Queer Icon - Freda Stark
This is a part of a series for Pride Month, which profiles queer icons throughout Aotearoa history.
Freda was born in the small town of Kaeo in 1910, to a shopkeeper James Stark and Isabella Bramley. They moved to Auckland shortly after she was born, and at the age of nine her father began encouraging her to pursue her love for dance. Throughout her early twenties she worked as a clerk during the day and danced throughout the night.
Freda has stated she was always attracted to women, and that she was born that way. She recalls school crushes on teachers, a specific depiction of a women from an illustrated edition of Shakespeare and dalliances with women in her twenties. Despite being attracted to women, she had not met anyone until her mother had a close friend, who became her first lover. Stark absolutely adored her and as a young woman, felt she fell in love with women often, due to the affectionate closeness. Freda was unaware of the world she was entering; she was unfamiliar with lesbianism or the queer identity.
Freda and Thelma/ Unknown Newspaper Article
While an incredible dancer, Freda is most known for her illustrious affair with Thelma Trott. They met in 1933, when Freda was hired by Ernest Rolls Revue Company. They shared a dressing room together, Freda recalls it being fate and that it’s how she met the love of her life. The show collapsed financially quickly, leaving many dancers stranded. As a result, Thelma married Erica Mareo for support. Freda believes Eric married Thelma for the five hundred pounds sitting in her savings account. Freda and Thelma continued to see each other, while Eric worked. Conflicting recollections by Freda situate Thelma as consistently drunk, ither by her own doing or by Eric feeding it to her. One night, Eric kicks them out when he came to realise their affair, the dynamic became tumultuous. On the 15th of April 1935 Thelma was pronounced dead, she had been asleep for almost a full day. Freda thought something was wrong, as Eric was plying her with hot milk and Thelma would doze right back to sleep. Freda insisted she be taken to hospital where she later died. Eric Mareo was charged with murder and stood trial in February 1936. Thirty-four witnesses were called, among them Betty Mareo, who testified Thelma and Freda were often in bed together during the day. Detective Meiklejohn produced letters that referred to Thelma’s ‘abnormal relationships and non-Christian practices. Newspapers sensationalised the case, branding Thelma an “abnormal girl,” and Freda recalled being unable to walk down Queen Street without being recognised from the papers, followed, and pointed at. Freda always though it was because she was the Crown’s principal witness, though others assumed it was the fascination of the lesbian dynamic, with many not believing they had seen a lesbian before. After only two hours of deliberation, the jury found Mareo guilty of murder on 26 February, and although his death sentence was later reduced to life imprisonment.
