1989
In October 1989, the Parliament of Western Australia was debating a Bill to decriminalise homosexual acts between consenting males.
On October 22, a rally was held on the steps of Parliament House to protest over laws discriminating against gay men in Western Australia and to persuade Parliament that the Bill should be passed. Over 300 people attended the rally armed with banners and pink mauve balloons to express their anger at unjust and discriminatory laws.
The Bill was finally proclaimed in March of 1990.
1990
July 29, 1990 saw the formation of a new student group called "Stonewall Union of Students of Western Australia". The first initiatives of SUSWA was to contact other groups within the lesbian and gay community with the aim of setting up a WA Pride Collective and organising a "Pride Month" in October.
A meeting held on September 16, brought together 30 members of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transsexual organisations in Perth to form the Pride Collective (WA). Thirty events were organised for the month of October and the first street march to be held in Perth for many years attracted over 200 participants.
The march had almost an equal number of gay men and lesbians and was an indication of the coalitionist approach and make up of the Pride Collective.
1991
June 29, 1991 (the 22nd Anniversary of the Stonewall Inn riots), prompted a march organised by SUSWA. Following the success of the Stonewall Rally, the Pride Collective was motivated and began planning for October Pride Month. October 26, the Parade changed from day to nighttime and thousands watched the 350 gay men and lesbians and supporters who took to the streets. Media attention focused on the more outrageous costumes and it drew a typically prudish reaction from many quarters. The Pride Collective had, up until this point, been a loose affiliation of individual groups, including GALE, SUSWA, PFLAG, GAGS, Metropolitan Community Church, Westside Observor, Laughing Medusa, Grapevine, The Wilde Alliance, Curtin Stonewall Club, WA Aids Council, PLWA, Breakaway and ACT-UP. Following the success of the Parade and the Parties, the Pride Collective discussed the future of the group. The issue of incorporation and what to do with funds raised were entered into during these discussions.
1992
The Pride March of 1992 surpassed all expectations of the Pride Collective; with 1,500 participants, the Parade was almost five times the size of the 1991 Parade. The media response was extremely positive, referring to the Parade as "Perth's Gay Mardi Gras". The financial success of the dance Party and the growing bank balance meant that incorporation was an urgent priority for the Pride Collective in 1993.
1993
In 1993, after a series of meetings in the beginning of the year, a public meeting in May endorsed a constitution for Pride and elected 12 people to the Lesbian and Gay Pride Committee. The Committee was the first gender balanced coalition organisation in the State. It is unique in that the constitution required gender parity for the Committee. This was also a year of tremendous growth for Pride.
A "Fairday" planned as the opening for the Festival attracted over 1,000 people and was a fabulous start to the Pride Festival. The 1993 Parade saw the largest contingent of participants and supporters in Perth history. 3,000 people Paraded the streets to the delight and surprise of the supportive crowd estimated at 40,000 to 60,000. 1,300 lesbian and gay men attended the dance Party after the Parade.
1994
In 1994, the first annual general meeting of Pride was held on February 5 and a new Committee resolved to open up the membership of Pride to all who supported the aims and objectives of Pride. Fairday launched the 1994 Festival with a much larger crowd than the previous year.
The Festival's events concluded with what can only be described as the most dazzling Parade that had been seen in Perth. More than 20 floats registered with 3,000 participants and crowds estimated at 50,000 to 70,000.
1995
1995 saw the development of Pride into a more professional organisation. It also saw the first round of funding grants to be returned to the community for projects. 1,300 people braved the coldest night of the year for the first mid-year XES Party. Fairday was hugely successful this year, with over 5,000 people attending through the day.
1996
Funding rounds for 1996 saw a total of $31,000 returned to the lesbian and gay community in the form of grants for a number of projects ranging from sports events, theatre, exhibitions, conferences, Parade floats, information campaigns and education programs for individuals and groups in the community. This resulted in the annual Parade once again expanding over the previous year in size and spectacle.
1997
Co-Presidents: Anne Held and David Puls.
In a groundbreaking year, 1997 saw Pride face new challenges. Early in the year, a media beat-up led to rumours that the Perth City Council was trying to prevent the Parade from taking its usual course through Northbridge. This was due, in part, to the Northbridge tunnel works; although part of the route was affected, the minor detour was actually a bonus, providing more viewing space for spectators. The XES dance Party was held outside the inner city for the first time in the Embassy Ballroom in Carlisle. Although it was an ideal venue for a Party, the location kept numbers down.
Just as Parade plans were coming along smoothly, opposition from a very vocal minority of Northbridge businesses saw Perth City Council attempt to stop the Parade from starting until 11pm. However, a major backlash from the community, other Northbridge businesses and the general public, along with the support of the WA Police Service, saw the Council change tack and allow what was then the biggest ever Parade in terms of participants and spectators. After an exhaustive search, Pride managed to secure a warehouse in Aberdeen Street, just minutes from where the Parade would finish, for the Heaven dance Party. The 1997 Pride Festival was brought a to spectacular closing in what was widely regarded as the most successful and well-run parties Pride to date.
1998
Co-Presidents: Ruth Wykes and Shaun Temby.
1998 was a turbulent, but visibly successful year for Pride. The mid-year XES dance Party attracted its highest ever audience, with estimates of 1,700 attending on a very cold night at BOO warehouse. Fairday at Perry Lakes attracted a record crowd despite rain forecasts and was a fantastic opening to the Festival month. The 9th annual Parade was as exciting and spectacular as previous years.
The Pride Committee dedicated the Parade to a 21-year-old gay man, Matthew Shepard from Wyoming, USA, who had been brutally bashed and left for dead, passing away within Pride month on October 12. The crowd was estimated at 100,000 by some sources - clearly a sign of the public's acceptance and interest in having a 'mardi-gras' style event annually in the streets of Northbridge.
1999
Co-Presidents: Shaun Temby and Kerry McGuckin.
1999 saw Pride celebrate a 10-year Odyssey for Western Australia's lesbian and gay community. An informal daytime protest march had evolved into a professional month-long Festival of events, ending in what had become Northbridge's most colourful and popular night of the year. For the first time, the Festival received official messages of support from Federal Opposition Leader, Kim Beazley, State Opposition Leader Geoff Gallop, Senator Brian Greig, Giz Watson MLC and Tom Stephens MLC. Prime Minister John Howard, Premier Richard Court and Arts Minister Peter Foss were all invited to submit letters of support. The Prime Minister sent a message saying that, "he regretted not being able to give a message of support on this occasion." Richard Court and Peter Foss did not acknowledge Pride's request.
The year's XES Party was held at Northbridge night-club Red Head's and saw a lower than usual crowd attend Pride's first Friday night dance Party. The end of Festival closing Party, Odyssey, was held in Osborne Park and, despite having to contend with competition from Ministry of Sound, which was held at Belmont Race Course on the same night, the Party was a huge success.
The year was not without controversy, however, with the Committee deciding to move Fairday from Perry Lakes to Hyde Park. While initially opposed by some, the new location proved to be a success, with the new location proving greater accessibility for many within our community. 1999 saw Pride seek funding from the City of Perth. While the initial application for $10,000 in assistance was declined, the Council voted in favour of providing $3,400 in in-kind support for barricading and cleaning. Soon after this decision, the Mayors of Subiaco, Vincent and Fremantle all indicated they would welcome the Pride Parade in their municipalities if the City of Perth did not want it.
While the 1999 Parade went ahead in Northbridge, Pride's Annual General Meeting resolved to hold a Special General Meeting in early 2000 for the membership to decide where the 2000 Parade should be held.
2000
Pride's Co-Presidents in 2000 were Ricky Arnold and Kerry McGuckin.
In January 2000, Subiaco City Council voted 6-5 in favour of making an offer to Pride to hold the 2000 Pride Parade and Festival in Subiaco. In February, Pride again made a formal submission to the City of Perth for sponsorship, with the Council voting 8-1 to provide $13,400 in cash and in kind to the Lesbian and Gay Pride Parade. The sole dissenting voice on Council was Lord Mayor Peter Nattrass, who labelled the Parade "vulgar, crass and in your face".
In April, Pride's Special General Meeting voted overwhelmingly to move the Parade to Subiaco, a decision that was overturned upon an offer by Northbridge businesses to provide $60,000 sponsorship for the Parade. As a result, Pride sought to remain within Northbridge. Building upon his earlier comments on the content of the Pride Parade, Perth Lord Mayor decided to hold a referendum of Perth residents and businesses at a July by-election. The question, "should the City of Perth support the staging of the Pride Parade?" was defeated 55 per cent to 45 per cent, despite strong campaigning by the Lord Mayor.
In August, the Lord Mayor absented himself from chambers as the Perth City Council voted unanimously to provide Pride with $13,400 cash and in-kind sponsorship. The Metamorphosis Festival went ahead, culminating in one of the biggest Pride Parade's ever, which saw an unprecedented level of political content ahead of an upcoming State election in which the opposition Labor Party was promising sweeping gay and lesbian law reforms if elected. Both XES and the end of Festival dance Party were successfully held at the old Kailis Markets in Roe Street Northbridge, one of the few remaining inner city venues capable of holding warehouse dance praties.
2001
The 2001 State election saw the election of the Gallop Labor Government. The election also saw the Conservative Parties lose control of both houses of Parliament for the first time, with the Greens (WA) gaining the balance of power in the Legislative Council. New Attorney General Jim McGinty immediately started work on Labor's promised reforms, inviting a number of former Pride Committee members to assist the Government in the scoping of legislation.
2001 was a difficult year for the Pride Committee, with a high turnover of Committee members proving challenging. XES was again held at the old Kailis Markets in Northbridge, with a large crowd turning out on a cold night. The Pride "True Colours" Festival was held throughout October, culminating in another high quality Parade and end of Festival closing Party, which was also held at the old Kailis Markets, making it the fourth consecutive Pride dance Party held at that venue.
2002
Pride's Co-Presidents in 2002 were Ricky Arnold and Sarah Collins.
2002 saw the passing and proclamation of Australia's most comprehensive lesbian and gay law reforms by the Western Australian Parliament. The year was also one of Pride's finest. The year began with the traditional XES Party, which was moved to a warmer time of year and was renamed seXES (success), becoming the official community celebration of the recently passed law reforms.
Fairday expanded at Hyde Park, with more space, more stalls and a record crowd turning out for a great day. The Festival was christened "Bloom", and our community was asked to "bloom with Pride" at the recent proclamation of the new law reforms. The Festival was widely regarded as the best in Pride's rich history. The Parade had a record number of floats and the end of Festival dance Party saw our first ever live acts, with Jimmy Somerville, Katie Underwood and Disco Montego thrilling a large crowd. 2002 was not without its challenges, however. A rationalisation in the public liability insurance market had resulted in premium hikes of up to 300 per cent for businesses and community organisations alike and Pride found itself with huge insurance bills for both the Parade and end of Festival Party.
The cost of insuring these events had a significant impact on Pride's financial position and called into question the ongoing viability of Fairday, the parade and the warehouse dance parties Pride had traditionally relied on to raise funds. Despite the ongoing popularity of Pride's events, Pride experienced a decline in membership in 2002, reflecting the recent passage of law reforms and a general decline in community group participation throughout Australia.
Pride's end of year Annual General Meeting appointed an interim Committee, consisting of both the outgoing and incoming Pride Committees, to report on Pride's viability at a Special General Meeting of members in early 2003.
2003
Co-Presidents in 2003 were Sue Fisher Hendry & Daniel Smith.
Labour MP Louise Pratt, Member of the Legislative Council, was Pride's patron for 2003, the year that followed extensive law reforms in Western Australia and saw the community questioning the relevance of Pride in a brave new world. The 2003 organising committee attracted the ire of one of Australia's oldest anti-gay lobby groups when it chose 'The Festival of Light' as the theme for 2003.
After starting the year in a precarious financial position and with potentially serious implications looming due to massive increases in the cost of public liability insurance, Pride sought and gained substantial financial sponsorship from the City of Perth. A potentially controversial condition of the sponsorship was the relocation of the popular Fair Day from Hyde Park to the city. The relocation of the annual Fair Day to Russell Square, its fourth home in ten years, saw the largest crowd ever recorded for the event turn out to make the day a huge success.
The Pride arts festival continued to grow and diversify, with a rich blend of film, theatre, music, visual arts and community events, as well as a satellite festival in Fremantle. The modernisation of the Parade included the establishment of a professional float-building programme to improve the quality of entries, attracting $19,000 in Healthway sponsorship. The 2003 committee commissioned a study into the opinions and habits of both the community and those who attended the parade. The study provided a wealth of valuable information concerning attendance at events and the impact of the parade on Northbridge.The massive hike in insurance premiums may have put an end to warehouse parties but Pride held three parties during 2003 which were both critically and financially very successful: The White Party, Xes 2003 at Metro City, Studio 54 at Connections and 'Lightspeed', the end of festival event at The Globe.
A concerted effort to lift female membership of Pride saw the establishment of the monthly women's sundowner, which assisted in increasing women from 25 per cent to 40 per cent of members.
2004
Co-Presidents in 2004 were Sue Fisher Hendry & Daniel Smith.
Pride ushered in a new era in 2004 when it engaged the Centre for Association Management (CASM) to manage accounts, membership and secretarial services and thus freed up organising committee members to focus on fulfilling the aims and objectives of the organisation and managing its events. Pride was honoured to claim Dr Christopher Kendall, Dean of Law at Murdoch University, as its patron for 2004.
The theme of the festival was "Love the sKIN you're in", which focused on important issues like self-respect and community development, as well as providing much inspiration to costumers, designers, float builders and performers. 2004 saw Pride undertake a television advertising campaign for the first time, promoting festival events on Channel Ten's Community Service Announcements. Another new initiative for the year was Pride's first-ever interstate marketing campaign, offering VIP Visitor Packs for people travelling from interstate for the festival. The campaign was largely funded by new sponsorship from Eventscorp and Lotterywest. Confusion over the date of the Queen's Birthday holiday in WA created a potential problem when Russell Square was not available for Fair Day the holiday weekend. Fears that the mix-up would reduce attendance proved to be unfounded, however, and a fine warm day saw the largest turnout in the history of the event, which also returned a healthy profit.
The 'sKIN' arts festival once again showcased a diverse array of local and interstate talent, with a mixture of quality professional and promising up-and-coming productions and artists. Pride's Blue Room performance season saw two major productions, each running for a full week season. The Festival Club, located at the Court Hotel, created a showcase for Festival personalities and artists and proved popular enough to be considered for future festivals with an expanded budget.
The 2004 parade enjoyed a reversal of fortune, with a large and enthusiastic crowd of spectators enjoying the first-ever synchronised soundtrack for the event. Radio station Nova 93.7 FM broadcast the mix of contemporary hits and queer anthems which was pumped out of speaker systems along the parade route and from the floats themselves, put in place by Pride, and off the back of floats. Fireworks and pre-parade entertainment were popular and spectacular additions to the parade, substantially improving its entertainment value.
The 2004 party, 'sKINtight', was staged in the multiple venues on Murray Street in the city, and presented a unique problem when many punters waited for long periods in the queue to the main room. Pride undertook an exhaustive process after the festival in order to compensate dissatisfied members, with a Special General Meeting of members also recognising the growing problem of finding a suitable venue for Pride Parties. An opportunity to stage the 2005 Pride Party at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre was identified and negotiations begun.Pride's membership in 2004 reached a record 900 members plus.
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