In 1978, my fellow 78er, friend and longtime activist, Peter Murphy, was bashed mercilessly in the old Darlinghurst Police Station – now Qtopia. He was denied medical attention for five long hours. Seeing him bloodied, broken and near death remains my saddest memory of that first Mardi Gras.
I, along with many others, faced police batons, bigotry, and brutality simply for daring to be seen. That first Mardi Gras was dangerous but defiant – a protest and parade for freedom, a cry for dignity, a celebration of who we were. We were there not just for ourselves but
for the generations to come.
What we built grew stronger through tenacity and radical inclusion. We opened our arms and hearts – not shut doors. That’s how Mardi Gras became a global symbol of pride, protest, remembrance, belonging and joy.
But now, in this chilling age of global regression – with Trump, Putin, Orbán, and fanatics of every kind targeting our communities – unity is not optional. It is vital and means our survival.
Excluding rainbow police, military, political parties, or sponsors doesn’t build power – it weakens and isolates us. We must not allow the movement we bled for to be splintered. We defend Mardi Gras by keeping it proudly open, defiantly inclusive, and unmistakably visible – not by letting one faction impose new lines of division that betrays what we’ve achieved and risked everything for.
This movement has always been about more than one faction or ideology. It belongs to everyone still coming out, still finding their voice, still searching for hope, still seeking to belong.
To my fellow 78ers and our rainbow family – let’s stand together, protect our legacy, and vote for inclusion at the 2025 Mardi Gras AGM.
We didn’t survive 1978 to give up on each other now. Let’s keep Mardi Gras a beacon of love, courage, joy – and unapologetic inclusive pride.
