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Phyllis Papps, a trailblazing lesbian figure in Australian history, passed away peacefully on January 19 at the age of 81.

A聽lesbian feminist activist, librarian, and writer, Papps is best known for her appearance on ABC’s This Day Tonight in 1970, where she and her life partner, Francesca came out as lesbians on national prime time television.

Born into a traditional Greek family in Egypt in April 1944, Papps migrated to Melbourne at the age of six, where she attended the local public schools. In an oral history interview later in her life, Papps said she began to explore her sexual orientation from about the age of 13, when she discovered some of the iconic lesbian books of the 20th century, including Radclyffe Hall’s Well of Loneliness. After leaving high school, she took a librarianship course at the State Library of Victoria.

A dedicated lesbian feminist, Papps was involved with the Australian chapter of the Daughters of Bilitis, a civil and political lesbian rights organisation founded in the US, and Australia’s first gay rights organisation, later renamed as the Australasian Lesbian Movement.

Papps first saw Francesca Curtis on the Bailey File television program in May of 1970 when she was 26, meeting her in person for the first time a month later at a DoB social event. The pair exchanged gold wedding bands in July of that same year, and would go on to appear on This Day Tonight only months later. Papps and Curtis, openly discussed their lesbianism, giving Australia a glimpse into a world hidden from public view.

“It was a bit of a minefield,” Papps said of the experience in 2018. “We weren’t prepared for the sort of questions they asked.”

The couple faced backlash in both their personal and professional lives, with Papps losing her job as a public librarian. However, their appearance was heralded as a groundbreaking moment for queer history and visibility in Australia, and boosted attendance at ALM.

鈥淚n our flat, lesbians could finally be somewhere they could go and meet other lesbians and feel safe to be themselves, share their company and discuss issues of importance,” Curtis said.

A life dedicated to the lesbian cause

Over the 1970s and 1980s, Papps worked on a number of women’s history projects, and was involved in the creation of the Gay Librarians group in 1976, the International Women’s Day exhibition in 1985, and Hats In The Ring, a film about women in local government.

True to her librarian sensibilities, Papps dedicated her retirement to documenting her life and that of Curtis, as well as the definitive national guide “Goals, Objectives and Standards for Public Libraries in Australia”.

In 2019, Papps and Curtis received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Australian LGBTI Awards, and featured in AP Pobjoy’s 2020 documentary “Why Did She Have To Tell The World?”

Curtis died in 2021 at the age of 90, a year after she and Papps celebrated their 50th anniversary together. Papps spent her last years living in Phillip Island with her beloved dog Susi Q, getting her documents and archives in order before her death.

Phyllis Papps dedicated decades of her her life to the advancement of lesbian rights in Australia, and was the likely the first proud lesbian many people had ever seen. Her work laid the foundation for the queer culture we have in 2026, and will be treasured for a long time to come.

Many of her papers and work are preserved by the .

Papps will be remembered at a private burial service.

 

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