35 Years of Brisbane Pride

Guest blogger: Chris Vernon, Brisbane Pride.

This year marks 35 years since the first Brisbane Pride Rally, March and Fair. A cornerstone of the LGBTIQA+ calendar in Magandjin / Brisbane, the annual Brisbane Pride Rally, March and Fair Day continue as an annual celebration of LGBTIQA+ identities, communities and cultures, while remaining connected with Pride’s protest origins.

Prior to the first pride programming by the group now known as Brisbane Pride Inc in 1990, occasional “Pride Week” programs in Brisbane had marked the anniversary of New York’s 1969 Stonewall uprising, an event that came to symbolise LGBTIQA+ rights movements globally. In mid-1973, one of Brisbane’s earliest gay rights demonstrations was held by Campus Camp, commemorating Stonewall in King George Square (Moore, 2001).  A 1981 “Gay Pride Week” organised by the Gay Activist Alliance culminated in a “Stonewall Dance”,  and Pride Week 1985 offered “lots of activities, including Blue Jeans Day, when everyone who supports gay rights, whether they are gay or not, wear blue jeans… a gay youth forum, followed by a dance… picnics and bar-b-ques throughout the week” (Radio Times, in Anderson, 2024).  These early Pride commemorations were important acts of defiance at a time before homosexual decriminalisation.

Established in 1990 as the Lesbian and Gay Pride Collective, Brisbane Pride Inc’s earliest activities took place as Queensland was emerging from decades of a State Government increasingly hostile to queer communities. The election of the Goss Government in December 1989 had brought new hope that Queensland would join most other State and Territory jurisdictions and decriminalise homosexual acts between consenting male adults. It was against this backdrop that the first Pride events were organised by the organisation now known as Brisbane Pride Inc. 

The 1990 Lesbian and Gay Pride Week included a rally, march, fair, art exhibition, ecumenical church service, dance party, sold-out film festival film festival, and 24 hours of gay and lesbian programming on 4ZZZ,  (Cheverton, 1990). The Rally was held at the Roma Street Forum (now known as Emma Miller Place) attracting extensive media attention, some attendees opposing homosexual decriminalisation, and a reported 500-plus rally participants who joined the Pride March to Musgrave Park for an Afternoon Fair (Cheverton, 1990).

Since 1991, an expanded Brisbane Pride Festival has featured an array of community, social, cultural and sports events culminating in the now traditional Rally, March and Fair Day. Brisbane Pride Inc also hosts the annual Queens’ Ball, understood to be the longest running LGBTIQA+ community event in the world, and offers grant programs supporting LGBTIQA+ community groups.

Despite 35 years of advances in LGBTIQA+ rights, Brisbane Pride Inc retains a deep connection with its protest origins and the diverse communities that make up queer Queensland, with an estimated annual attendance to the Rally, March and Fair Day of around 5,000.

The 35th Anniversary Brisbane Pride Rally, March and Fair Day will take place on 20 September 2025. Brisbane Pride Inc wants to work with LGBTIQA+ community members and organisations, and collecting institutions to preserve our stories, histories, and artefacts. If you share our passion for Brisbane’s queer histories, please email hello@brisbanepride.org.au. To learn more about Brisbane Pride, visit www.brisbanepride.org.au.

Chris Vernon (he/him) is a Brisbane Pride Inc. Board Member.

Learn more about the LGBTIQA+ collections held by State Library.

Read about Queensland's LGBTIQA+ history in blogs by our Rainbow Research Fellows.

References

1. Anderson, H. (2024, 30 September). Celebrating Dykes on Mykes (4ZZZ) on International Lesbian Day. John Oxley Library blog. https://www.slq.qld.gov.au/blog/celebrating-dykes-mykes-4zzz-international-lesbian-day
2. Cheverton, J. (1990, August). Lesbian and Gay Pride. Planet, 21. https://digitalcollections.qut.edu.au/7932/6/PLANET%201990%20Vol%2010%20%285%29.pdf
3. Moore, C. (2001). Sunshine and Rainbows : The Development of Gay and Lesbian Culture in Queensland. University of Queensland Press. https://onesearch.slq.qld.gov.au/permalink/61SLQ_INST/tqqf2h/alma995016534702061