Brody's Notes... Sydney Gay And Lesbian Mardi Gras

10am Saturday 24 June 1978, Sydney, Australia
Day of International Gay Solidarity
Photograph By Sally Colechin

By Brody Levesque | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia -- Today marks the 33rd anniversary of the inception of the Sydney Gay And Lesbian Mardi Gras, the seminal Pride parade and festival for the LGBT community held annually in Sydney, Australia, which now draws hundreds of thousands of LGBTQ visitors and their allies from everywhere "downunder" as well as globally.

One of the largest LGBTQ Pride related festivals in the world, the Sydney Mardi Gras includes a variety of events such as its world-renowned parade and afterwards party, the Bondi Beach Drag Races, Harbour Party, the academic and discussion panel Queer Thinking, as well as Mardi Gras Fair Day, which saw more than 100,000 people converge on Victoria Park, in Sydney during the 2011 festival. Official government and organiser's estimates for 2011 indicate that up to 300,000 spectators from Australia and overseas turned out for the celebrations.

Hundreds of thousands of Australians and international guests come out in support of the Mardi Gras Parade, with many lining up for a viewing spot from early in the afternoon. By the 7.45pm Parade kick-off, crowds are usually ten-people deep. Though it has rained on several Mardi Gras parades (notably with heavy downpours prior to, and drizzle during, the parade in 1995, and heavy rainfall during the parade in 2004), this has never stopped the parade.

The festival's live entertainment including cabarets, comedy, music and theatre. The Mardi Gras Film Festival showcases gay and lesbian films. There are many literature and arts events, forum and conferences to attend between the many social activities. Individual and team sports have always been a part of the festival.

Mardi Gras has become one of Australia's biggest tourist draws, generating an annual income of about $30 million for the state of New South Wales. Political support for Mardi Gras has come from a number of local and federal politicians in Australia over the years.

The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras is regarded internationally as one of the world's biggest and best LGBT marches and festivals, and has been described as an "absolute once-in-a-lifetime must for every travelling gay man."

The celebrations emerged during the early 1980s after arrests were made during pro-gay rights protests that began during the first celebration on June 24th,1978. The Parade maintains this political edge, with many floats marching in support of LGBT rights. Marriage equality was a dominant theme in the 2011 Mardi Gras Parade, with at least 15 floats lobbying for same-sex marriage.

Jim Burroway, the Editor-In-Chief of the LGBTQ News & Activist site, Box Turtle Bulletin, notes:

This was supposed to be Sydney’s first Gay Pride Parade, known locally as Mardi Gras, and was planned as a night-time celebration after a morning march and commemoration of the Stonewall riots. (You can see film of the morning march taken with a super-8 camera below.) While homosexuality was still against the law in New South Wales, organizers had obtained all the necessary permits for the celebration beforehand. The evening celebration began simply, with a small crowd walking down Oxford Street on a chilly Australian winter day. The idea was to encourage people to come out from the bars and join the fun. But the crowd aroused suspicions of the police, which had gathered around the group.

By the time the small crowd, estimated at between five hundred and a thousand, reached the end of the street, the police confiscated the sound system, removed their identification badges and turned on the crowd. One participant recalled, “There was, you know, pretty serious bashing and kicking and all sort of things going on. It was a real riot.” Fifty-three marchers were arrested. One marcher recalled that while in police custody, he was beaten so badly he began to convulse on the floor.

“They took me along a long corridor in the police station through a U-shaped route into a room and then just beat the hell out of me. There were two police officers who did that – one in particular – bashing me with their fists in the head and saying ‘you’re not so smart now are you’.” Mr Murphy said he was beaten solidly until a blow to the solar plexus floored him. He was thrown into a solitary cell where he could hear protesters gathered outside chanting his name. “They tried to break my leg but fortunately the bones didn’t snap,” he said. “I was (literally) pissing my pants.”

Although most of the charges were dropped, the Sydney Morning Herald published the full names of everyone who was arrested, outing many to their family, friends and employers. Many lost their jobs. More than thirty years later, many of those surviving original marchers are still waiting for an official police apology.

RELATED: Sydney Saturday 24 June 1978. March held 12 hours before the first Sydney Gay Mardi Gras. Filmed on Super 8 by me, Stuart Round: