A year on from the shut down: Throb owner reflects on being the first gay club to reopen

ONE YEAR ON: A few weeks in the middle of last year, Darwin’s beloved Throb nightclub was the only gay club that was open to dancing on the planet

• Throb celebrates 20 years of fun
• Outstanding performance prompts Throb to stay open in January for the first time in its history

FOR a few weeks in the middle of last year, Darwin’s Throb nightclub was the only gay club in the world to allow dancing.

Despite the pain of having to shutter his doors for several months from a year ago, owner Tim Palmer said, as a nightclub owner, he was grateful to have been in the Territory in the pandemic.

Throb owner Tim Palmer talks about how business has been a year on from the COVID-19 shut down. Picture Katrina Bridgeford.

He said Throb made the difficult choice to remain closed for several weeks after other similar venues were allowed to reopen on June 5 but the night the club reopened while the rest of the world remained in lockdown, the club’s 20th birthday, was one of the best nights in Throb’s history.

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“Every man and his dog in the Territory realised we were in the lucky place and so the happiness was everywhere,” he said. “We were dancing and celebrating — the joy of the NT success was palpable.”

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