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The Scenic Manly Trail Once Lurked The Gay-Hate Crime
The Murder Of Scott Johnson
My recent article ‘A journey into the ancient land of sun and ocean’ published by Curious explores Sydney as you’ve never known it before. Beyond the Opera House and Bondi beach, I strolled the trail From Manly to North Head. I immersed in the bushlands of native flora and fauna, beautiful towering cliffs decorated with sandstones and lapis lazuli ocean in the background.
This coastal track includes towering cliffs, magnificent headlands and historic military sites and is one of Sydney’s most spectacular. Walking along the beach arc towards the beautiful Shelly Beach. I began my walk to North Head. I walked uphill towards Shelly Beach parking lot and strolled through the bushland of Sydney Harbour National Park.
But in the beauty of the land, lies a terrible crime that once lurked in the dark history of Sydney. It is the murder of an American Scott Johnson. He was the victim of gay-hate crimes that happened in 1988. Scott Johnson was a few among other mysteries of possible gay-hate crimes that occurred in the 80s notoriously known as ‘poofter bashing’.
The 80s Sydney was nothing like today’s Sydney. People frequented pubs and bars. The cultural blend of the outdoorsy, alcohol and petrolhead thrived through Sydney’s streets. But the…
