Tributes Flow For Man Who Installed Glory Holes In Newcastle’s Gay Beats

Tributes Flow For Man Who Installed Glory Holes In Newcastle’s Gay Beats
Image: Representative image: In 2018, the Western Australian Museum had acquired this large glory hole for display. It was owned by Neil Buckley, a member of Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, who had saved the door when a toilet block was being demolished in 1997.

Some heroes wear capes, while some serve humanity by carving glory holes. On Reddit last week, tributes flowed for a man, who had supposedly carved out glory holes in gay beats around Newcastle for decades. 

“The old guy that used to make the glory holes throughout the region passed away,” the post on Reddit informed. 

“I won’t use his real name, because y’know, that’d be weird. We’ll just call him Gary,” the Redditor who goes by the handle Eel Intent posted last week

The Redditor said “Missus and I” met and stuck a friendship with Gary a couple of years ago when they moved into their new home.

Pioneering Glory Holes In Newcastle

Reddit post.

The couple was ” cosy with the gay community” and Gary found himself sharing more details about his life and work.  In the very first conversation, after the introductions, Gary revealed to the couple that “it was he who pioneered the installation of glory holes throughout Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Central Coast, and certain parts of Maitland.”

“Gary made it his mission to install cock sockets in the beats of the region so no curious man’s penis would need to remain dry,” the post said. 

Gary told the couple that he had been at work creating glory holes since at least the mid-60s. In recent years, however, it had become difficult and his work was undone, as his glory holes would get covered, possibly by council staff. 

“He was uncertain if any of his dick slots still exist to this day,” the Redditor said, adding, “I personally have seen only one the entire 22 years I’ve lived here”.

“Gary was a quiet man with no family at all. Just three fancy little dogs and a lifelong passion for meeting men in public bathrooms. I just wanted to put something out there for a man who was, in many ways, an underappreciated part of the city’s infrastructure,” the post concluded. 

‘I Noticed A Curious Hole At Waist Height’

Fellow Redditors paid tributes to Gary, with some saying they might have made use of some of Gary’s unacknowledged works. 

“Not sure if it was Gary’s work, but when using the public toilets at a lookout in Pokolbin I noticed a curious hole at waist height. No mystery as to what it was, as this spot was often rumoured to be a hookup spot for gay hen. Quiet the achievement, since it was a metal stall made of mild steel,” said one post. 

“I happened across a guy a week later who worked for council in maintenance, so after an awkward moment where I had to explain the concept of a glory hole to him, we went our separate ways.”

“Two weeks later, there appeared a much thicker steel plate installed there. If it was Gary’s work initially, I hate to say he never defeated this particular barrier.”

“I’m curious what’s going to be on his headstone? Maybe drill a hole through the top in his remembrance?” suggested another post, while a third person added, “Perhaps changing their names from “glory holes” to “Gary holes” would be a fitting tribute and appropriate way to memorialise this great man.”

Curiously, Eel Intent’s account on Reddit appears to have been suspended.





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