Adelaide academic Dr George Duncan's death in 1972 spotlights gay harassment by some members of police force

Headline from Adelaide's afternoon newspaper The News on July 5, 1972, reporting on the inquest into Dr George's Duncan's death.

Dr George Duncan, gay and a law lecturer at Adelaide University, and another man, Roger James, were confronted at 11pm on May 10, 1972, by a gang of men on Adelaide’s River Torrens southern bank, near the university footbridge.

Both men were thrown into the water but Duncan couldn’t swim and drowned. James suffered a broken ankle in the attack. He crawled up to Victoria Drive. A passing motorist took him to hospital. He later refused to identify the attackers.

Shortly after police retrieved Duncan's body, a television news crew arrived. Police placed the body back in the river and dragged it out again for the camera.

In 1970s Adelaide, homosexuality was illegal and the southern bank of the River Torrens in the heart of the city was a well-known meeting spot for gay people.

A coroner's inquest began in June, 1972, at which two members of the vice squad refused to answer questions. They and a third detective were suspended and later resigned. The inquest found that Dr Duncan, 41, died from violence inflicted by unknown persons. A subsequent police investigation also failed to identify suspects.

Amid a charged political atmosphere, premier Don Dunstan authorised police to call in New Scotland Yard detectives. The case revealed the previously little-known practice among a few police officers of terrorising gay men by the Torrens.

In 1985, former vice squad member Mick O’Shea told an Adelaide newspaper that there had been a coverup to protect three other squad members who he said killed Duncan. In 1986, the three were charged with his manslaughter. Only two faced trial and both were acquitted in 1988. A police taskforce on the case was disbanded in 1990.

South Australian police continued to offer a $200,000 reward for information leading to a conviction in the case.