In this August edition of the First Mardi Gras Inc. Newsletter, we have:
- SGLMG 78ers Committee on Registering for the 2023 Mardi Gras Parade
- Robert French and Diane Minnis on Bus tour with Sydney Pride pioneers!
- Rebbell Barnes on 78ers 45th Anniversary Cocktail Party
- Robyn Kennedy on EuroPride 2022 in Belgrade – 12-18 September
- Krista Schade on Rainbow on the Plains Festival, Hay – 25-27 November
- Toby Zoates’ review of Sydney Buries Its Past at the Tin Sheds
- Diane Minnis on Printed protest: graphic activism from the Australian Queer Archives
- Diane Minnis’ review of Queer at the National Gallery of Victoria
- Robert French with 40 Years On: ADB Report on Discrimination and Homosexuality
- How to get your copy of CAMP Australia’s Pioneer Homosexual Rights Activists
- Information from NSW Health on Monkeypox Prevention and Treatment
- How to donate to Appeals for Northern Rivers and Ukraine
- Rebbell Barnes and Bill Ashton on Get your 78ers and CAMP badges
- Calendar of Events.
The next First Mardi Gras Inc. General Meeting is at 4pm, Saturday 10 September 2022, by Zoom. And our next Social Lunch is at 12pm, Sunday 4 September, Terminus Hotel, 61 Harris Street Pyrmont, RSVP: info@78ers.org.au.
Diane Minnis
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First Mardi Gras Inc. has entered an exciting new event in Sydney World Pride’s Pride Amplified program – a fringe festival with events for and by our community during the Sydney World Pride and Mardi Gras Festivals in February and March 2023.
We are running bus tours of the route and key sites of the first Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras! The bus tours will be on 23, 24, 27 and 28 February, with two tours a day from 10am-12pm and 1-3pm. Tours will start and finish at Taylor Square, Darlinghurst and will cost $20 or $10 concession.
The title of the event is slanted towards overseas visitors to Sydney World Pride who may not know about the first Mardi Gras and its significance. But we expect the tour to have broad appeal to both visitors and locals. Here is some of our promo material.
Join the 78ers, the activists who fought back against Police in 1978, for a unique bus adventure touring significant historical sites from the first Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.
The tour will include commentary and talks outside the bus at key sites, following the route of the first Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade. You will hear from activists who took part in the parade on 24 June 1978, and the Drop the Charges protest campaign that followed.
Robert French and Diane Minnis
78ers and First Mardi Gras Inc. Member and Co-Chair
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First Mardi Gras Inc. organised a very successful 40th Anniversary Cocktail Party in 2018. Many of you would have enjoyed it!
Well, we are planning to do that again for the upcoming 45th Anniversary of the first Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras. While details have not yet been finalised, keep the evening of Thursday 23 February 2023 free!
Looking at the Sydney World Pride (SWP) and Mardi Gras Festival Calendar below, Thursday 23 February is the day before the SWP Opening Concert and two days before the Mardi Gras Parade.
So get yourself to Sydney in time for our fabulous 45th Anniversary Cocktail Party on Thursday 23 February 2023 and look out for information on how to get your tickets.
Rebbell Barnes
78er and First Mardi Gras Inc. Committee Member
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It’s time for EuroPride 2022 to take place and I will be there, representing InterPride.
After years of fighting for the equality of the LGBTI+ community in the region, Belgrade will host EuroPride from 12-18 September, making it a milestone for the LGBTI+ community in the western Balkans.
The capital of Serbia will be the first city in southeast Europe, and the first city outside the European Economic Area, to host a major event for the pan-European LGBTI+ community.
Belgrade invites people to join EuroPride in September and show their solidarity with the long-lasting struggle of the LGBTI+ community in the Balkans. If you're coming you need to register here (using password bilbao2019).
Robyn Kennedy
78er and First Mardi Gras Inc. Committee Member
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The Rainbow on the Plains Festival in Hay is re-launching in 2022, after two years of delays due to Covid.
In the past, 78ers have led our parade, and on behalf of the organisers I would like to extend an invitation for your organisation and members to head up our parade once again.
This year the festival will be held from Friday November 25 to Sunday November 27. The parade will be held at midday on Saturday. Full festival info can be found on our Facebook and Instagram pages or at www.rainbowontheplains.com.au.
There is no entry fee for your organisation, as those who have paved the way for every Pride celebration since 1978.
Krista Schade
Rainbow on the Plains Festival Committee Member
If you want to join other 78ers in Hay, contact Helen Gollan on hcg78er@yahoo.com.
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An exhibition at The Tin Sheds Gallery, Faculty of Architecture, Design and Planning, Sydney University titled Sydney Buries Its Past includes posters from the archives, ephemera, photos, installations, videos and films.
The exigencies of contemporary life contribute to the "forgetting" of much history: the ever-changing cityscape with its growth and changing styles of architecture; rapid news cycles’; ever hungry consumer capitalism moving on to the next fashionable product; conservative governments which don't want protests and activism remembered.
Neo-liberal capitalism wants all existence to be at the mercy of the market, no community needs or heritage values are to stand in the way of profit. Neoliberalism also insists government is only there to support big business, whose marketplace will take care of everything, jobs, infrastructure, and organisation. Government is not there to safeguard the "people", services are user pays; there is no society, only the individual competing for survival with his family. The housing needs of the lower income class are cruelly sacrificed to the greed for profit along with the destruction of communities.
This is the undercurrent of the show at The Tin Sheds Gallery, which insists on remembering Sydney of the 20th Century, its heritage architecture; the community spaces; and the protests to protect them and the rights of the city's citizens.
The Tin Sheds gallery itself has replaced the old Tin Sheds workshops where many posters of support and protest were made. And these posters help us to remember the Sheds and those struggles: LGBTQI Rights, Women's Rights, Koori Rights, Prisoners' Rights, Environmental protections, Housing, Shelter and Health needs etc.
From the beginning of colonial invasion in 1788, Sydney first buried the Indigenous Australians' country and culture, then continuously built and then buried, built and buried till there is little of heritage value existent, only a skyline of cranes erecting ever taller skyscrapers.
An example of heritage destruction would be The Regent Cinema that was on George Street, a cultural space much loved by the Sydney Community, a meeting place, not just of heritage value. It was destroyed and replaced with a ubiquitous apartment tower by a greedy capitalist because there was more money in it. On its footprint is now a shopping arcade called Regent Place as if that will satisfy anyone complaining.
Under neoliberalism nothing is safe, the Town Hall, the Queen Victoria Building, the Opera House, over time all is transient when profit is uncaringly sought. Sydney might bury its past but it won't bury our memories nor our ongoing struggles.
The 78ers is a case in point. If this old group of activists didn't arrange seminars that educate the public, and attend many protest rallies with banners and flyers, then their actions in 1978 would be forgotten. Ephemera such as posters, flyers, banners, newsletters are important historical documents and should be archived as such.
The Show runs from July 14 to August 20, Tuesday to Friday 11am to 5pm, Saturday 12 to 5 pm. Google the program, as film screenings are on offer at night also. The Tin Sheds Gallery 148 City Rd Darlington.
Toby Zoates
78er and First Mardi Gras Inc. Member
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It was a real pleasure to finally see the inside of the fabulous Victorian Pride Centre on my recent trip to Melbourne. They have an exhibition which has just finished – Printed protest: graphic activism from the Australian Queer Archives.
The exhibition featured over 100 posters, banners and placards from the start of gay liberation, through decriminalisation and the AIDS crisis, to marriage equality and trans rights. It was great to see some old faves.
No visit to the Pride Centre would be complete without popping in to the Archives office where I found First Mardi Gras Inc. Associate Member Gary Jaynes working on his weekly volunteer day. The office is also the home of the International Gay Solidarity banner from the first Mardi Gras.
Diane Minnis
78er and First Mardi Gras Inc. Co-Chair
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I was also able to visit the QUEER exhibition at National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) which closes on 21 August.
QUEER is a very eclectic selection from the NGV Collection of artworks by queer artists and featuring queer figures as well as icons and allies of our community. Works include painting, drawing, photography, decorative arts, fashion, video, sculpture, and design.
Included in the exhibition are works featuring reportedly queer historical figures, both modern and ancient. I found this aspect of the exhibition jarring and it did not hold together for me.
The NGV however state that: QUEER: Stories from the NGV Collection includes approximately 400 artworks from antiquity to the present day, making the exhibition the most historically expansive thematic presentation of its kind ever presented by an Australian art institution.
It was great to see works by 78ers David McDiarmid and Vivienne Binns included and to see the iconic photo of my Radicalesbian sisters (and also 78ers) Jenny Pausacker and Sue Jackson used as the key image for the exhibition.
Diane Minnis
78er and First Mardi Gras Inc. Co-Chair
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When the then recently elected NSW Premier, Neville Wran, tabled the Anti-Discrimination Bill in Parliament in November 1976, homosexuality had been included as a category of protection under the Act. Unfortunately, the Liberal/National Party majority in the upper house had knocked out this provision but had allowed for the newly created Anti-Discrimination Board (ADB) to ‘carry out investigations and research’ into homosexuality. The government was forced to accept the amendments in order to get the remainder of the Act through the Parliament, the first such enactment in Australia.
The Board subsequently hired Denise Thompson to carry out the research, much of it the basis of her 1985 book: Flaws in the Social Fabric: Homosexuals and society in Sydney.
By 1982, a Report and Recommendations had been ready for some time but the ADB wisely held up its presentation while the Parliament, between late 1981 and early 1982, was engaged in the fruitless debates, and failure, on the reform of the NSW Crimes Act in relation to gay male sexual behaviour.
On 5 July 1982, just over forty years ago, the NSW Anti-Discrimination Board launched its ground breaking and much anticipated Report on Discrimination and Homosexuality. It recommended that homosexuality be a protected category in the field of education, the provision of housing, of employment, and in the provision of goods and services, and it called for changes to the Crimes Act to decriminalise gay male sexual behaviour.
Wran, in presenting the Report to the Labor caucus, left no doubt that the Recommendations had his full support, and that he wanted to implement all of them. It, at last, was a positive sign from Wran, especially after the failure of the various homosexual law reform Bills, of which Wran really could’ve been more forceful in support, despite the flaws in the Egan and Unsworth Bills.
He took this stance despite the objections of some of the Catholic members of the caucus, and of Gerry Gleeson the powerful, devoutly Catholic, head of the Premier’s Department. Gleeson’s stymying role throughout the whole homosexual law reform campaign has yet to be fully disclosed. Wran is said often to respond to Gleeson and caucus members with the tart reply: “Oh yes, and what does the Cardinal say?”.
A public community meeting at the old Sydney Gay Centre on 27 July, called for the full implementation of the ADB Report Recommendations. So, for the next four months, through letters, lobbying and demonstrations, the major push, by Gay Rights Lobby (GRL), Gay Solidarity Group (GSG) and of the other 20 or so community groups that made up the Homosexual Law Reform Coalition (HLRC), was for the inclusion of Homosexuality as a category of protection within the NSW Anti-Discrimination Act. For the moment, lobbying for reform of the NSW Crimes Act was relegated to second place.
The sheer physical bulk of the Report (at 652 pages!) was an advantage. It appeared ‘authoritative’; you could slam it down on a parliamentarian’s desk (gently!) knowing full well that the sheer size of it meant that few Parliamentarians had actually read it in full. Most had read only the Executive Summary.
But, the question still remained, would the Labor caucus agree to Wran’s wishes to introduce a Bill, and, if so, how would the Opposition vote?
Robert French
78er and First Mardi Gras Inc. Member
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The situation with monkeypox in NSW is changing rapidly. Many of the cases are in men who have sex with men and have been acquired overseas, but some cases in NSW are likely to have been acquired in Australia.
Monkeypox spreads through close skin-to-skin physical contact with someone who has symptoms, such as when you are having sex, or by direct contact with contaminated objects, such as bedding, towels or clothes. Symptoms include:
- rashes, lesions or sores, particularly in areas that are hard to see such as the genitals, anus or anal area or on the face, arms and legs
- ulcers, lesions or sores in the mouth
- fever, headache, muscle aches, backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills and/or exhaustion.
If you have symptoms, self-isolate and seek medical attention immediately. Call your GP, local sexual health clinic or the NSW Sexual Health Infolink on 1800 451 624. NSW Health Monkeypox Fact Sheet.
NSW Health
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78ers Robert Farlow, Christine Devine and their partners have lost everything in the floods. They and other LGBTIQ community members need our support in this extremely challenging time for them.
Tropical Fruits Floods Fundraiser
Tropical Fruits are our queer family in the Northern Rivers. We have all seen the terrible impact of the floods.
If you want to know more about them and what they do, go to: https://tropicalfruits.org.au/.
If you are able to support their fundraiser campaign, go to Tropical Fruits Flood Fundraiser. |
78er Barbara Karpinski was ejected by NSW Police from the stands of the SCG during the Mardi Gras Parade – apparently because she was displaying a hand-drawn pro-Ukrainian sign as a protest.
Support Displaced LGBTIQ Ukrainians
The Organization for Refuge, Asylum and Migration needs your help to:
- Ensure LGBTIQ Ukrainians can access safe longer-term housing options
- Support partner organisations in neighbouring countries to deliver services to displaced LGBTIQ people. Donate to LGBTIQ refugees (oramrefugee.org)
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78er badges are $5 each and postage is $3.09 (total $8.09). Postage is still $3.09 for up to five badges. To order badges, email your name, postal address and the number of badges required to info@78ers.org.au. Then make your payment by funds transfer. Use your name as the deposit reference. You can also post a cheque.
CAMP badges are $3.50 each plus $3.00 packaging and postage. To order, contact Robyn Kennedy at rk.am@bigpond.com. Please include your name, address and number of badges requested. Banking details for direct deposit will be provided.
Rebbell Barnes and Bill Ashton
78ers and First Mardi Gras Inc. Committee Members
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Calendar of Events
- Sydney Buries Its Past Exhibition – 14 July to 20 August, Tuesday to Friday 11am-5pm, Saturday 12- 5 pm, Tin Sheds Gallery 148 City Rd Darlington
- First Mardi Gras Inc. Social Lunch – 12pm, Sunday 4 September (first Sunday of each month) Terminus Hotel, 61 Harris Street Pyrmont, RSVP: info@78ers.org.au
- Broken Heel Festival, Broken Hill – 8 to 12 September 2022 https://www.bhfestival.com/home
- First Mardi Gras Inc. General Meeting – 4pm, Saturday 10 September 2022, by Zoom
- Coastal Twist Arts and Cultural Festival – 27 September to 3 October 2022 https://coastaltwist.org.au/whats-on/events/
- Newcastle and Hunter Pride Festival – has been rescheduled to 7 October to 6 November 2022, see website for details Newcastle Pride Festival - Newcastle, NSW | HUNTERhunter
- ACON Parramatta Pride Picnic – 10:30am-7pm, Saturday 22 October 2022, River Foreshore Reserve Parramatta Pride Picnic | Facebook
- Rainbow on the Plains Festival, Hay – 25-27 November 2022 http://www.haymardigras.com.au/
- Sapphire Coast Pride, Bega Valley www.Facebook.com/groups/sapphirecoastpride.
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