Inclusion in the National Heritage List of Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade Route

(a)

the place has outstanding heritage value to the nation because of the place’s importance in the course, or pattern, of Australia’s natural or cultural history

The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade Route has outstanding heritage value to the nation through its association with the 1978 Mardi Gras Parade and resulting police response. This event brought the inequality and brutality suffered by queer Australians to the forefront of society’s attention. The Parade Route also has outstanding value to the nation as the location of an ongoing annual LGBTQIA+ event.

The first Mardi Gras Parade marked a turning point in the fight for rights for LGBTQIA+ Australians. The events of 24 June 1978, including the parade down Oxford Street and the violent police response to the parade, shocked Australians and resulted in public outcry and solidarity among the broader public. The first Mardi Gras Parade influenced political and social change across Australia and ultimately led to the creation of an annual event rooted in activism, solidarity, and celebration. It represented a key point in Australia’s civil rights history and left a legacy that had a national influence resulting in an upsurge in LGBTQIA+ political action. The Darlinghurst Police Station has a strong association with the first event as the location where the arrested protestors were held, and demonstrations ensued resulting in the ‘drop the charges’ campaign that followed.

Today the Mardi Gras Parade Route is well established as a space for LGBTQIA+ communities to come together and celebrate identity and culture; and strengthens an existing activist movement for LGBTQIA+ rights. The Parade is associated with LGBTQIA+ political activism including the fight for rights, legislative reform, same-sex marriage and education of safe-sex practices during the HIV/AIDS crisis. The impact of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade in Australia is further evidenced by the creation of similar events inspired by Mardi Gras including parades in other capital cities and regional areas.

Attributes expressing this value include: the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade Route including the former Darlinghurst Police Station, Taylor Square and parts of Oxford Street, William Street, Darlinghurst Road, Fitzroy Gardens, Flinders Street and Anzac Parade, the physical and visual setting of the Parade Route itself, and the annual association of the event with this area.

(g)

the place has outstanding heritage value to the nation because of the place’s strong or special association with a particular community or cultural group for social, cultural or spiritual reasons 

The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade Route has outstanding value to the nation for its connection with Australian LGBTQIA+ communities as a place of celebration of queer culture. The annual Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade is the most public and well-known queer event in Australia and is a regular feature in Australia’s cultural calendar. The Parade is renowned for its creative costuming, float design and performance.

LGBTQIA+ communities have a clear and enduring connection to the place, from its emergence as a place of resistance after the 1978 Mardi Gras, through the HIV/AIDS crisis and the same-sex marriage movement, it has provided an avenue for the community to come together. Since being televised from 1995, the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade has been a part of the broader Australian cultural calendar and is attended and watched by LGBTQIA+ people as well as Australians and visitors to Australia outside of the queer community. Within the LGBTQIA+ community, several diverse community groups have an enduring connection to the Parade Route including Dykes on Bikes, ACON, and First Nations groups.

The Mardi Gras has been well documented since the first parade in 1978 through writings, photographs, documentaries and film. Several cultural institutions hold collections related to the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade, including the Powerhouse Museum, the State Library of NSW, the National Library of Australia, the National Film and Sound Archive, the National Museum of Australia and the Australian War Memorial, including costumes  — notably those designed by recognised costume designer and former artistic director of the Mardi Gras, Peter Tully —  jewellery, trophies, and memorabilia. 

Despite changes to the parade route over the years, the setting of Taylor Square and Oxford Street, with a concentration of queer venues, has an enduring association with the event through both the first 1978 Mardi Gras Parade, and those held in subsequent years. The LGBTQIA+ connection to the Parade Route is visible year-round through pride flags and visual ephemera which signify the presence of LGBTQIA+ communities and their connection with the place, the Parade and the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras festival. The route has transformed from a place with a history of persecution to a place of pride and is a rite of passage for many in the LGBTQIA+ community. The parade has increasingly become more diverse and for many in the community, participation in the annual Mardi Gras Parade holds emotional and cultural importance. For the LGBTQIA+ community, the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade Route is a place of political action, mourning, belonging, visibility, affirmation and celebration.

Attributes expressing this value include: the LGBTQIA+ communities’ connection with the Parade Route through the annual occurrence of the parade and the visibility of the community within the Parade Route including pride flags and murals.

(h)

the place has outstanding heritage value to the nation because of the place’s special association with the life or works of a person, or group of persons, of importance in Australia’s natural or cultural history 

The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade Route has outstanding value to the nation for its association with the 78ers. The 78ers are the group of people who attended the 1978 events surrounding the first Mardi Gras Parade on 24 June 1978; as well as the subsequent protests including the protest at Darlinghurst Police Station on 25 June 1978; the protest at Central Court Sydney on 26 June 1978; the march from Martin Place to Darlinghurst Police Station on 15 July 1978; and the March to Taylor Square and Hyde Park on 27 August 1978.

The 78ers are significant for their involvement in the first Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade which had nation-wide impacts, as well as for their enduring connection with the parade in subsequent years. The 78ers include the 53 people who were arrested at the first Mardi Gras Parade and had their names published in the Sydney Morning Herald, outing people and resulting in loss of jobs, expulsion from housing, personal impacts and discrimination. Their treatment highlighted to the Australian public, the injustice experienced by LGBTQIA+ people in Australia. The experience of the 78ers at the first Mardi Gras galvanised their lifelong commitment to advocacy. The 78ers risked their livelihood for the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade to become the cultural event it is today. The annual parade is inseparable from the legacy of the 78ers.

Attributes expressing this value include: the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade Route including the former Darlinghurst Police Station, Taylor Square and parts of Oxford Street, William Street, Darlinghurst Road, Fitzroy Gardens, Flinders Street and Anzac Parade.