Sydney Pride Centre

The Sydney Pride Centre was a non-profit organisation community centre that provided a safe, friendly, and accessible space for members of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) communities of Sydney.^{[1][2][3][4][5][6]} While the Centre has closed, activities like Sydney's annual pride festival carry on in a different form.^[7][8]

Sydney Pride Centre provided a physical venue at the Erskineville Town Hall for the community organisations and individuals to meet, work, and socialise together.^[9]

Objectives

The objectives of the centre were managing and developing a community center in activities related to cultural development, creating access to educational activities with training opportunities, building a team spirit, and helping to promote community health and well-being.

Working in partnership

The Sydney Pride Centre established links between community groups and worked closely with other organisations for the benefit of the community. An example of this was the work done with ACON, the Gay & Lesbian Rights Lobby and Queerscreen to set up the New Mardi Gras (formerly Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras).^[10][11][12]

Sydney Pride Centre's biggest collaborative project was the annual PRIDE Week celebration, commemorating the Stonewall Riots. With the closure of the Sydney Pride Centre, the festival continues and, in 2013, a festival was held titled "A Time to Shine".^[8]

The Sydney Pride Centre also held community forums to explore important issues and to develop ideas and projects, and when the need arose, brought together a diverse cross-section of community organizations.

Gay and Lesbian Holocaust Memorial Project

The Gay and Lesbian Holocaust Memorial Project was founded by a group of community activists. Over the years, they raised funds to build a memorial at a suitable site. With the help of South Sydney City Council, a site at Green Park in Darlinghurst was created which is known as the heart of Sydney's gay and lesbian population. Green Park is adjacent to the Jewish Museum, which ensures that the memorial retains its historic meaning.

The memorial was constructed over a period of months in 2000. Its dedication ceremony occurred on Tuesday, 27 February 2001. The memorial was then handed over to the custodianship of the Sydney Pride Centre.^[13][14] Speakers at the dedication included;

• Cr John Fowler, Mayor of South Sydney City Council
• Luci Ellis, past president of Gay & Lesbian Holocaust Memorial Project Incorporated
• John Marsden, chairperson of the Gay & Lesbian Holocaust Memorial Project Incorporated
• Justice Marcus Einfeld AO QC
• Lou-Anne Lind, president of the Sydney Pride Centre
• Kitty Fischer, Holocaust survivor

See also

• Star Observer

References

External links

• Sydney Pride Festival