State government hands over keys to old Darlinghurst police station to Qtopia museum

The NSW government have handed over the keys of the old Darlinghurst Police Station to Australia’s first-ever queer history museum, with Qtopia running full steam ahead to open in 2024.

The state government have handed over the keys of the old Darlinghurst Police Station to

Australia’s first-ever queer history museum, Qtopia.

Qtopia will have a permanent home on the corner of Forbes and Bourke Streets, which was once the site of the old Darlinghurst Police Station and until now, was in use by the NSW Department of Health.

The Ministers for Health, Arts, and the Lord Mayor signed over the lease on Tuesday morning, which gives Qtopia’s six curators a little over five months to transform the space to open by Mardis Gras next February.

“This initiative reflects the NSW Government’s commitment to preserving and celebrating the diverse stories of the LGBTQIA+ community,” Premier of New South Wales, Chris Minns told The Daily Telegraph.

78ers from Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras outside the old Darlinghurst Police Station, who were there at the first parade 20 years ago (1998). Photo: The Daily Telegraph

(LtoR) Minister for the Arts, John Graham Qtopia Sydney Chief Executive Officer, Greg Fisher and NSW Minister for Health, Ryan Park at the Qtopia museum in Darlinghurst which now a permanent home after WorldPride. Picture: Jeremy Piper/The Daily Telegraph.

“By providing a dedicated space for education, reflection and artistic expression, these important narratives will be honoured, shared and become part of a lasting tribute that engages, educates and inspires many future generations to come.”

The museum will contain exhibits on First Nations queer history, the HIV/AIDS epidemic, homosexual law reform, the birth of Mardi Gras and the 78ers, gender from ‘cross-dressers to trans rights’, and broader queer culture like music, as well as rolling exhibitions to change every few months.

Mardi gras in 1978. Photo: Archives.

The old police station has an important place in the city’s queer history, and was once associated with the harassment and persecution of Sydney’s rainbow community, including the 78ers who marched in the original Sydney Mardi Gras.

This comes at a poignant moment for the city’s LGBTQ+ community, who in recent months have faced a rise in verbal and physical attacks on Oxford Street, including stabbings and assaults.

On Saturday, several hundred activists participated in a “take back the streets” march from Hyde Park to Taylor Square to hear speeches and watch drag performances with “safety in numbers”.

Sydney Mardi Gras 2023 participants pictured at Hyde Park before the parade. Picture: Sam Ruttyn/The Daily Telegraph.

Sydney World Pride Day march across the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Picture: Tim Pascoe/The Daily Telegraph.

Although Sydney’s Mardi Gras and Pride are now more known as a celebratory party, their origin is in protest. The scenes from this weekend tell us that 45 years later, Sydney has not changed as much as the 78ers would have hoped.

Sydney Swans AFLW players Lisa Steane, Brooke Lochland, Bella Smith, Maddy Collier, and Alana Woodward walk in the Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade as part of Sydney WorldPride on February 25, 2023. The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras parade returned to Oxford Street in celebration of the event's 45th anniversary. Photo: Brendon Thorne/Getty.

With the million-dollar donation by the Lachlan and Sarah Murdoch Foundation as founding partners, Qtopia will now be a place where all Sydneysiders can learn from our past, and look towards a brighter future.

“The transfer of this property holds great significance,” Qtopia Sydney CEO Greg Fisher said.

“It is a clear statement by this Government that Queer people matter, that our stories matter, that our contribution to the wider Australian community, from pre-Colonial days to today, matters.”

Jim Caruthers is a '78er from the original Mardi Gras, and is telling his story of the first parade at The National Art School's Museum of Love and Protest Exhibition. Photo: Chris Pavlich/The Daily Telegraph. Picture by Chris Pavlich for The Daily Telegraph

“The Queer community will take confidence that the hard-fought wins from illegality to legality, from inequality to equality, from humiliation to respect, have been heard by political leaders across the spectrum. Our stories will soon be invested in this property — told and re-told — to ensure that education and awareness are the foundation of a new future of tolerance, acceptance, respect and love.”

Premier Minns did more than promise the property, also promising $3 million in funding “to tell our stories properly,” Minister for the Arts, John Graham said.

From left, NSW Ministers, Clover Moore and Qtopia board members at the Qtopia museum in Darlinghurst, which now a permanent home after WorldPride. Picture: Jeremy Piper/The Daily Telegraph.

“To ensure we could open what will ultimately become one of the largest Centres for Queer history and culture in the world – attracting visitors both domestically and internationally, with exhibitions and performative art, education, and community engagement programs, that will commence in 2024.”

The Government’s action will also extend to education, with Qtopia’s educationalist working with the NSW Education Department and the NSW Teacher’s Federation to create curriculums ready to market this year, to welcome students in 2024.