Tag: queer history
Historian Gareth Watkins checks out dates in April’s past that were significant milestones for the queer community.
28 April 1869
Painter Frances Hodgkins was born in Dunedin. At the time, Dunedin was the most populous city in New Zealand and was home to a vibrant artistic community. Hodgkins first exhibited there...
Historian Gareth Watkins remembers significant moments in the history of Aotearoa New Zealand’s rainbow communities.
23 January 1964
This year marks the 60th anniversary of the brutal killing of Charles Allan Aberhart. Aberhart was not only persecuted by this country’s laws, with a conviction in 1963 for consensual homosexual activity (a...
Historian Gareth Watkins presents YOUR ex’s annual rainbow history quiz. Test your knowledge now! (Answers at the bottom.)
1 - James Mustapic, the winner of this year’s Celebrity Treasure Island, donated the $100,000 grand prize to what nationwide transgender organisation?
2 - In what year did the national census first collect...
Historian Gareth Watkins highlights November dates that have had significant impacts on Aotearoa New Zealand’s rainbow communities.
22 November 1973
Rev. Wilfred Ford, President of the Homosexual Law Reform Society, and Professor Jim Robb met with Prime Minister Norman Kirk to advocate for homosexual law reform. The Society had formed six...
Historian Gareth Watkins reflects on significant dates in Aotearoa New Zealand's history that had a unique impact on our queer communities.
19 October 1955
Activist and community icon Shelley Te Waiariki Howard was born in Hastings. For much of her life, Howard had tried to suppress her femininity. It wasn’t until...
Historian Gareth Watkins explores August dates that had a significant impact on Aotearoa’s LGBTQ+ communities.
4 August 1908
The Crimes Act 1908 was enacted. The legislation consolidated various laws, including one from 1893, which outlawed any form of sexual contact between males. Even if the sexual activity was consensual between adults,...
4 July 1975
The first major parliamentary attempt at homosexual law reform in New Zealand was defeated. National MP Venn Young had introduced the proposed legislation a year earlier. It aimed to decriminalise homosexual acts between consenting adults aged 21 and over. Just before the vote, Young told the House,...
Historian Gareth Watkins uncovers May dates in New Zealand’s past that have impacted today’s queer community in Aotearoa.
May 1983
2023 marks the 40th anniversary of the first International AIDS Candlelight Memorials which took place in San Francisco and New York City. In New Zealand, the memorial was first observed as...
