Forty-five years after the first Mardi Gras in Sydney, a group of 78ers will march for the first time in Melbourne's Midsumma Pride march this weekend to renew the bond between activists in the two cities.
Hundreds gathered on the historic Oxford Street over the weekend to protest the rise in anti-LGBT rhetoric, and reclaim queer safe-spaces across the street. On Saturday night, activist groups Pride in Protest, National Union of Students and USYD Queer Action Collective organised the march.
'A 78er, Betty Hounslow was actively involved in the protests after the 1978 March, and played a significant role in the organisation of the 1981 Mardi Gras Parade,' said First Mardi Gras Inc.