The third Green Left-hosted Feminist and LGBTIQ+ tour on April 22 was a hit.
At the Australian Hall Aboriginal rights activist Amanda Matthews spoke about First Nations’ resistance including the first Invasion Day protest on January 26, 1938, which was called the Day of Mourning. The protest and subsequent conference was addressed by many leaders, including Gambanyi Pearl Gibbs and Wiradjuri and Yorta Yorta activist Margaret Tucker.
The tour visited the Aboriginal Legal Service’s 50-year anniversary exhibition before continuing to Alberta Street, the site of the first Women’s Liberation House, where Frances Hamilton described how important it was for the feminist movement.
At Oxford Street, Isabella Phillips-Bohane, a drag king and activist, spoke about the rich history of centuries of LGBTIQ resistance and gave tribute to the 78ers.
The tour went to Jessie Street’s former office at Challis House in Martin Place and heard from Sherri Hilario, a volunteer at the Jessie Street Women’s Library.
Next stop was the New South Wales Parliament, where Abigail Humphreys spoke about the rise of the movement against rape culture.
Outside the Hyde Park Barracks, Markela Panegyres explained how from 1848, for almost 40 years, 40,000 young women were “housed” to be sold to the rising middle class.
Tracey Carpenter addressed the murder of anti-corruption activist and journalist Juanita Nielson in 1974 and queer rights activist Rachel Evans spoke about the origins of the once unpopular 14-year marriage equality campaign.
[Get in touch if you want to be a part of the next Sydney Feminist Walking Tour, planned for November.]