In this October edition of the First Mardi Gras Inc. Newsletter, we have:
- Information on First Mardi Gras Inc. 78ers 45th Anniversary Cocktail Party – 6.30pm, Thursday 23 February 2023
- Ken Davis and Diane Minnis on the First Mardi Gras Inc. AGM and Annual Report
- Karl Zlotkowski on 2023 – Back onto the Streets!
- Rebbell Barnes on Next Social Lunch – 12pm, Sunday 6 November 2022
- Bill Ashton on Christmas at Kinselas – 3pm, Sunday 11 December 2022
- Sue Fletcher on Coastal Twist Festival
- Diane Minnis on Formation of Oceania Pride Organisers Inc.
- Robyn Kennedy and Robyn Plaister on the Launch of CAMP: Australia’s Pioneer Homosexual Rights Activists
- Information on the Antenna Documentary Film Festival
- Rebbell Barnes and Bill Ashton on How to get your 78ers and CAMP badges
- Calendar of Events.
The next Social Lunch is at 12pm, Sunday 6 November, Terminus Hotel, 61 Harris Street Pyrmont, RSVP: info@78ers.org.au and the next First Mardi Gras Inc. General Meeting is at 4pm, Sunday 27 November 2022, by Zoom.
Diane Minnis
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An enthusiastic group of members attended the First Mardi Gras Inc. Annual General Meeting, held by Zoom on Saturday 15 October 2022. It was great to have a number of members from outside Sydney taking part again this year.
The following Management Committee members were elected at the AGM:
- Co-Chairs: Diane Minnis and Ken Davis
- Secretary: Karl Zlotkowski,
- Treasurer: Richard Thode
- Committee Members: Robyn Kennedy, Rebbell Barnes, Sue Fletcher and David Abello.
Thank you to outgoing Committee members Maree Marsh and Bill Ashton for their contributions. And welcome to new members Sue Fletcher and David Abello.
Diane Minnis and Ken Davis
78ers and First Mardi Gras Inc. Co-Chairs
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In the Co-Chairs report, we noted that our social activities were still constrained by Covid through the first half of the financial year.
78ers were able to be a real presence at the 45th Mardi Gras parade, held again in the Sydney Cricket Ground. We held two Salon78 Forums this year on Zoom:
- Gay Lib Comes Out 1972!
- Celebrating Rainbow History.
We rallied and campaigned against anti-LGBTIQ Bills at a number of in-person and online events. 78ers also took part in the human Progress Flag to launch Sydney WorldPride 2023. Thanks to the photographers who allowed us to use their work. Download the 2022 Annual Report.
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Next year’s parade will be back on Oxford Street, and it promises to the biggest celebration for many years. Next year is our 45th anniversary, and we intend to pull out all the stops.
The SGLMG 78ers Committee continues to fine-tune arrangements with the Mardi Gras Parade team, always with the aim of ensuring the unique needs of 78ers are met, particularly in terms of accessibility. Next year we hope to see many 78ers who haven’t marched with us for some years, and we intend to make things as easy as we can.
Our group will start from Liverpool Street, as we did in 2020. Access arrangements for the marshalling area will be similar to those at the SCG in 2021 and 2022 – we will be ticketed, and there will be priority entry. A dedicated accessible drop-off point will be located on Park Street, with level access across the park to our assembly point on Whitlam Square.
The Dykes on Bikes will lead off at 7:15 and we will follow the First Nations group, carrying a new 45th Anniversary banner. The bus will be back for those who want to ride, and those of us on foot will have a forest of placards and flags to wave. Most of our old favourite signs will come out of storage and new signs will continue the theme of 50 Years of Visibility - this year celebrating events in 1973.
For added bling, Mardi Gras has agreed to supply us all with sequined hats in a fetching shade of Mardi Gras Pink to match our t-shirts. And there will be a blast of popular music from 1973 when we reach Taylor Square – some of you may want to dance. Suzie Quatro has been mentioned…
An email will go out in early December inviting 78ers to register for the parade and (for those still interested in such things) to apply for Party tickets from our allocation, which will be balloted in January.
And there’s more: the 78ers will also be crossing the Harbour Bridge as a group behind our 45th Anniversary banner as part of the WorldPride 2023 celebrations. And we will be hosting our own cocktail party on 23 February, at which we will launch our new booklet of reminiscences: Voices from 1978. Watch this newsletter for details.
Karl Zlotkowski
78er and First Mardi Gras Inc. Committee Secretary
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Even with some of our regulars away, a dozen 78ers and partners had a great catch-up at our Social Lunch on Sunday 2 October at Pyrmont’s Terminus Hotel (61 Harris Street). We now meet in a private and airy room, off the courtyard.
Our last Social Lunch for 2022 will be on Sunday 6 November, from 12pm. On 11 December we will have Christmas at Kinselas and our first Social Lunch in 2023 will be on Sunday 5 February. Please RSVP through info@78ers.org.au.
Rebbell Barnes
78er and First Mardi Gras Inc. Committee Member
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We were so impressed with the support we got from Kinselas for our Mardi Gras 44th Anniversary Drinks that we are going back for a Christmas event on Sunday 11 December.
This time we will gather from 3pm on the ground floor and wheelchair accessible art deco Chapel Bar. Kinselas is at 383 Bourke St Darlinghurst, right on Taylor Square and close to bus stops.
Kinselas will again play background music from the 1970s and 80s for our event. Canapes will be served mid-afternoon, and you can buy drinks at reasonable prices. You can also buy tickets in a raffle that will be drawn on the day and we now have a payment square to make this easier.
Let us know if you can attend Christmas at Kinselas, from 3pm on Sunday 11 December 2022 by emailing info@78ers.org.au.
Bill Ashton
78er and First Mardi Gras Inc. Member
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On hold for two years and billed as a celebration of difference, diversity and dazzle, Coastal Twist LGBTIQA arts and culture festival delivered a week-long Festival on the Central Coast, NSW.
Seven days and nights, from 27 September to 3 October of queer activities in Umina Beach, Woy Woy and Ettalong Beach were a delight. Locals and visitors were able to enjoy a festival program that had community and arts at its heart, from beach-volleyball to doggy parades at the Coastal Carnie Day, visual and performing arts and so much more.
This year Coastal Twist Festival highlights included:
- The Love Cabaret
- The Futurismo Surrealist Dance Party
- The Rainbow Youth Teens Dance Party
- Beach Party Picnic: Life’s A Beach
- Coastie Carnie Fair Day.
It was joyful to see the growth in the number of local businesses from Wyong to Terrigal and Woy Woy to Long Jetty, participating through their Be the Change window displays. This innovation increased our queer visibility and gave shop-keepers an opportunity to demonstrate their support for the LGBTIQ community.
On the final day more than 9,000 people attended Coastal Carnie at Umina Beach and we were lucky the rain stayed away! Performers strutted their stuff, vocalists sang loud and proud and visual artists exhibited (I hear there were a few red dots on opening night). Local artisans had markets in the retail space, dancing on the grass, drag story time in the family space was a hit and community groups were highly visible.
I was lucky to catch up with friends and colleagues I hadn’t seen in many years and I hear I wasn’t the only one. Well done Coastal Twist and thanks to all the volunteers and supporters. If you weren’t there, consider Coastal Twist for your calendar next year.
Sue Fletcher
78er and First Mardi Gras Inc. Committee Member
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Oceania Pride is an informal gathering of Pride organisers that has been meeting for two years. Some prides, but not all, are members of InterPride and organisations from Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific have attended meetings.
Oceania Pride meetings have updates on InterPride and presentations by member organisations. This year we had talks by Brisbane Pride, Sydney Queer Irish, on anti-LGBTIQ legislation in Australia and on the InterPride Strategic Plan. We have also had regular updates from Sydney WorldPride on events they are planning for WorldPride 2023.
Under InterPride’s new Strategic Plan, Regional Pride Platforms will become the members of InterPride in place of individual organisations in those regions. Given these upcoming changes, financial members of InterPride in the region met in June to start the process of incorporating as a Pride Organisers Platform.
A Constitution Working Group was formed, and Oceania Pride Organisers Inc. was registered on 26 September 2022. We will shortly be having a meeting of financial members of InterPride to start the process of inviting Pride organisers from Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific to join the new Regional Pride Platform – Oceania Pride Organisers Inc.
Diane Minnis
78er and First Mardi Gras Inc. Co-Chair
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The events of the first Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade on June 24, 1978, are now recognised as an important milestone in the history of the Pride movement in Australia. But there has been much less focus on the years leading up to 1978.
A new book, CAMP: Australia’s pioneer homosexual rights activists, by 78ers Robyn Kennedy and Robyn Plaister, commemorates the achievements of the first national gay and lesbian rights organisation, known as CAMP (Campaign Against Moral Persecution).
CAMP was founded in 1970 when sex between consenting male adults was illegal throughout Australia, carrying penalties of imprisonment for up to 14 years (with or without whipping). Lesbians were largely invisible, and their existence treated as an aberration and abhorrence.
There was no anti-discrimination legislation, and psychosurgery aimed at ‘curing’ lesbians and gay men, was common practice.
The prevailing attitudes of the time portrayed homosexual women and men as perverts, mentally ill and sinners. Unsurprisingly, prior to 1970, lesbians and gay men were reluctant to publicly come out; until then, there was no community where they could live openly and find support.
CAMP’s Role in Driving Social Change
Following its establishment in Sydney, CAMP flourished, quickly spreading to other states and university campuses. CAMP was a literal lifesaver, with many of those featured in the book acknowledging that without CAMP, they may never have found a way to live comfortably as themselves.
This new book provides an insight into the role of CAMP in driving social change through the lived experiences of individuals who each played a role in achieving the rights we enjoy today. These first-person stories are accompanied by specially commissioned portrait photographs, along with rare archival images.
The book also includes the most comprehensive narrative of each branch of CAMP ever compiled, providing an important historical record of the origins of the Pride movement in Australia.
The Launch of the Book
The launch of the book was held at the Dixson Room in NSW State Library, Sydney on Thursday 29 September. Ninety people including sponsors ACON, Mardi Gras and Sydney World Pride, some of the interviewees, photographers, editor, layout people and friends were represented.
Robyn Kennedy and Robyn Plaister shared the podium to talk about the importance of developing a book like this from a participant’s view rather than an observer’s perspective on history. They also emphasised the importance of telling women’s stories which are often neglected in accounts of our history. This concern about the equal inclusion of women’s stories was reiterated in the talks given by all three sponsors. Interviewees were thanked for their participation especially those that had come from interstate for the launch.
Many books were sold and signed by the authors and the audience had time to catch up with people they hadn’t seen for ages and discuss the early 70’s over wine and sandwiches.
How to order CAMP Australia’s Pioneer Homosexual Rights Activists Book
The book is available in hardback (288 pages) from September 29, 2022, at $49.95 per copy. For orders contact pridepublish@gmail.com.
Robyn Kennedy and Robyn Plaister
78ers and First Mardi Gras Inc. Committee Member and Member
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Documentaries premiering at this year's festival (https://antennafestival.org/) which may be of interest to 78ers include:
- Senses of Cinema (stories of the Sydney Filmmakers Co-op) – 23 October
- Juanita Nielsen Now – 21 October and
5 November
- Nelly & Nadine – 22 October.
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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. You can also post a cheque.
CAMP badges are $3.50 each plus $3.00 packaging and postage. To order, contact Robyn Kennedy. Please include your name, address and number of badges requested.
Rebbell Barnes and Bill Ashton
78ers and First Mardi Gras Inc. Committee Members
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Calendar of Events
- Newcastle and Hunter Pride Festival – 7 October to 6 November 2022, Fair Day Saturday 5 November, Gregson Park, Home - Newcastle Pride
- Antenna Documentary Film Festival – 14-23 October 2022 Home - Antenna Festival
- ACON’s Parramatta Pride Picnic – 10:30am-7pm Saturday 22 October 2022, River Foreshore Reserve, Parramatta, Parramatta Pride Picnic | Facebook
- Tamworth Pride Fair Day – 9am-2pm, Saturday 29 October 2022, Bicentennial Park, entry via Kable Avenue
- Tamworth Pride After Party – 7pm-late, Saturday 29 October 2022, Wests Diggers Club
- Shepparton Out in the Open Festival – 31 October to 13 November 2022 http://outintheopen.org.au/
- First Mardi Gras Inc. Social Lunch – 12pm, Sunday 6 November (first Sunday of each month) Terminus Hotel, 61 Harris Street Pyrmont, RSVP: info@78ers.org.au
- Rainbow on the Plains Festival, Hay – 25-27 November 2022, http://www.haymardigras.com.au/
- SGLMG. Annual General Meeting – 9am, Saturday 26 November 2022, in-person and online
- First Mardi Gras Inc. General Meeting – 4pm, Sunday 27 November 2022, by Zoom
- First Mardi Gras Inc. Christmas at Kinselas – 3pm, Sunday 11 December 2022, RSVP: info@78ers.org.au
- First Mardi Gras Inc. 78ers 45th Anniversary Cocktail Party – 6.30-9.30pm, Thursday 23 February 2023
- Sapphire Coast Pride, Bega Valley, www.Facebook.com/groups/sapphirecoastpride
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