Four decades after Homosexual Law Reform changed life for queer New Zealanders, MOTAT is marking the milestone with a whānau-friendly celebration featuring rainbow-lit aircraft, live screen printing and a special appearance from author and Navy veteran Brad Poulter.
On 8 August, MOTAT’s Aviation Hall will be illuminated in rainbow colours as the Museum of Transport and Technology commemorates 40 years since consensual sexual activity between men was decriminalised in Aotearoa.
The landmark legislation, passed in 1986, helped lay the foundations for later human rights protections and transformed what was possible for generations of LGBTQIA+ New Zealanders.
MOTAT Visitor Experience Manager Jesse Wikiriwhi says the anniversary provides an opportunity to acknowledge that history while demonstrating the museum’s support for the rainbow community today.
“It is important to us that we continue to showcase inclusivity and representation in spaces to acknowledge the work that has been done and that continues to be done,” he tells YOUR EX.
MOTAT’s connections with military history also helped shape the programme. Its Motions Road site houses the Aviation Hall alongside military land vehicles, providing a powerful setting in which to explore how attitudes towards LGBTQIA+ people have changed within the armed forces.
“We know that historically, military organisations were homophobic until changes to the Human Rights Act in 1993 made it illegal to discriminate based on sexual orientation,” Wikiriwhi says.
That history will be brought into the present through the appearance of special guest Brad Poulter, who will read from and sign copies of his memoir, Built for This, to celebrate the event.
Poulter served for nearly 20 years in the Royal New Zealand Navy before moving into culture and inclusion work within the New Zealand Defence Force. His memoir traces a journey from small-town New Zealand to deployment in Afghanistan, while examining masculinity, trauma, sexuality and the gradual transformation of the Navy’s culture.
Poulter says growing up in rural New Zealand came with a narrow understanding of what masculinity was supposed to look like.
“Rural New Zealand in those years taught masculinity as a fairly short list of instructions. Be useful, be tough, don’t make a fuss, and whatever you do, don’t be soft,” he says.
Growing up, Brad said, a man was someone who worked with his hands and didn’t complain about it. Those weren’t cruel lessons. They were the water everyone swam in, and most people never thought to question the temperature.
The pressure to fit that model continued during the early years of his military career. Poulter recalls devoting considerable energy to monitoring his words, relationships and behaviour.
“You get fluent in a kind of self-editing that never fully switches off,” he says. “It shaped choices about postings, friendships, all of it. But that was just how it was. There didn’t seem to be another option, so you didn’t waste time wishing for one. You just carried it and got on with the work.”
Poulter and his partner, Rick, later became, as far as he knows, the first same-sex couple to be formally recognised through the Defence Force’s administrative processes.
“At the time it didn’t feel like history. It felt like a relationship we were tired of hiding,” he says. “We didn’t clear the path. We just got to walk it in daylight. Plenty before us walked it in the dark.”
Poulter also helped lead OverWatch, the New Zealand Defence Force’s LGBTQIA+ network. He describes the organisation’s shift from silence towards greater belonging as one of the most meaningful changes he witnessed.
“You can change the rules faster than you can change the room,” he says. “What is important to me is that the sense of belonging I eventually found keeps reaching people who don’t have it yet.”
Sharing Built for This during this anniversary year carries particular weight for Poulter, whose life reflects the difference legal and cultural progress can make.
“Before that law changed in 1986, a life like the one I now live openly was still criminalised,” he says. “My own story only exists because people fought for legal and cultural change, so standing there with this book is a way of showing what that change actually made possible in one life. It’s gratitude as much as celebration.”
While Poulter’s reading will be a highlight, Wikiriwhi promises the event will include plenty for visitors of every generation.
The Aviation Hall will be filled with rainbow-coloured light, while artist Ingrid Anderson will lead live screen printing. Visitors can create a Pride-themed tote bag or tea towel featuring a specially designed “badge of honour” graphic. The activity is free, although kōhā will be welcomed.
MOTAT’s Print Shop has also created commemorative bookmarks, available free while stocks last. Digital and audio content will share more of the anniversary’s history, while a new take-and-make activity will feature MOTAT’s powerful military searchlight.
“We ensure that the activities have intergenerational appeal,” Wikiriwhi says. “A lot of our visitors to MOTAT are families, of all shapes and sizes, so it’s important for us to include activations that have an element of interaction, self-discovery and a sense of play for all whānau members.”
Poulter promises his own appearance will be relaxed, candid and open to conversation.
“A reading, some honesty and a bit of humour. I’m not one for a solemn event,” he says. “I love questions, so bring them. Nothing is off limits.”
Ultimately, Wikiriwhi hopes visitors leave understanding the progress made over the past 40 years and the responsibility to carry it forward.
“Acknowledge the past and what has come before us, celebrate the present and the people in your lives, and embrace the future and all that it will bring.”
