Bill Hathaway

Bill Hathaway

MELBOURNE — Prominent AIDS activist Bill Hathaway died on February 6, aged 27. He had been living with HIV since 1989.

Hathaway worked as HIV education officer with the Victorian AIDS Council and was an activist in Melbourne's AIDS Coalition To Unleash Power (ACT UP). As part of his work, he set up the Peer Support program to raise the esteem and empowerment of many HIV-positive people. He also contributed to Sophie Lee's program, Sex, and worked in the Positive Sex campaign.

In last year's Victorian election, Hathaway worked for the Barbra Quicksand campaign, and he was considering standing for the Senate as an independent in the current federal elections. He also wrote a regular column, together with Geoffrey Harrison, for Brother Sister, a Melbourne gay and lesbian paper. He was deeply respected and loved by many people in gay and progressive circles.

[Adapted from Brother Sister.]

From GLW issue 89