Queer in Queensland: 40 LGBTIQ+ advocates and local legends from the Sunshine State
Artists, Olympic medallists, drag performers and politicians – these LGBTIQ+ trailblazers have made a name for themselves by representing and advocating for Queensland’s queer community. See the list of 40.
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Just over five years since same-sex marriage was legalised in Australia, the LGBTIQ+ community is continuing to grow in numbers and awareness, with celebratory events such as Sydney World Pride 2023 becoming mainstream.
Encompassing people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex, queer and more, LGBTIQ+ culture is becoming more recognised, with educational resources about sexuality and gender identity more readily available than ever before.
New research shows that one third of young Australians aged 15 to 24 identify as LGBTIQ+, with the Big Youth Survey highlighting a general trend over the past few years of more people identifying as queer, up 15 per cent from 2020.
While more awareness of the queer community exists in 2023 more than ever before, pioneers of the LGBTIQ+ community have been around for generations, including some Queensland locals who paved the way for the future in the original gay and lesbian movements in the 1980s.
Among original LGBTIQ+ advocates, Queensland is home to a number of important voices of the rainbow community, from singers, artists and athletes to politicians, athletes and educators.
Covering a range of different careers, backgrounds and locations, each of these Queensland locals play an important role representing their diverse community in their communities and around the country.
Loud and proud, here’s our list of 40 local legends representing Queensland’s diverse LGBTIQ+ community
William Yang – photographer
Queensland-born and Sydney-based, William Yang is an iconic Australian photographer and artist, most well known for his black and white photos exploring gay subculture and Australia’s LGBTIQ+ scene in the 1970s and 1980s.
Identifying as a gay Chinese Australian, Yang grew up in the tobacco town of Dimbulah near Mareeba in North Queensland, attending high school in Cairns and studying architecture at the University of Queensland before moving to Sydney in the late 1960s.
Yang began performing monologues in 1989, with his work exploring LGBTIQ+ culture, the AIDS crisis of the 1980s, and his personal Chinese heritage, featured in art galleries all around the nation.
Stephen Bates – politician
Born in the U.K., Stephen Bates moved to Yeppoon in Queensland in his teenage years and has gone on to become one of the first openly gay Queensland politicians after being elected as Greens MP for Brisbane in 2022.
Growing up in Central Queensland, Bates attended an all-boys religious high school before going on to study a Bachelor of Social Science and Public Policy at the University of Queensland after a trip to the US inspired him to get into politics.
A proud advocate of the queer community, Bates openly speaks out about coming to terms with his queer identity as a child and reminds young people struggling with their sexuality that it does get better.
Shelley Argent OAM – advocate/lobbyist
Shelley Argent is one of Australia’s most successful educationalists, advocates and lobbyists for LGBTIQ+ rights, volunteering for queer causes after son came out as gay in the 1990s.
“I wanted to understand his life,” said Argent.
“My first connection (to the LGBTIQ+ community) was in 1998 when I went to Qld AIDS Council to volunteer, there I became an education volunteer.
“I also worked very hard to learn as much I could about what life as a gay man entailed because my 18 year old son came out as gay on 1995.”
Raised in Kedron in Brisbane’s north, Argent always says she’s “a girl from the avenues” after living on 5th Avenue where she went to Kedron Primary School and Wavell Heights High School.
After her son came out to her, Argent became devoted to educating people to accept LGBTIQ+ people and became the second president of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) Brisbane in the 2000s, holding the position for 18 years and becoming the first national spokeswoman for the organisation, in addition to writing the first resource for regional and rural areas in 2006.
With decades worth of advocacy work, some of Argent’s proudest moment was lobbying for marriage equality in parliament.
“I am very proud that I was very involved with marriage equality federally and State wide adoption and surrogacy, because this meant my son could marry and have children if he chose.” said Argent.
“I am also proud that I had the opportunity to regularly lobby politicians, state and federal.
“I had been a stay at home mum, and suddenly I was walking the halls of parliament. Initially MPs didn’t take me seriously but they soon learnt I wasn’t leaving.
Fully dedicated to changing the world for people in the queer community, Argent was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in 2006 for her advocacy work and was named the QLD state recipient of Senior Australian of the Year in 2011.
Argent encourages people who may be struggling with their sexuality and gender identity to “live your life honestly” and also encourages the community to “don’t believe the myths and gossip” about the queer community.
“Keep an open mind and don’t judge people. Sexuality is a really small part of people.” said Argent.
“Our sons and daughters, regardless of how they identify, vote, pay taxes, contribute to society, (and) are in a wide range of professions and trades ranging from professors to plumbers, including going to war to defend our country when the need arises.
“We all know and love somebody who identifies, whether he realise it or not.”
Casey Conway – rugby league player
A First Nations man of the Barad people in Central Queensland, Casey Conway is a rugby league player who formerly played for the Sydney Roosters in the early 2000s, during which, he publicly came out as gay.
Recognised by Deloitte as one of Australia’s 2020 Top 50 LGBT Leaders, Conway is an advocate for LGBTIQ+ inclusion in sport and workplaces, as well as the Head of Diversity and Inclusion at Rugby Australia and a Board Director for queer not-for-profit Wear It Purple.
Conway grew up in the small town of Bluff in the Central Highlands Region and currently resides in Brisbane.
Catherine McGregor AM – military officer
Born and bred in Toowoomba, Catherine McGregor AM is a writer, cricket commentator, former political Adviser and the world’s highest-ranking transgender military officer following 42 years in the Australian military, serving in East Timor three times.
Diagnosed with gender dysphoria in the 1980s, McGregor started her transitioning journey in 1992, formally transitioning in 2012 after a career working as an Australian Army officer and a speech writer for the Labour and Liberal federal parties.
Recognised as the 2015 Queenslander of the Year and finalist for 2016 Australian of the Year, McGregor hopes to continue giving visibility to trans people in Australia and was recently involved in playwright Priscilla Jackman’s 2018 play Still Point Turning, detailing McGregor’s life story about transitioning genders from childhood to present.
Ben Bjarnesen – police officer
An educator, campaigner, speaker and public figure for the LGBTIQ+ community, Ben Bjarnesen is a police officer known for his advocacy work for LGBTIQ+ domestic violence, founding both the LGBTIQ+ Domestic Violence Awareness Day on May 28 in 2020 and the LGBTQ DV Awareness Foundation.
For his work supporting LGBTIQ+ victims and survivors of domestic and family violence, Brisbane-based Bjarnesen has been nominated for Queenslander of the Year, recognised as a Human Rights Hero for Australian Human Rights and inducted into the Queensland Government Domestic and Family Violence Prevention Honour Roll.
Through his 15 years in the Queensland Police Service, Bjarnesen has been posted in Ipswich, Tara, Roma, Kowanyama, Fortitude Valley and Brisbane, and has volunteered as an LGBTIQ+ Liaison Officer since 2010, recently announcing his resignation.
Beverly Kills – drag queen
Born and bred on the Gold Coast, Beverly Kills puts the ‘queen’ in Queensland, as one of Brisbane’s most popular drag queens, with more than 60k Instagram followers and recognised internationally after making it into the top five of RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under as the show’s first Queensland contestant.
Growing up seeing drag in the media, Kills always knew about drag but didn’t begin her own personal drag journey until she was 18 years old.
“I would always catch the train up and go see my friends in Brisbane,” said Kills.
“So by the time I turned 18 I’d go to these gay clubs like the Fluffy or the Wickham or The Beat, and I’d see these drag queens and go ‘Oh my god! There’s so many and they’re everywhere!’,
“But, I saw these drag queens and one thing kind of lead to another!”
After seeing the tight knit drag community in Brisbane, Kills began doing drag in private before eventually going out and trying to make a name for herself as her eccentric drag persona, Beverly Kills.
“I really wanted to be a political journalist because that’s how I thought I was going to make a difference.” said Kills.
“I never really connected to anything in my life until I started doing drag … because I realised that’s how I’m going to make a difference.
“I get to be positive queer representation, not just for adults, but for young people as well who may be having those questions about themselves.”
Passionate about the art of drag, Kills wants the community to know that drag is just like any other form of entertainment and has always been about fun, joy and colour.
“We’re just like singers, dancers and costume designers, but we kind of put it all together in a fabulous queer bow.” said Kills.
“Every single drag artist is here for positive change, for the future, for everyone to feel included, happy, represented and to enjoy what they do.
Kills wants young people who are looking to get into drag to go ahead and “do it because you love it”.
“Once you find that source of happiness, don’t let go of it, hold on to it.” said Kills.
“Life’s meant to be lived so just enjoy it.”
Performing at pride and drag events all over the country, Beverly Kills will star in her own one woman show at the Gold Coast Bleach Festival from August 11 to 14.
Brian Day OAM – activist
A dedicated volunteer for most of his life, Brian Day OAM is a Maleny local and gay man who was at the forefront of the AIDS campaign in the 1980s as the Vice President and spokesman for the Queensland AIDS Committee.
Day was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia in 2016 for his LGBTIQ advocacy work in the 1970s and 80s as a founding member of the Brisbane Branch of the Campaign Against Moral Persecution (CAMP) and Camp Club, the first LGBTIQ social club in Brisbane.
In a relationship with his partner since 1983, Day has also volunteered at Maleny Soldiers Memorial Hospital’s palliative care unit for more than 18 years.
Selina McMahon – priest
Originally from the UK, Selina McMahon is a self-professed Doctor-Who loving priest, transgender woman and rector at St Paul’s Anglican Church in Ipswich.
After moving to Australia in 2016 with her wife and two daughters to run the oldest Anglican Church in Queensland, McMahon transitioned in 2020 and became the third Anglican minister to publicly identify as transgender, following Sydney-based Josephine Inkpin and Sorel Coward in Adelaide.
McMahon continues to hold services at St Paul’s Anglican Church and speaks out about trans and LGBTIQ+ visibility.
DJ Dolly Llama – DJ
Based in Brisbane, DJ Dolly Llama is a Mardi Gras award-winning DJ who travels all around Queensland and New South Wales, performing at Pride festivals and LGBTIQ+ events.
Most recently performing as the opener for Tones & I at Tropic Sounds in Townsville, Llama frequently performs in iconic queer venues including The Wickham and The Sportsman Hotel in the Brisbane CBD.
Originally from New York City, Llama moved to Australia in 2009 and won Brisbane Pride’s DJ of the Year in 2021.
Darren Hayes – singer
Born and bred in Logan, Darren Hayes is the former frontman and singer of Australian pop duo ‘Savage Garden’ with Daniel Jones, famous for songs Truly Madly Deeply and I Knew I Loved You.
Selling more than 23 million copies of their two albums worldwide, Hayes has openly discussed his struggles with his sexuality in the early 2000s which caused him to go into a depression.
Now pursuing a solo career, Hayes shares his story about accepting his gay identity, releasing the album ‘Homosexual’ in 2022 in celebration of his sexuality and headlining the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade the same year.
Most recently, Hayes announced he has split from his husband of 17 years, Richard Cullen.
Jill Kerswill – photographer
Starting her career in Central Queensland in 2003 before moving to Brisbane in 2006, Jill Kerswill is a queer and neurodivergent artist, known for her empowering and LGBTIQ+ inclusive photography work, ranging from weddings to boudoir shoots.
A former student at Bundaberg State High School, Kerswill earned a Diploma of Photoimaging at Southbank Institute of Technology and won the 2022 Brisbane Pride Artist of the Year award for her body positive and creative photography works celebrating queer identity.
In addition to her own photography business, Kerswill takes photos with Positively Glittered, a photo-shoot initiative where people cover their naked bodies in glitter to celebrate diverse and different body shapes.
Kat and Kirsten Jamieson-Harwood – influencers
Hailing from Brisbane, Kat and Kirsten Jamieson-Harwood are a same-sex couple known better by their social media handle ‘Two Brisbane Mamas’, claiming more than 200k followers across TikTok and Instagram for their content about IVF motherhood and same-sex parenting.
Bringing humour and light to hard situations, both Kat and Kirsten share candid and honest videos on their platforms, detailing their struggles with IVF and sharing advice and relatable content about societal opinions surrounding LGBTIQ+ parenting.
Kat and Kirsten welcomed their first child Gigi in April 2022 and recently had their second child Mateo in April.
Toye De Wilde – bar manager/performer
Involved in the early establishment of Brisbane’s Campaign Against Moral Persecution (CAMP), Tanya Wilde, known better as their drag persona Toye De Wilde, is an activist, bar manager and performer who grew up on Stradbroke Island.
A notable Brisbane performer from the 1960s, 70s and 80s, Wilde fundraised for the Queensland AIDS Council in the 1980s and made history after becoming the first transgender political candidate in Australia when she ran in the Merthyr state by-election for the Queensland Legislative Assembly seat of Merthyr in 1989.
According to Australian Queer Archives, Wilde has performed in almost every gay venue in Brisbane since the early 1960s.
Leah McCabe – university staff member
Based in Rockhampton, Leah McCabe is a transgender woman and a staff member at Central Queensland University who was one of the first trans staff members to come out at the educational institution in more than 20 years.
Working at the university since 2012, McCabe came out as trans in early 2021 and a year later worked with the university’s ALLY network to publish gender transitioning guides for staff and students as an educational source to help spread trans visibility and provide easy accessible information for those wishing to transition.
Launched on Transgender Day of Visibility on March 31, 2022, McCabe used the guidelines as an opportunity to provide support and encouragement to people in the LGBTIQ+ community and help create a safe space at the university for trans staff members and students.
Royston Sagigi-Baira – singer
Hailing from small town Mapoon near Weipa in Cape York, Royston Sagigi-Baira, 24, is a proud Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artist and gay man who rose to fame after winning the 2023 season of Australian Idol, recently releasing his single ‘Invincible’.
Inspired to start singing after watching High School Musical as a child, Sagigi-Baira grew up singing in church and at school before attending the Aboriginal Centre for the Performing Arts and studying a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Music at the Queensland University of Technology, becoming the first person in his family to attend university.
Coming from a small town of about 350 people, Sagigi-Baira aspires to be a role model for people from remote Indigenous communities and hopes to representer queer and plus-size artists.
Shannon Molloy – journalist/writer
Hailing from Yeppoon in central Queensland, Shannon Molloy is a journalist and writer who became part of the news headlines himself after releasing his debut memoir Fourteen, detailing his life as a teenager growing up in regional Queensland, searching for his identity as a gay child in an all-boys catholic school.
Molloy was approached by a publishing company after writing a News Corp article detailing his dark times growing up as a gay kid, leading to Molloy releasing his own memoir which was later adapted to a stage play and is in the process of being made into a film.
Recognised as one of the 50 Most Influential LGBTQI Australians by Cosmopolitan Magazine in 2017, Molloy now lives in Sydney with his husband and child and most recently released his second book You Made Me This Way.
Venus Amoré – drag queen/TikTok personality
With more than 77k followers on TikTok, Cayn Wilson, better known by his drag personality Venus Amoré, is a social media personality and drag performer who has gone viral for their makeup, lifestyle and comedy videos, often discussing LGBTIQ+ culture and issues.
Based on the Gold Coast, Amoré uses TikTok to share tips about parenting queer children and speaks up to protect drag as an art form, sharing photos and videos of their own drag performances on both Instagram and TikTok.
Outside of drag, Amoré owns beauty and cosmetic clinic Face Envi on the Gold Coast and most recently featured in the movie Seriously Red (2022).
Matthew Mitcham – diver
Originally from Brisbane, Matthew Mitcham is an Olympic gold medallist in diving and trampolining, a two-time world record holder and one of the first openly gay athletes to win a gold medal at the Olympics.
Publicly coming out as gay in 2008, Mitcham has been open about his experience as a gay man, sharing his struggle with drug and alcohol addiction and his desire to hide his sexuality at a young age.
Mitcham now lives in London with his husband Luke Rutherford and featured on Season 15 of Dancing with the Stars in 2015, coming second.
Nat Alise – content creator
Hailing from Queensland’s Glass House Mountains, Nat Alise is a content creator living in the Sunshine Coast who has earned more than 2.5 million followers on TikTok for her funny skit videos, parenting content, and clips about coming to terms with her queer identity.
A mother to two children, Aaliya and Malachi, Alise says that she sees her massive online audience as “an extension of her family” and wants them to find comfort in her content by breaking down barriers and being honest.
“I choose to embrace my queer identity online in a natural way, much like I do at home.” said Alise.
“Showing my own children that they can be authentically and unapologetically themselves, teaching them about queer history and present-day struggles and answering any questions they have is exactly how I choose to create content online.”
“From showing those who are struggling with their identity, that it’s okay to not know … to simply creating everyday family content showing the joy that is life, my queer identity is part of who I am- and therefore a part of my content.”
For her honest, comedic and relatable content, Alise was voted the most influential person in the Sunshine Coast Daily 30 under 30 list in 2021 and believes the reason LGBTIQ+ advocacy work is important to her is “because our kids deserve better”.
“We deserve better. Every Queer, Gay, Trans, Non-Binary person throughout history has deserved better.” said Alise.
“I cannot wait to see a world where kids can grow up happy to show the world exactly who they are without having to hide such a huge part of themselves.
“Doesn’t it just make sense? To let people be happy?”
Michael Finch – YouTuber
Starting his YouTube journey in 2014, Michael Finch is a Gold Coast-based YouTuber who rose to fame for his make up tutorial videos as well as his honest and candid content about his queer identity as a gay man.
One of Queensland’s most infamous social media influencers, Finch started his content creation career making videos solely about makeup and becoming one of the leading male make up artists on the platform in the 2010s, encouraging his fans to be proud of who they are.
With more than two million followers across YouTube, TikTok and Instagram, Finch now predominantly makes food and drink content, sharing upbeat recipe videos across all platforms.
Michael James – teacher/writer
Originally from South East Queensland, Michael James is a writer, actor, media presenter and proud gay man based in Brisbane who currently works as a schoolteacher and the Entertainment Editor at QNews Magazine – Australia’s leading LGBTIQ+ media organisation.
With a Bachelor’s Degree in Creative Industries and Education, James co-owned and operated various hospitality venues across Fortitude Valley before rejoining the media industry in the 2010s, working as a casual presenter for ABC Radio, presenting the queer TV program QTV for Briz31 and hosting weekly show Gay Savvy on Switch 1197AM.
James continues to share queer news and stories at QNews and has shared his own story of him and his husband’s fostering and adopting journey.
Dylan Mooney – artist
A proud Yuwi, Torres Strait and South Sea Islander artist, Dylan Mooney is a Brisbane-based creative originally from Mackay, specialising in digital illustrations celebrating Indigenous and queer identity.
The winner of the 2020 Artspace Mackay Foundation Bursary, the 28-year-old artist has earned acclaim all over the nation for his work, becoming the youngest artist to be included in the National Gallery of Victoria’s 2022 exhibition Queer and having one of his works selected for a giant mural in Darlinghurst as part of Sydney World Pride.
With a distinctive vibrant style incorporating elements of Indigenous culture and queerness, Mooney is passionate about communicating messages of family, culture, history and representation.
Holly Zwalf – writer/podcaster
A queer academic, writer, historian, performer and “solo parent by choice”, Dr Holly Zwalf is a Brisbane-based LGBTIQ+ advocate and founder of Rainbow Families Queensland, an organisation supporting LGBTIQ+ parents around the state.
Equipped with a PhD in queer theory and creative writing and a degree in journalism, Zwalf has a passion for sharing stories about queer culture and experience, most recently working on queer revolutionist history podcast Glittery Graces.
Writing articles about parenting, feminism and queer identity, Zwalf also does performance poetry, cabaret and stand-up comedy.
Steven Oliver – actor
Born in Cloncurry but raised mainly in Townsville, Steven Oliver is an actor, singer, performer and descendant of the Kuku-Yalanji, Waanyi, Gangalidda, Woppaburra, Bundjalung and Biripi peoples and is most well known for his role on sketch comedy show Black Comedy.
Now based in Brisbane, Oliver came out as gay when he was 21-years-old and now aims to educate people on culture, race and sexuality, most recently touring the nation in his live show ‘Bigger & Blacker’, a comedy performance in which he plays a gay Aboriginal drag queen named ‘Faboriginal’.
A graduate of the Western Australia Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA), Oliver has also starred in A Chance Affair and a small role in Thor: Ragnarok.
Liv Elliott – disability support worker/content creator
Hailing from the Gold Coast, Liv Elliott is a mental health advocate, support worker and content creator from Queensland who uses her TikTok following of more than 145k people to raise awareness about queer identity and disability, sharing her own experience living with Tourettes.
A former student of Assisi Catholic College in Upper Coomera, Elliott founded her own company Sweet Heart Support, working with people with disabilities ranging from bipolar disorder, autism spectrum disorder, depression, anxiety and more.
On her TikTok, Elliott shares stories about her own queer identity in videos with her partner and neurodivergent performer Bella Seminara, in addition to speaking out against ableism and a trend on TikTok where people faked having Tourette‘s.
Natalie Cook OAM – Olympic athlete
Born in Townsville and raised in Brisbane, Natalie Cook is a professional beach volleyball player and gold medallist who became the first Australian woman to compete at five Olympic Games, representing Australia in Atlanta, Sydney, Beijing, London and Tokyo.
Graduating as dux of Corinda State High School, Cook studied a Bachelor of Physiotherapy at the University of Queensland and won her first Olympic bronze medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games before winning her first gold medal in Sydney in 2000.
An inspirational speaker, author and wellness coach, Cook married her fellow volleyballer partner Sarah Maxwell in New Zealand in 2008 and again in Montville on the Sunshine Coast in 2018 following the legalisation of same-sex marriage in Australia.
Dr Isaac Hohaia – medical director
Originally from Western Australia, Dr Isaac Hohaia is the Director of Medical Services for hospitals in the South Burnett, as well as a board director with Pride Foundation Australia.
Residing in Kingaroy with his husband and two children, Dr Hohaia is an experienced GP, anaesthetist and medical administrator with an aim of improving healthcare delivery to LGBTIQ+ Australians in rural and remote areas.
In addition to his work advocating for LGBTIQ+ access to healthcare, Dr Hohaia oversees Kingaroy, Nanango, Wondai and Cherbourg hospitals and has previously worked in the Kimberley region of WA and with the RFDS in Alice Springs.
David Subritzky – reality TV star
Rising to fame as fake celebrity ‘The David’ on season eight of I’m A Celebrity, David Subritzky is a Gold Coast based influencer and reality TV star, known for spreading positive awareness and educating the public on the LGBTIQ+ community, choosing The Pride Foundation as his chosen charity during his time on I’m A Celebrity.
A Robina resident, Subritzky is passionate about creating safe spaces and inclusive events on the Gold Coast, hosting his own events aptly named ‘Subritzky Sundays’ at Cali Beach.
Working as a host and MC, Subritzky recently made headlines after being the victim of a bashing while visiting Sydney in April, sharing his experience of being “called a f***ot” to raise awareness about how the LGBTIQ+ community continues to be scrutinised today.
Samuel Leighton-Dore – artist
A Gold Coast based visual artist, writer and proud queer man, Samuel Leighton-Dore is the director of animation and creative studio ‘Sad Man Studio’, working alongside his husband and partner of nine years, Brad Tennant to produce animated videos, ceramic-based artwork and illustrations focusing on mental health, masculinity, sexual health, and the LGBTIQ+ community.
Recognised as Visual Artist of the Year at the 2019 ACON Honour Awards, Leighton-Dore has worked with Equality Australia, ReachOut, Man Cave and Queensland’s Home of the Arts, producing creative works with a distinctive bright colour palette.
Leighton-Dore is the mind behind ‘Smile Tiles’, producing ceramic tiles with inspiring quotes on them, as well as the author of Big Strong Man which discusses mental health, masculinity and accessibility to health services.
Laura Clemesha – netball player
Raised in Toowoomba, Laura Clemesha is an openly gay former elite netball player, playing in Goal Keeper and Goal Defence positions in the Queensland Firebirds from 2013 and 2019.
Coming out as gay in 2017, the former Downlands College school captain spoke out about homophobia in sport during her sporting career, encouraging straight members of the sporting community to support their LGBTIQ+ players both on and off the court.
A trained psychologist, Clemesha now works in executive coaching, advocating for diversity in workplaces, teaching leaders the value of developing equality and inclusion in workplaces.
Laurie Deane – founder of Brisbane’s Queens Birthday Ball
One of the pioneering forces in the Queensland LGBTIQ+ community, Laurie Deane, more well known by their drag persona Dame Sybil von Thorndyke, is the founder of the Brisbane Queen’s Birthday Arts Ball, the world’s longest running continuous gay event in the world since it began in 1962.
Hailing from Mt Tambourine, Deane created the now infamous queer event in the 60s to give gay people a safe place in a time of persecution, creating an event to celebrate queer people and culture.
While entertaining as their drag persona, Deane also taught in various schools around Queensland, dedicated to reinvigorating the arts and helping grow the tradition of annual school musicals in high schools around the state.
One of Brisbane’s most famous drag personas and queer icons, Deane was honoured at the Lord Mayor’s Australia Day Awards in 2018 for his contribution to Queensland’s LGBTIQ+ community.
Bec Johnson OAM – advocate
Based in Brisbane, Bec Johnson OAM is a Murri Lesbian and proud First Nations and Australian South Sea Islander woman who has been instrumental in giving back to both the LGBTIQ+ and First Nations communities in Brisbane, recently stepping down in January as president of Brisbane Pride Incorporated after six years in the position.
Passionate about advocating for equality and wellness for queer and Indigenous communities, Johnson is a co-founder of the IndigiLez Women’s Leadership and Support Group and has served as a member on the Queensland Government LGBTIQ+ roundtable.
Johnson was a driving force in securing more funding and record attendance at events for Brisbane Pride and received a formal apology from the Queensland Police Service for historical mistreatment of LGBTIQ+ communities in January 2023 on behalf of Brisbane Pride.
She received a Medal of the Order of Australia in January 2023 for her service to Indigenous and LGBTIQ+ communities and won Out for Australia’s National Role Model Award in 2018.
David Graham – farmer
Originally from Goondiwindi, David Graham or ‘Farmer David’ is a farmer and reality TV star, best known for his appearances on Big Brother seasons six and 14, making headlines around the country after coming out as gay, live on TV in 2006.
The south west Queenslander and former student at Toowoomba Grammar School decided to share his story on national television after being bashed by a group of homophobic men leaving a pub in 2006.
Growing up with grazier and farmer parents, Graham now works as a youth worker and dog trainer, co-founding charity organisation RuffTRACK which provides young people with support and education while working with farm dogs.
Graham appeared on Australia’s Got Talent in 2022 with the RuffTRACK team and recently announced his engagement with his partner Shazli in January 2023.
Wanda dParke – drag queen
Born and raised in Biloela and now based in Brisbane, Ross Waghorn is better known by his glamorous drag identity Wanda dParke who travels all around Queensland, running trivia, hosting karaoke and performing.
Performing in venues all around the state in Gladstone, Agnes Waters, Rubyvale and Taboo, Wanda dParke was a featured character in the SBS documentary Bowled Over: A Dragumentary telling the story of three drag queens saving a local bowls club in Ipswich through exciting drag performances.
Wanda dParke has been performing since 1992 and is a well-known LGBTIQ+ figure in the community, performing weekly at The Brunswick Hotel in New Farm.
Garret Lyon – singer/songwriter
A proud gay Darumbal and Wulli-Wulli artist, Garret Lyon is a singer, songwriter and dancer who was born and raised in Rockhampton and now resides in Brisbane.
Graduating from the Aboriginal Centre for the Performing Arts with an Advanced Diploma in Music, Lyon continues to perform around the nation, singing at pride events like Brisbane Pride’s Queens Ball and most recently starring in a leading role in original Australian musical ‘The Sunshine Club’.
Since coming out after attending university, Lyon is a prominent figure of the LGBTIQ+ community who encourages people to be kind to themselves.
Neil McLucas – bar owner
A champion of the Brisbane queer scene since the 1970s, Neil McLucas is the owner of popular LGBTIQ+ venue The Sportsman Hotel – the only gay owned and operated hotel in Brisbane.
Growing up in Brisbane, McLucas, a gay man, became the owner of The Sportsman Hotel, more well known as ‘Sporties’ in 1991, turning the venue into a piece of Queensland queer history as the self-proclaimed “home of drag” and home to the Sporties Hall of Fame – a reward recognising queer artists in the Brisbane entertainment scene.
McLucas was creating safe queer spaces prior to purchasing Sporties, formerly operating Terminus Nightclub in Fortitude Valley and Old Rowes Restaurant in the 1970s, one of the first gay discos in Brisbane.
Benjamin Law – writer
Born and raised in Nambour in the Sunshine Coast, Benjamin Law is a successful writer, popular media personality and proud gay man who received national recognition for his memoir documenting his experience growing up gay and Asian in Queensland, The Family Law, which was later made into a six part-mini series on SBS.
A graduate of Immanuel Lutheran College, Law earned a PhD in creative writing and cultural studies at the Queensland University of Technology before going on to write books Gaysia, Moral Panic 101 and editing Growing Up Queer in Australia, most recently co-writing and co-creating Netflix series Wellmania starring Celeste Barber.
Making appearances on Australian Survivor, Q&A and The Project, Law is an ambassador for LGBTIQ+ organisation The Pinnacle Foundation and currently resides in Sydney.
Shayne Wilde OAM – activist
Appointed a Medal of the Order of Australia in 2022, Shayne Wilde OAM is a lesbian and founding member of the Queensland Pride Collective who was instrumental in changing industrial reform for the LGBTIQ+ community in the 1990s.
Raised in Wilston, Wilde initiated the first ever LGBTIQ liaison meetings with the Queensland Police Force in the 1990s and contributed to more than 100 pieces of legislation to benefit queer communities which saw her awarded a Chris Carter Memorial Award from the Australian Democrats in 1995.
Wilde was a founding member of the Australia Council of Lesbian and Gay Rights and was the group’s industrial relations spokesman from 1993 to 2000.
Josh Thomas – comedian
Born in Blackwater in Central Queensland, Brisbane-based Josh Thomas is an openly gay comedian most well known for his TV show Please Like Me which has turned into a queer cult classic, as well as his American sitcom about a teenager living on the autism spectrum Everything’s Gonna Be Okay.
After becoming the youngest person to win Melbourne’s Raw Comedy Festival Competition at 17 years old in 2005, Thomas became a household name as the captain of Gen Y on Network Ten’s Talkin’ ‘Bout Your Generation.
In 2022, Thomas created a podcast How to Be Gay to help young people exploring their sexuality.
Originally published as Queer in Queensland: 40 LGBTIQ+ advocates and local legends from the Sunshine State
Stone’s cheeky ‘by chance’ mobile office in tandem with premier
Political mind games have been played on the Gold Coast with LNP candidate Bianca Stone holding a mobile office outside Premier Steven Miles’s press conference.
‘Bullying not tolerated’: Education Department responds to student suicide
The Queensland Education Department says bullying is not tolerated in any school after a family of a teen said she was verbally abused and tormented on social media before she ended her life.