The Sydney Order of Perpetual Indulgence had the privilege of canonising Barry Charles, known as Troughman, into sainthood earlier this month.
The ceremony took place at the Harbour City Bears’ Sunday gathering at the Town Hall Hotel in Newtown on November 1.
“I am beyond words… Thank you for this honour,” said Charles.
Troughman is a man synonymous with Sydney’s gay-friendly dance parties of the 1980s.
His story grew in whispers and in gay lore, with many hearing that the man known as Troughman would lie down in the men’s urinals at dance parties and enjoy a long golden shower.
Charles told the ABC’s You Can’t Ask That that his first experience happened at the Mineshaft in the US in 1978, and it grew from there.
“I was there one night and I went to the toilets to the urinal. And I thought, ‘Hmmm, I wonder,’ and there was a guy pissing and I got down on my knees and he got the signal and… he started pissing on me and the bar owner thought it was fabulous,” he explained.
“[The bar owner] said you can do that any time and that became a bit of a thing. And so I got down in the urinal again and became quite well known for doing it at various parties and got the nickname of Troughman.”
Charles is a proud 78er and a former leader of the Gay Rights Lobby, and he has remained a gay rights activist.
It was for these reasons that the Order of Perpetual Indulgence bestowed its highest honour upon Charles. He joins a pantheon of saints from around the world, including Derek Jarman, Keith Haring, Rosie O’Donnell and many more.
“Beneath the wonderfully naughty legend is something profoundly important,” said the Order.
“Whilst the more respectable corners of our community have increasingly found acceptance, we must never forget the sexual radicals who stood at the very front of the fight for liberation.”
The Order said Charles had been fighting for our freedoms since before many of us were born, and continues to help preserve and share Sydney’s queer history through history walks in the city.
“The Sisters could not be more honoured to bestow our highest recognition upon someone so thoroughly deserving.
“So, as the Great Mother Dingo raises her hind leg and showers him with blessings of thanks and love, the Order of Perpetual Indulgence proudly presents Saint Barry the Golden!”
