Gaia Moller

This map is an interactive account of the LGBTI nightlife in Sydney compiled from the Pride History Group's online resources.

To read more or listen to Oral History interviews about the ‘Queering of Sydney’, visit the Pride History Group’s webpage . 

“One of the beut things about homosexuality is that it is almost the only remaining international underground movement”[1]

The decriminalisation of homosexuality in Australia was not carried out until 1984 and with the Australian Medical Association still classifying it as a mental disorder, being openly gay meant facing possible prosecution or harassment. Homosexual male sex, the ‘abominable crime of buggery’ was by the late 1960’s punishable with up to 14 years of imprisonment and recognition for homosexual partnership rights such as being ‘next of kin’ was non-existent. This in addition to a lack of information and literature for people to relate to or find understanding in left many with little chance of coming to terms with their identity or feelings. Psychological treatments such as aversion treatment through electric shocks or even psycho-surgery clearly signalled the official discourse on suppression or change as the only acceptable option. In spite of this a growing gay scene in Sydney prevailed and the celebration and pride of gay identity was allowed to take root. [2]

What is most striking in many oral history interviews in the 100 voices project, an oral history database by the Pride History Group (PHG), is the celebratory aspects of gay life and the breakthrough of resistance against oppression through the 1960’s, 1970’s and 1980’s. Although being faced with police harassment, censorship and violence, life went on and a sense of a gay community in Sydney was to many a source of support and relief. The gay scene of Sydney was a series of meeting places where people could for the first time express themselves and meet others to socialise or discuss life and homosexuality. In trying to capture this celebratory spirit I have decided to visualise the venues in Sydney where LGBTI individuals were able to do just that, celebrate their identity and lives.

By drawing from the online recourses of the PHG, the 100 voices project and the magazine Camp Inc. originally published 1970-1971, I have created an interactive map of the Sydney gay scene prior to the decriminalisation in 1984. Through incorporating quotes from Camp Inc. and access to shorter audio clips of relevant oral history interviews to the descriptions of venues I am aiming to provide a fun and interactive way to learn or remember the LGBTI history of Sydney. By formatting the information in a map format the areas and spread of the gay scene becomes visualised, from the rougher bars around shipping docks to the bohemian scene around Kings Cross and the commercial scene of Oxford Street. Venues of political importance have also been added such as the Headquarter of Camp Inc. and the Paris Theatre where the first gay film festival was held. In total 29 venues are mapped based on the amount of information available about them as well as their significance for the scene.   

I aim to increase awareness of the Pride History Group and generate interest for participating in their 100 voices project as well as other activities. Although they have a strong online presence through their webpage and do have a Facebook page, their information is largely spread through word of mouth and social networks. The membership of the PHG is mainly that of an older generation. However, recently a shift towards increasing interest by younger individuals has led to higher participation and engagement by a new generation of history enthusiasts. It is this population I am targeting by using a Tumblr page as a platform for the map. Through reaching an audience familiar with social media I wish to extend the network of people engaged in PHG. And by presenting historical information through an untraditional media I wish to spawn an interest in history and illustrate that it is more than just a University or school topic. As pointed out by Paul Ashton, academic historians need to share. To force all to conform to academic definitions of the requirements to gain historical authority such as through rigorous peer reviews is not sustainable. [3] For history of the LGBTI community in Sydney, those who have knowledge and understanding through their membership can assume historical authority of their own. By departing from the heavily footnoted discussion with academic discourse the inclusion of ‘private historians’, those seeking meaning and cultural understanding of their surroundings is hoped to be achieved. 

By allowing for readers of the Tumblr page to add information the feel is missing or tell stories of their own, the inclusivity is highlighted and engagement encouraged. Through this the hope is that the map will continue to grow in its number of venues, oral accounts and images. Furthermore links to the PHG web page in context of the 100 voices project as well as for general information is provided. The page can be shared through social media such as Facebook, Tumblr and Twitter. By distributing it through LGBTI communities on Facebook such as ‘heaps gay’ and the ‘rainbow voices hunters’, the spread of the page is hoping to reach those active within the scene today as well as individuals with an interest in history. The ‘beut’ underground nature of homosexual movement in in 1950s-1970s Sydney is so made available to explore by those possessing the freedoms fought for by the previous LGBTI generations.

— GAIA MOLLER

References

Ashton, Paul, ‘Public History’, in Clark, Anna, and Paul Ashton, eds., Australian History Now (Sydney, 2013).

Della, ‘Some like it hot’, CAMP Inc 1, no. 2 (1970), p. 9.

French, Robert, ‘Coming Out Into a Hostile World’, viewed 19 November 2015.

NOTES 

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[1] Della, ‘Some like it hot’, CAMP Inc 1, no. 2 (1970), p. 9.

[2] Robert French, Coming Out Into a Hostile World, < http://camp.org.au/resources/10-exhibitions/out-of-the-closets-early-activism/66-out-of-the-closets-early-activism>, viewed 19 November 2015.

[3] Ashton, Paul, “Public History,” in Clark, Anna, and Paul Ashton, eds., Australian History Now (Sydney, 2013).

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Gaia Moller, "Meeting with the Pride History Group," History Matters, (19 October 2015)