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Masthead Image - Since its origin, Mardi Gras has created change - ANU expert Wayne Morgan hopes it will continue to do so as it marches into the future. Elaine Obran. ANU Reporter Senior Writer The year is 1978. Homosexually is illegal and queer rights are non-existent, but on a cold winter's day in New South Wales (NSW), Australia's first documented Mardi Gras is heating up the streets of Darlinghurst. It was sparked by an international commemoration of the Stonewall Riots that happened in New York in June 1969 in which the LGBTQ+ community bravely stood up against a violent police raid of a gay bar - an uprising lasting for six days. But what began in Syndey as a celebration of love, pride and queer identity would quickly end in violence. Despite police permission, protestors at the 1978 march would face arrests and discrimination that would later echo into media headlines and public discourse, impacting the jobs and lives of those involved.
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