Australian Queer Archives

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Australian Queer Archives

Collecting, preserving and celebrating lesbian, gay, trans, bisexual, intersex, Sistergirl and Brotherboy history.

30/05/2026

28 years ago (30 May 1998), Le***an & Gay Pride WA presented Xes IV Lust in Space party, with 1700 turning out. The party featured DJs Scout, Curlee and Kinky, a midnight show choreographed by Corey Zerna, and a 2am show by D-Flux and choreographer Chris Rickson - were you there?

These images come from Westside Observer, which is digitised from the AQuAs holdings, and accessible online via the Gale Archives of Sexuality and Gender database, in our 'Australian LGBTQ Periodicals' collection - available freely onsite at AQuA and online with a library card login from many Australian research libraries.

Support the collection, preservation and celebration of Australia's le***an, gay, trans, bisexual, intersex, sistergirl and brotherboy history, become a member: http://bit.ly/AQuAmember; and donate (tax deductible): http://bit.ly/AQuAdonor.

24/05/2026

Out of the Archives - National Volunteers Week

Happy National Volunteer Week 2026, thank you to all our amazing volunteers, including our wonderful Volunteer Supervisors, Working Groups, and Committee!

AQuA has been a volunteer-run community-based organisation since our formation in 1978. It is only through the thousands of hours that our volunteers put in - collecting, preserving, and celebrating our very q***r histories - that ensures that future generations are connected to our past.

Support the collection, preservation and celebration of Australia's le***an, gay, trans, bisexual, intersex, sistergirl and brotherboy history, become a member: http://bit.ly/AQuAmember; and donate (tax deductible): http://bit.ly/AQuAdonor.

21/05/2026

Happy International Tea Day!

From tea towels to tea dances, tea poetry to tea breaks, the Australian Q***r Archives is synonymous with tea! Thank you for bringing us together ☕xo

Support the collection, preservation and celebration of Australia's le***an, gay, trans, bisexual, intersex, sistergirl and brotherboy history, become a member: http://bit.ly/AQuAmember; and donate (tax deductible): http://bit.ly/AQuAdonor.

Images: AQuA volunteers and researchers on a tea break, 2019; Wendy Moulstone, Milk and Tea, Cargo, no. 13, June 1992, p. 8; Midnight Shift [advertisement], Oxford Weekender News, 16th Sept to 29th Sept [1982], p.5; Oxford Street, Sydney, Australia, c.1984, designed by Mark Matheson, produced by King Koala Designs, Papers of Richard Turner, AQuA

13/05/2026

Out of the Archives - Researchers

It was a pleasure to receive a visit from RMIT University printmaking student Amelia Rutherford recently, who was researching Melbourne and Sydney le***an history for a new work. Amelia's research included periodicals like Wicked Women and Le***an Network, photographs by Cayte Latta and Angela Bailey, and much more! We're looking forward to seeing the finished works!

Support the collection, preservation and celebration of Australia's le***an, gay, trans, bisexual, intersex, sistergirl and brotherboy history, become a member: http://bit.ly/AQuAmember; and donate (tax deductible): http://bit.ly/AQuAdonor.

12/05/2026

Happy 86th birthday Joan Nestle!

Happy birthday to AQuA Patron and legendary femme writer, activist, and archivist Joan Nestle. Have a wonderful day from all of us at AQuA, thank you for your words, and your many archival and activist legacies! xo.

"To live without history is to live like an infant, constantly amazed and challenged by a strange and unnamed world. There is a deep wonder in this kind of existence, a vitality of curiosity and a sense of adventure that we do well to keep alive all of our lives. But a people who are struggling against a world that has decreed them obscene need a stronger bedrock beneath their feet." -- Joan Nestle, in A Restricted Country (1987)

11/05/2026

Recent acquisitions - Corrie Ancone's new Mardi Gras Book!

It was a great pleasure to recently receive a copy of the 2 volume set of Corrie Ancone's stunning new book 'With grace, glitz & glam : Mardi Gras Parade photographs', Pt 1 (1989-2000) and Pt 2 (2001-2019)!

These volumes include some exceptional coverage of the Sydney Gay and Le***an Mardi Gras Parade over three decades. Copies are now available from Hares Hyenas as well as through the photographer/publisher website: www.belleartpicturebooks.bigcartel.com

10/05/2026

54 years ago:

04/05/2026

Out of the Archives - Recent acquisition

It was a pleasure to receive a copy of Alistair Sutton's 'Back to the beach' (2026) recently from the author, a prequel to his previous novel 'The day before you came' (2020).

Description: "Back to the Beach is a nostalgic account of one boy's journey growing up gay in the 1970s. The novel's protagonist, Tim Summers, faces daily torments from school bullies while trying to find his place in the world, easier said than done when you're only ten years old. Tim's mother, Olivia, feels stifled by her environment and yearns to be recognised as artist. Her dreams threaten to tear the family apart, but what price can you put on aspirations? Tim's father, Wayne, finds himself increasingly at odds with his family in a rapidly changing world.

This story is juxtaposed with Tim’s arrival in Sydney in 1981. Now 20, he must learn to navigate the city’s vibrant gay scene, as he dives headlong into everything this big, bad city has to offer. Tim believes he has escaped his past, but life is never that simple. Tim’s adventures offer a compelling snapshot of Sydney’s early 80s gay scene with its bars, saunas and nightclubs, before AIDS changed everything."

Copies are available from Amazon (https://www.amazon.com.au/gp/aw/d/1923512900/) and will be available from Hares Hyenas soon. Copies of the sequel, are also available from Amazon (https://www.amazon.com.au/day-before-you-came/dp/1715233158).

02/05/2026

Open day today!

Come on down to the Archives, open 12-4pm, on the mezzanine at the Victorian Pride Centre, with Gay Stuff Markets and Hares Hyenas!

Address

Victorian Pride Centre, 79-81 Fitzroy Street
Melbourne, VIC
3182

Website

http://queerarchives.org.au/

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