The History of the Sydney Mardi Gras
Out of the bars and into the streets!
Author: Victoria Adams, Age 20
Content warning: talk of homophobia and bigotry
As a young queer person I believe becoming aware of and understanding queer history to be incredibly important. And as someone who only came to understand and be proud of their queer identity in my late teens it was not until 2020 that I properly researched the history of the first Mardi Gras in Sydney, Australia.
As the 2022 Mardi Gras season is quickly approaching I thought that I would write an article to remind myself and others of the incredible, complex and painful history of the event and pay my respect and gratitude to the 78ers*.
The First Mardi Gras
A freshly formed group named the ‘Gay Solidarity Group’ had begun to rally together and organise the first ever Sydney street protest. It all came together on the 24th of June in 1978. This was within the context of a time where homosexuality was illegal in NSW, and it was not decriminalised until 1984. Their primary goals were to protest for the decriminalisation of homosexuality and raise awareness of the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots (28th June-3rd of July 1969) which occurred in New York City.
At around 10pm that evening hundreds of LGBTQ+ people and their supporters gathered at the iconic location of Taylor Square and began to move down Oxford Street towards the CBD chanting “Out of the bars and into the streets!”. When arriving in Hyde Park police arrested the driver of the float car and confiscated the vehicle. The group diverted up towards Kings Cross where police met them with violence arresting 53 people.
Source: Australian Lesbian and Gay Archives
The night after many of the 78ers held a protest at the Central and Darlinghurst police stations on the 25th of June and on the 26th a third protest occurred at the Central Court in Sydney where a further 7 people were arrested. On the 15th of July a large protest for gay rights was held resulting in a further 14 arrests. The 4th National Homosexual Conference hosted a march from Taylor Square to Hyde park which saw another 104 arrests.
The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper posted the details of those arrested, including their full names, address and where these individuals worked. This outed many people causing some to lose their jobs.
On the 20th year anniversary of the first Mardi Gras a group of people helped commemorate the 78ers and they have led the parade since 1998. The 78ers are the reason we have Mardi Gras.
Image source: https://www.sbs.com.au/topics/pride/mardigras/article/2018/02/14/never-forget-78ers-and-origins-mardi-gras
Subsequent Mardi Gras
On the 20th of June 1979 the second Mardi Gras went ahead. The organisers had planned for their protest to be met by police violence but despite thousands of people being in attendance no arrests were made. The third Mardi Gras in 1980 was named the “Outrageous Gay Mardi Gras” and the parade route was altered to start in the CBD, make its way down Oxford street and finish at Paddington Town Hall.
You are probably wondering why we now celebrate Mardi Gras in summertime, well in 1981 Mardi Gras decided to move the Parade to summer due to the cold weather in years past. This year's crowd was substantially larger with an estimated 5000 in attendance.
In 1982 Mardi Gras went ahead in challenge of the NSW governments defeated Labor bill which made an effort at decriminalising homosexuality. However, this year also marked the amendment to the Australian Anti-Discrimination act now making it illegal to discriminate again gay and lesbian people. 1983 marked the first year where the council placed decorations for Mardi Gras along Oxford street. 1984 marked the year where homosexuality was decriminalised in NSW and the excitement for the 1985 Mardi Gras showed this change in full force.
I hope the above has given you a brief overview of the events of the Sydney Mardi Gras and the importance of holding the parade on Oxford Street.
When you see the 78ers leading the parade make sure to reflect on the massive sacrifices and courage these people had which have allowed us to dress up in glitter today.
Linked below is the link to the 78ers website where you can view the list of those who were present at the First Mardi Gras:
* “78ers are the participants in the first Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras held on 24 June 1978 and subsequent events.” (https://www.78ers.org.au/)