In a farewell ceremony which at times seemed to be a community thank you for his years of involvement in a wide range of gay and HIV matters, the just-retired general manager of Body Positive was tonight lauded for his decency, compassion and focus. MP Louisa Wall publicly thanked Bruce Kilmister for giving one of her relatives "the strength to deal with their HIV diagnosis and then the courage to face the huge hurdle of his death." She said Kilmister "gave those kind of gifts without expecting anything back... many people have benefited from your gifts." Warren Lindberg, the first Executive Director of the NZ AIDS Foundation, thanked Kilmister, who was an early trustee of the NZAF and on the job interview panel "for giving me the hardest job I ever did in my life" and for the eventual rewards he experienced from that job. Fran Wilde, who as as then-new MP shepherded the mid-1980s Homosexual Law reform Bill through its tumultuous public and parliamentary debates, lauded Kilmister's organising of much of the finance behind the pro-Bill work. "Bruce was critical to campaign resourcing," she said. She recalled that as a busy new MP and single mother she enjoyed the Law Reform campaign gatherings. "And you gave the best parties," she laughed. She also acknowledged his "clarity of vision" and the work of people all over the country who worked extremely hard to gain support for the bill. "It is through you your efforts and others that many people like me didn't suffer when we came out," said MP Louisa Wall who worked the Marriage Equality legislation through Parliament. "Before Law Reform many people suffered terribly... thank you very much for helping build a solid platform for later advances towards us being equal citizens... your work will also be important for generations to come." Ex-MP Judith Tizard acknowledged Kilmister's dry sense of humour "but you took your jobs very seriously," she said. Stressing his "decency, kindness and care" she praised his work bedding in Auckland's massive Hero gay pride event and his support for the running of an HIV-specific hospice and respite facility in Auckland during the height of the surge of deaths from HIV. Messages of appreciation were sent by ex-Prime Minister Helen Clark from the United Nations, gay ex-MP Chris Carter from Kabul and others. Those who took up the microphone this evening spoke of the difference Kilmister had made in their lives personally and professionally. In a touching moment, HIV specialist Dr Mark Thomas praised Kilmister's courage as an advocate for HIV treatments. "We weren't the most perceptive or appreciative of your positions when we disagreed," Thomas said of the numerous times Kilmister stood his ground in opposition to the medical fraternity's views of what was best for HIV-positive gay men. "You were straight down the line in taking care of HIV-positive people, you showed great bravery... and in retrospect you were right," Thomas said. Others spoke of Kilmister's dignity, dedication, drive and his "staggering" work ethic. Body Positive board member David Robertson said that again and again he had seen people diagnosed as HIV-positive arrive at the BP office "broken and destroyed... Bruce helped fix them." After accepting the gift of a specially carved pounamu pendant, incised with small notches to represent the many glbti people he has helped over the years, Kilmister paid homage to the many people he had worked with over the years and those whose work helped the Law Reform Bill pass. He spoke of his late partner Witoria Drake who died due to HIV and noted that they spent most of their relationship "as criminals" due to pre-Law reform legislation. His work with Body Positive, Kilmister said, had enabled him to have "amazing experiences and meet amazing people."
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Tuesday, 26th May 2015 - 9:05pm