002. Nile was married to Fred Nile from 1958 until her death.

The Mardi Gras Film Festival is an Australian LGBTQ+ film festival held in Sydney, New South Wales annually as part of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras celebrations. It is organised by Queer Screen Limited, a non-profit organization, and is one of the world's largest platforms for queer cinema.

The Sydney Pride Centre was established in 1989 by PRIDE Sydney Lesbian and Gay Community Centre Limited, with a mission to 'establish a permanent community centre for the diversity of lesbians and gay men in Sydney and to build a vital, visible and positive community.' Initially focused on fundraising and establishing the right organisational framework, early fundraising parties were produced by PRIDE and in conjunction with Bacchanalia, Sweatbox, ACON and Prasit. The Founding board included Gary Cox, Adrian Gough, Gigi Legenhausen, Gillian Minnervini, Paul Nicholson, Philippa Playford, Malcolm Thorne, David Wilkins and Rob Williams.

David McDiarmid (1952–1995) was an artist, designer and political activist, recognised for his prominent and sustained artistic engagement in issues relating to gay male identity and HIV/AIDS. He is also known for his involvement in the gay liberation movement of the early 1970s, when he was the first person arrested at a gay rights protest in Australia, as well as his artistic direction of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. From its inception, McDiarmid's art career encompassed, as both subject and inspiration, gay male sexuality, politics and urban subcultures. His creative techniques included: collage, painting, drawing, calligraphy, mosaic, installation, various forms of print-making, sculpture and artist's books. He was a graphic designer, designer and fabric painter for women's and men's fashion, and an artist and creative director for the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras street parades.

Peter Tully (1947-1992), was a jeweller, designer and artistic director, notable for his influence on jewellery design in Australia through the utilisation of found and non-precious materials, as well as his artistic direction of the Sydney Mardi Gras (1982-1986).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Alsop</span> Australian DJ and remixer

Mark Alsop is an Australian DJ and remixer. Alsop is one of the longest-continuous working DJs in Australia. He predominantly plays house music and tends to play at gay dance parties, bars and clubs. Specific genres played include electro house, progressive house, deep house, and vocal house as well as retro and soulful house tunes.

Violet Hamilton was a photographer who lived and worked in Australia, the US and the UK.

Peter "Bon" Bonsall-Boone was an Australian LGBT rights activist. He was a foundation member of the Campaign Against Moral Persecution (CAMP) and participated in the first Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.

Sydney's Pride History Group was established as the first volunteer community group dedicated exclusively to preserving the history of LGBTIQ Sydney predominantly through the collection of oral history interviews. The Group's origins date from discussions held at the Sydney Pride Centre in between 2003 and 2004. The Group's Patrons are Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore, artist William Yang and Meredith Burgmann.

C. Moore Hardy , is an Australian photographer, nurse and community worker, known for her extensive photographic documentation of the Sydney queer community since the late 1970s. Hardy's work has encompassed both freelance and commercial photography, featuring candid portraiture of community events, most notably the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, and in particular minority groups within the LGBTI community. She successfully ran Starfish Studio Photography Studio/Gallery in Clovelly, NSW for 15 years.

Peter de Waal is an Australian LGBT rights activist and author. He was a foundation member of the Campaign Against Moral Persecution (CAMP) and participated in the first Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.

The 78ers are a group of LGBT activists who marched in the original Sydney Mardi Gras on 24 June 1978 and participated in the subsequent protests against police violence and the arrests of participants in the Mardi Gras. In 1997 a small group of people who were part of the 1978 events contributed to planning the commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the Sydney Mardi Gras parade in 1998. This group became known as the 78ers and has led each year's Mardi Gras parade since 1998.

Ron Austin was an Australian LGBT rights activist, who was known for being one of the founders of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras in 1978.

Lance Gowland (1935–2008) was an Australian LGBT rights activist, unionist, peace activist and Communist Party member. He was a member of the Campaign Against Moral Persecution (CAMP) and as one of the organisers drove the truck in the first Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LGBT culture in Sydney</span>

The LGBT community of Sydney, in New South Wales, is the largest in Australia and has a firm place as one of the iconic gay cities of the contemporary world. In a 2013 Pew Research poll, 79% of Australians agreed that homosexuality should be accepted by society, making it the fifth most supportive country in the survey behind Spain (88%), Germany (87%), Canada and the Czech Republic. With a long history of LGBT rights activism and the annual three-week-long Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras festival, Sydney is one of the most gay-friendly cities in Australia and in the world.

References

  1. ↑ Who's Who in Australia. ConnectWeb. 2018.
  2. 1 2 McCrossin, Julie. "Julie McCrossin". Reach Out. Archived from the original on 22 July 2008. Retrieved 13 October 2008.
  3. 1 2 Staff writer. "Being Gay is No Hurdle for Media Star". The Age. Archived from the original on 20 December 2008. Retrieved 13 October 2008.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Javes, Sue (12 August 2005). "Wake up to Julie – and possibly Virginia". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 13 October 2008.
  5. ↑ "78ers". Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Ltd. Archived from the original on 10 June 2019. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  6. ↑ "Who are the 78ers?". First mardi gras. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  7. ↑ Dumas, Daisy (25 February 2016). "NSW Parliament apologises to the 78ers who began the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 21 June 2019.
  8. ↑ Self-published pamphlet, Sydney, archived at Takver's Australian Anarchism history page "Women, wimmin, womyn, womin, whippets"
  9. ↑ Javes, Sue (5 October 2005). "McCrossin's shock resignation". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 13 October 2008.
  10. ↑ "Good News Week S01E11 - 1996-06-21". YouTube. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  11. ↑ "Events 2009". Julie McCrossin AM. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  12. ↑ Clary, Julian; McFeast, Elle; Catterns, Angela; Marr, David; McCrossin, Julie; Australian Broadcasting Corporation (1995), 1995 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade., Sydney: ABC Video : [Distributed by] Roadshow Entertainment, OCLC   173223999 , retrieved 15 October 2020
  13. ↑ "Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras 1978-2020 Timeline - Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras". Google Arts & Culture. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
  14. ↑ "Samsame 25". Samesame. Archived from the original on 6 February 2011. Retrieved 31 March 2011.
  15. 1 2 "Coasting it for Fred Hollows". Julie McCrossin AM. 20 July 2014. Retrieved 28 July 2020.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.