John Fowler (mayor)
John Fowler | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Mayor of the City of South Sydney | |
| In office September 2000 – September 2002 | |
| Preceded by | Vic Smith |
| Succeeded by | Tony Pooley |
| Councillor of the City of South Sydney | |
| In office September 1989 – 4 February 2004 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 16 July 1954 Sydney, Australia |
| Died | 29 September 2023 (aged 69) Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
| Political party | Independent |
| Occupation | High school english teacher |
John William Fowler (19 July 1954 – 29 September 2023) was an Australian high school teacher and a former mayor of the City of South Sydney.[1][2]
Early life and family
[edit]Fowler was born in Sydney and his family lived in Wallacia when he was a child. He attended Newington College (1968–1971).[3] In 1908 his grandfather John Fowler was appointed postmaster in the town we now know as Wallacia and he became an alderman on the Mulgoa Municipal Council.[4][5] His father Bernard Noel Fowler was an Independent Mayor of Penrith in 1956 and 1957.[6] His older brother, Ross Fowler OAM, was a Liberal Mayor of the same city on three occasions: 1995–1996, 2013–2014 and 2018–2020.[7]
City of South Sydney
[edit]Fowler was an independent councillor for the City of South Sydney from 1989 until becoming the first non-Labor mayor in 2000. He served in that role until the mayoralty was taken back by the Labor Party in 2002. He was the first openly gay mayor in Sydney.[8] In February 2001 the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Holocaust Memorial was unveiled in Green Park in Darlinghurst. At the same time the Sydney Park AIDS Memorial Grove was also unveiled by Fowler recognising the municipality as the then heart of Sydney's gay and lesbian population.[9] In August 2003, South Sydney Council formally recognised gay and lesbian relationships. A similar register had been implemented by the Greater London Authority in United Kingdom but this recognition in South Sydney came 15 years before the plebiscite that recognised gay marriage in Australia.[10]
Sydney Gay and Lesbian Holocaust Memorial
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^ Mayor of first council to recognise gay and lesbian relationships Retrieved 18 August 2024.
- ^ Costly loss for South Sydney as court rules on council turf war Retrieved 10 October 2013.
- ^ Newington College Register of Past Students 1863–1998 pp67 (Syd, 1999)
- ^ Mayoral Speech Retrieved 30 September 2023.
- ^ Welcome to Ross Fowler & Co Retrieved 30 September 2023.
- ^ "Ald. B. Fowler Elected Mayor of Penrith". Nepean Times. Vol. 72, no. 5081. New South Wales, Australia. 13 December 1956. p. 1. Retrieved 30 September 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ Councillor Ross Fowler elected as Penrith Mayor Retrieved 30 September 2023.
- ^ Sth Sydney Council recognises same-sex couples Retrieved 10 October 2013.
- ^ Sydney Park AIDS Memorial Groves & Reflection Area Retrieved 19 August 2024.
- ^ Out Gay Former Mayor Of South Sydney Dies Aged 69 Retrieved 18 August 2024.