Eccentric campaigner for vegetarianism, fresh air, comfortable clothing and 'correct' sex, who spoke in the Domain and was repeatedly committed to mental institutions.
{"name":"Died","target":"Callan Park Mental Hospital","target_text":null,"date":{"#markup":"<span class='date'>21 Dec 1916<\/span>"},"date_start":"1916-12-21","date_end":"1916-12-21"}
{"name":"Buried","target":"Rookwood Cemetery","target_text":null,"date":{"#markup":"<span class='date'>23 Dec 1916<\/span>"},"date_start":"1916-12-23","date_end":"1916-12-23"}
{"name":"Writer","target":"The Confessions of William James Chidley","target_text":null,"date":{"#markup":"<span class='date'>1977<\/span>"},"date_start":"1977","date_end":"1977"}
William James Chidley was a regular speaker in the Domain in the early twentieth century. His odd dress and eccentric views led to his repeated arrest and confinement in mental institutions. Considered a social and moral menace by the authorities of the day, Chidley's struggle for freedeom garnered nationwide support, ultimately exposing social conflicts over censorship and freedom of speech, morality and relations between the sexes.
