Discover Sydney’s hidden queer history, from indigenous views to Mardi Gras. Uncover stories of resilience, protest, and celebration on this unique walking tour.
- Archibald Memorial Fountain - You’ll see hidden histories from colonial times into the 1970s. We’ll start at the Archibald fountain, a location which symbolises the hidden queer histories of the city. We’ll cast our minds back to what we know about Indigenous Australia’s attitude to queerness, prior to the arrival of British colonisation.
We’ll then look at how colonial Australia from 1788 treated LGBT people, and how despite the often hostile environment, queer people lived and loved.
- Emden Gun - At Whitlam Square, we’ll explore how the period of 1970s was the beginning of the gay rights era making claims for fairness and equality. We’ll discuss the role the media played, as well as how the different parts of Australia responded to these claims.
- Green Park - We’ll wind our way through the backstreets of Darlinghurst with a coffee/tea stop along the way at a cute local café to Green Park. Here we’ll have the opportunity to consider how Sydney handled the HIV epidemic in the early 1980s, including many successes along with ongoing challenges in the face of homophobia and transphobia into the 1990s and 2000s.
- Kinselas Hotel - We’ll reach Taylors Square, the last stop, and discuss what happened in June 1978 at the first Mardi Gras at that very spot and why it is still a powerful calling to Queer Sydney today.
We’ll discuss how it’s changed over the years, from the general public initially being very wary of it to today, where there is a strong community embracing it in the identity of the city.
- Tea and coffee
You’ll learn about the city’s rich and varied queer histories and hear the stories of prominent queer citizens of the city, as well as important parts of the cultural scene, including the internationally renowned Mardi Gras parade.
Given the often hidden nature of queer history, this tour will provide a picture of what we know about indigenous Australia’s view on diverse sexual orientation and gender, as well as the circumstances and stories of our queer forebears during the colonial period and into the early 20th century.
We will then bring into focus the period of social upheaval reforms that burst into the mainstream from the 1970’s onwards, including the significance of the first Mardi Gras in 1978 and the following decades of protest, partying, and dealing with the HIV epidemic.
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.