Lord Bloody Wog Rolo
Encyclopedia
Rolo Mestman Tapier otherwise known as Lord Bloody Wog Rolo was a colourful eccentric Sydney identity and one of the founding members of BUGAUP (Billboard Utilising Graffitists Against Unhealthy Promotions
). A highly intelligent and articulate man, Rolo spoke five languages fluently - English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and French. He was also a talented whistler although his amazing virtuosity was demonstrated only for family and friends.
an and the Queen was not a democratically elected representative of the people. The renunciation caused a furore. Many sections of the community, including the RSL
, called for his deportation.
Rolo was arrested during the 1981 Australia Day parade and charged with "behaviour likely to cause serious alarm and affront". He was wearing a sandwich board bearing anti-monarchist slogan
s such as "Abolish the Monarchy" and "Royalists
are kow-towing
colonialists
suffering from an inferiority complex
" and an offer to argue the topic with anyone who cared to pay 20 cents for the privilege. The magistrate dismissed the charge against him at the request of Rolo's barrister
Wayne Flynn who had been hired by the NSW Council for Civil Liberties
.
Later in 1981, Rolo publicly apologised and said he had finally seen the error of his ways. He claimed he now saw that the Monarchy was the best system for Australia and to make amends he changed his name by deed poll to Lord Bloody Wog Rolo - to provide a service between Royal visits
for those who wanted to curtsey
and pay homage to royalty
. He stated he was so adamant that the monarchical system was the best that he proposed all Australian-born children should also swear allegiance to the crown and be deported
if they refused.
As a mark of his true respect for all things royal, Rolo founded the British Ultra Loyalist League Serving Historical Interests Today and loudly and cheerfully proclaimed to anybody who asked the question that the answer was B.U.L.L.S.H.I.T
.
- police refused to accept that the Motor Transport Department had issued a driver's licence under the name Lord Bloody Wog Rolo.
Until this time, there had been no anti-police slogans on the vehicle. However, never one to back down, Rolo then added the ambiguous "Pigs are definitely not Kosher
" and the less ambiguous "Support honest police, they both need you". He stated the Police harassment made him more determined to continue his antics. "I left Argentina because it is run by a police-military fascist
regime. I thought Australia was the land of democracy
, but since I began speaking out about things I think are wrong, I've found Australia is becoming a police state
".
In September 1982, Rolo advertised his now notorious vehicle for sale at $1,000 with a $200 discount if the purchaser agreed not to remove the slogans for one full year and drive it on the roads. The article does not state whether the purchaser accepted the $200 discount!
Since Rolo had officially changed his name by deed poll, although reluctant to do so, the police had no choice but to charge Rolo using his full legal name. Many waiting defendants sit in the court room waiting for their charges to be announced. Not Rolo.... Rolo would pick the farthest corner of the court complex so that when his matter was reached, the magistrate would direct the court constable to "call the defendant". In a loud voice the court officer would walk among the crowd outside the court calling "Lord Bloody Wog Rolo, Lord Bloody Wog Rolo, Lord Bloody Wog Rolo." Rolo would then acknowledge his presence, and walk into the court room (decked out in full royal regalia) and the court officer would announce his presence thus "Lord Bloody Wog Rolo is before the court, Your Worship", much to Rolo's satisfaction and the amusement of the public gallery.
One of Rolo's stated tasks as Imperial Wizard and National Director of the KABM was to educate minorities to accept names like "abo
", "wog
", "chink
", "dago" and "nigger
" as simple descriptive statements of fact and something to be proud of. He also proposed that white people could become honorary members of the KABM by agreeing to acquire a sun-tan and "remain in a constant state of contrition which should be manifested at least once daily".
The next day, he and another like-minded friend mounted an attack on the store. Both men piled their trolleys high, waited until the checkout operator had keyed in the items (no scanning in those days), then refused to take them away in the Peter Jackson bags. Just as the Manager was called to remonstrate with the first person, the second hit another checkout with the same tactic. The inconvenience made the trial a total failure and the whole of Australia was spared cigarette ads on checkout bags.
In 1982, thousands of people saw Rolo and two other men leisurely defacing a giant cigarette billboard high on the roof of a five storey building at North Sydney. The three men spent an hour working on the 5m x 15m Marlboro sign at the main intersection at Crows Nest. They gained access to the roof simply by walking in the front door on the afternoon of Christmas Eve and catching the lift. Using three litres of paint and waiting for the first coat to dry, they were watched by hundreds of office workers having Christmas parties and would have been seen by thousands of motorists and pedestrians. Nobody took any action.
In 1984, Rolo and fellow BUGAUP member Ric Bolzan appeared before the District Court, charged with allegedly damaging a Formula One racing car on display in the NSW Art Gallery in 1982. They chained themselves to the vehicle and sprinkled it with cigarette butts. The car, owned by Alfa Romeo, was part of a display at the gallery sponsored by Philip Morris, and was emblazoned with advertisements for Marlboro cigarettes. The jury took one and a half hours to reach its verdict and Rolo was convicted on a charge of maliciously injuring the racing car. Rolo was fined $75 but as was the practice of BUGAUP members, elected not to pay the fine imposed by Judge Jane Mathews, choosing instead to spend three days "as a guest of Her Majesty" at Long Bay Gaol.
After his National Service obligation was served as a para-trooper, Rolo studied and qualified as an electronics engineer. In 1970 Rolo emigrated to Australia, setting up home in Sydney, Australia. Due to a spelling error on his immigration documents, Rolo became known as Tapur (instead of Yapur) in Australia. Rolo decided to change Tapur to Tapir since a tapir
is "a thick-skinned South American with a big nose" - Rolo always had a sense of humour.
In March 1985 Rolo married fellow BUGAUP activist Rosalyn Anderson who became Lady Bloody Wog Rolo. They have two sons - Alex born 1986 and Robin born 1988. As happens with many activists, Rolo's sons were rather more conservative than Rolo and used the surname Tapier - an anglicized version of Tapir. In 2000 Rolo changed his name to Rolo Mestman Tapier to match the name his sons were using.
In 1986 Rolo designed and manufactured an automobile alarm that was rated highest out of ten auto alarms evaluated by the Australian Consumers' Association in a trial conducted in 1987. The results were published in the March 1988 edition of Choice magazine
. Even his car alarm caused controversy as United Artists Corporation filed an application to oppose the registration of Rolo's trademark "Black Panther". UAC did not state the grounds for their opposition, only that they were the owners of the Pink Panther character. The Black Panther logo was drawn by Sydney artist Kevin McKay
and featured a cartoon depicting a black panther leaning against an automobile. United Artists did not provide evidence of support and their opposition application eventually lapsed and the trademark was duly registered.
operation. In September 2006, doctors discovered Rolo had Renal Cell Carcinoma
(kidney cancer) which had metastasised
to his lymph nodes, liver and lungs. As the cancer had advanced beyond a curative stage, rather than undergo debilitating medical treatment, Rolo elected to let nature take its course and lived his last months in relative peace and contentment. He died 15 months later on the 3rd of December 2007. Rolo is buried at the Malbina Lawn Cemetery, Sorell Creek, Tasmania.
Billboard Utilising Graffitists Against Unhealthy Promotions
Billboard Utilising Graffitists Against Unhealthy Promotions, or B.U.G.A. U.P. is an Australian subvertising artistic movement that detourns or modifies with graffiti billboard advertising that promotes something they deem unhealthy....
). A highly intelligent and articulate man, Rolo spoke five languages fluently - English, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and French. He was also a talented whistler although his amazing virtuosity was demonstrated only for family and friends.
Rolo the Anti-Monarchist
Argentine born Rolo first came to the attention of the Sydney community in 1979 when he renounced his pledge of allegiance to the Queen immediately following his immigration citizenship ceremony on the grounds that he was a republicRepublic
A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...
an and the Queen was not a democratically elected representative of the people. The renunciation caused a furore. Many sections of the community, including the RSL
Returned and Services League of Australia
The Returned and Services League of Australia is a support organisation for men and women who have served or are serving in the Australian Defence Force ....
, called for his deportation.
Rolo was arrested during the 1981 Australia Day parade and charged with "behaviour likely to cause serious alarm and affront". He was wearing a sandwich board bearing anti-monarchist slogan
Slogan
A slogan is a memorable motto or phrase used in a political, commercial, religious and other context as a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose. The word slogan is derived from slogorn which was an Anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic sluagh-ghairm . Slogans vary from the written and the...
s such as "Abolish the Monarchy" and "Royalists
Monarchism
Monarchism is the advocacy of the establishment, preservation, or restoration of a monarchy as a form of government in a nation. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government out of principle, independent from the person, the Monarch.In this system, the Monarch may be the...
are kow-towing
Kowtow
Kowtow is the act of deep respect shown by kneeling and bowing so low as to have one's head touching the ground. An alternative Chinese term is ketou, however the meaning is somewhat altered: kòu originally meant "knock with reverence", whereas kē has the general meaning of "touch upon ".In Han...
colonialists
Colonialism
Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony and the social structure, government, and economics of the colony are changed by...
suffering from an inferiority complex
Inferiority complex
An inferiority complex, in the fields of psychology and psychoanalysis, is a feeling that one is inferior to others in some way. Such feelings can arise from an imagined or actual inferiority in the afflicted person...
" and an offer to argue the topic with anyone who cared to pay 20 cents for the privilege. The magistrate dismissed the charge against him at the request of Rolo's barrister
Barrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
Wayne Flynn who had been hired by the NSW Council for Civil Liberties
NSW Council for Civil Liberties
Founded in 1963, the charter of the NSW Council for Civil Liberties is to protect the equal rights of all citizens and oppose all or any abuse or excessive power by the State against its people.The Council for Civil Liberties has a committee elected by volunteers whose primary role is to influence...
.
Later in 1981, Rolo publicly apologised and said he had finally seen the error of his ways. He claimed he now saw that the Monarchy was the best system for Australia and to make amends he changed his name by deed poll to Lord Bloody Wog Rolo - to provide a service between Royal visits
State visit
A state visit is a formal visit by a foreign head of state to another nation, at the invitation of that nation's head of state. State visits are the highest form of diplomatic contact between two nations, and are marked by ceremonial pomp and diplomatic protocol. In parliamentary democracies, heads...
for those who wanted to curtsey
Curtsey
A curtsey is a traditional gesture of greeting, in which a girl or woman bends her knees while bowing her head. It is the female equivalent of male bowing in Western cultures...
and pay homage to royalty
Royal family
A royal family is the extended family of a king or queen regnant. The term imperial family appropriately describes the extended family of an emperor or empress, while the terms "ducal family", "grand ducal family" or "princely family" are more appropriate to describe the relatives of a reigning...
. He stated he was so adamant that the monarchical system was the best that he proposed all Australian-born children should also swear allegiance to the crown and be deported
Deportation
Deportation means the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. Today it often refers to the expulsion of foreign nationals whereas the expulsion of nationals is called banishment, exile, or penal transportation...
if they refused.
As a mark of his true respect for all things royal, Rolo founded the British Ultra Loyalist League Serving Historical Interests Today and loudly and cheerfully proclaimed to anybody who asked the question that the answer was B.U.L.L.S.H.I.T
Bullshit
Bullshit is a common English expletive which may be shortened to the euphemism bull or the initialism B.S. In British English, "bollocks" is a comparable expletive, although bullshit is commonly used in British English...
.
Rolo takes on the NSW Police
Rolo's slogan-daubed car was a regular sight in the streets of Sydney, with protests of everything from smoking to royalty to religion which resulted in many traffic infringement bookings and saw him arrested many times by police who did not find the slogans as amusing as most Sydney-siders appeared to find them. Usually the charges were dismissed once they got to court. One charge was for licence forgeryForgery
Forgery is the process of making, adapting, or imitating objects, statistics, or documents with the intent to deceive. Copies, studio replicas, and reproductions are not considered forgeries, though they may later become forgeries through knowing and willful misrepresentations. Forging money or...
- police refused to accept that the Motor Transport Department had issued a driver's licence under the name Lord Bloody Wog Rolo.
Until this time, there had been no anti-police slogans on the vehicle. However, never one to back down, Rolo then added the ambiguous "Pigs are definitely not Kosher
Kashrut
Kashrut is the set of Jewish dietary laws. Food in accord with halakha is termed kosher in English, from the Ashkenazi pronunciation of the Hebrew term kashér , meaning "fit" Kashrut (also kashruth or kashrus) is the set of Jewish dietary laws. Food in accord with halakha (Jewish law) is termed...
" and the less ambiguous "Support honest police, they both need you". He stated the Police harassment made him more determined to continue his antics. "I left Argentina because it is run by a police-military fascist
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
regime. I thought Australia was the land of democracy
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
, but since I began speaking out about things I think are wrong, I've found Australia is becoming a police state
Police state
A police state is one in which the government exercises rigid and repressive controls over the social, economic and political life of the population...
".
In September 1982, Rolo advertised his now notorious vehicle for sale at $1,000 with a $200 discount if the purchaser agreed not to remove the slogans for one full year and drive it on the roads. The article does not state whether the purchaser accepted the $200 discount!
Since Rolo had officially changed his name by deed poll, although reluctant to do so, the police had no choice but to charge Rolo using his full legal name. Many waiting defendants sit in the court room waiting for their charges to be announced. Not Rolo.... Rolo would pick the farthest corner of the court complex so that when his matter was reached, the magistrate would direct the court constable to "call the defendant". In a loud voice the court officer would walk among the crowd outside the court calling "Lord Bloody Wog Rolo, Lord Bloody Wog Rolo, Lord Bloody Wog Rolo." Rolo would then acknowledge his presence, and walk into the court room (decked out in full royal regalia) and the court officer would announce his presence thus "Lord Bloody Wog Rolo is before the court, Your Worship", much to Rolo's satisfaction and the amusement of the public gallery.
Keep Australia Black Movement
In 1981 Rolo formed the Keep Australia Black Movement (KABM) as a counter to the publicity given to the Keep Australia White Movement (KAWM). In a press release dated 6 November 1981 Rolo stated that the KABM should be given at least equal coverage since the KABM "had 15 more members than the KAWM, only half which were under full time mental treatment". He also demanded equal rights for all discriminators.One of Rolo's stated tasks as Imperial Wizard and National Director of the KABM was to educate minorities to accept names like "abo
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
", "wog
Wog
Wog or Pog is a slang word with a number of meanings, generally considered derogatory and, in some instances, extremely offensive when used in relation to ethnicity...
", "chink
Chink
Chink, chinki, chinky or chinkie is a pejorative term referring mainly to a person of Chinese ethnicity but sometimes generalized to refer to any person of East Asian descent...
", "dago" and "nigger
Nigger
Nigger is a noun in the English language, most notable for its usage in a pejorative context to refer to black people , and also as an informal slang term, among other contexts. It is a common ethnic slur...
" as simple descriptive statements of fact and something to be proud of. He also proposed that white people could become honorary members of the KABM by agreeing to acquire a sun-tan and "remain in a constant state of contrition which should be manifested at least once daily".
BUGAUP
Rolo first became a BUGAUP activist around 1980/81 after a run-in with Coles supermarkets which were trial marketing a shopping bag adorned with cigarette advertising at their Chatswood store. When Rolo noticed his purchases had been put into bags promoting Peter Jackson cigarettes, he cancelled the sale and left the store - loudly voicing his disapproval and disgust.The next day, he and another like-minded friend mounted an attack on the store. Both men piled their trolleys high, waited until the checkout operator had keyed in the items (no scanning in those days), then refused to take them away in the Peter Jackson bags. Just as the Manager was called to remonstrate with the first person, the second hit another checkout with the same tactic. The inconvenience made the trial a total failure and the whole of Australia was spared cigarette ads on checkout bags.
In 1982, thousands of people saw Rolo and two other men leisurely defacing a giant cigarette billboard high on the roof of a five storey building at North Sydney. The three men spent an hour working on the 5m x 15m Marlboro sign at the main intersection at Crows Nest. They gained access to the roof simply by walking in the front door on the afternoon of Christmas Eve and catching the lift. Using three litres of paint and waiting for the first coat to dry, they were watched by hundreds of office workers having Christmas parties and would have been seen by thousands of motorists and pedestrians. Nobody took any action.
In 1984, Rolo and fellow BUGAUP member Ric Bolzan appeared before the District Court, charged with allegedly damaging a Formula One racing car on display in the NSW Art Gallery in 1982. They chained themselves to the vehicle and sprinkled it with cigarette butts. The car, owned by Alfa Romeo, was part of a display at the gallery sponsored by Philip Morris, and was emblazoned with advertisements for Marlboro cigarettes. The jury took one and a half hours to reach its verdict and Rolo was convicted on a charge of maliciously injuring the racing car. Rolo was fined $75 but as was the practice of BUGAUP members, elected not to pay the fine imposed by Judge Jane Mathews, choosing instead to spend three days "as a guest of Her Majesty" at Long Bay Gaol.
Personal life
Born Alberto Rolando Yapur on the 1st of July 1945 in San Miguel de Tucumán (Argentina), Rolo's mother was Jewish of Ukrainian descent and his father was a Roman Catholic. As a child Rolo was fascinated by electronics and when he was about 12, set up a small business selling radios which he made himself. Rolo's love and fascination of electronics lasted his entire life.After his National Service obligation was served as a para-trooper, Rolo studied and qualified as an electronics engineer. In 1970 Rolo emigrated to Australia, setting up home in Sydney, Australia. Due to a spelling error on his immigration documents, Rolo became known as Tapur (instead of Yapur) in Australia. Rolo decided to change Tapur to Tapir since a tapir
Tapir
A Tapir is a large browsing mammal, similar in shape to a pig, with a short, prehensile snout. Tapirs inhabit jungle and forest regions of South America, Central America, and Southeast Asia. There are four species of Tapirs: the Brazilian Tapir, the Malayan Tapir, Baird's Tapir and the Mountain...
is "a thick-skinned South American with a big nose" - Rolo always had a sense of humour.
In March 1985 Rolo married fellow BUGAUP activist Rosalyn Anderson who became Lady Bloody Wog Rolo. They have two sons - Alex born 1986 and Robin born 1988. As happens with many activists, Rolo's sons were rather more conservative than Rolo and used the surname Tapier - an anglicized version of Tapir. In 2000 Rolo changed his name to Rolo Mestman Tapier to match the name his sons were using.
In 1986 Rolo designed and manufactured an automobile alarm that was rated highest out of ten auto alarms evaluated by the Australian Consumers' Association in a trial conducted in 1987. The results were published in the March 1988 edition of Choice magazine
Choice magazine
CHOICE Magazine is a publication of the Australian Consumers' Association, a non-profit organisation founded in 1959 to research and advocate on behalf of Australian consumers. The organisation trades as CHOICE and is similar to Consumer Reports in the United States...
. Even his car alarm caused controversy as United Artists Corporation filed an application to oppose the registration of Rolo's trademark "Black Panther". UAC did not state the grounds for their opposition, only that they were the owners of the Pink Panther character. The Black Panther logo was drawn by Sydney artist Kevin McKay
Kevin McKay (artist)
Kevin McKay is a self-taught Australian artist whose skills attracted a great deal of early attention.McKay won his first major art prize when he was just 15 - the prize was presented by artist Clifton Pugh. In 1985, at age 19, he won the International Youth Art Prize for his naïve work "A New...
and featured a cartoon depicting a black panther leaning against an automobile. United Artists did not provide evidence of support and their opposition application eventually lapsed and the trademark was duly registered.
Death
In May 2006, Rolo suffered a heart attack which resulted in his undergoing a septuple Coronary BypassCoronary artery bypass surgery
Coronary artery bypass surgery, also coronary artery bypass graft surgery, and colloquially heart bypass or bypass surgery is a surgical procedure performed to relieve angina and reduce the risk of death from coronary artery disease...
operation. In September 2006, doctors discovered Rolo had Renal Cell Carcinoma
Renal cell carcinoma
Renal cell carcinoma is a kidney cancer that originates in the lining of the proximal convoluted tubule, the very small tubes in the kidney that filter the blood and remove waste products. RCC is the most common type of kidney cancer in adults, responsible for approximately 80% of cases...
(kidney cancer) which had metastasised
Metastasis
Metastasis, or metastatic disease , is the spread of a disease from one organ or part to another non-adjacent organ or part. It was previously thought that only malignant tumor cells and infections have the capacity to metastasize; however, this is being reconsidered due to new research...
to his lymph nodes, liver and lungs. As the cancer had advanced beyond a curative stage, rather than undergo debilitating medical treatment, Rolo elected to let nature take its course and lived his last months in relative peace and contentment. He died 15 months later on the 3rd of December 2007. Rolo is buried at the Malbina Lawn Cemetery, Sorell Creek, Tasmania.