General Overview of Tasmania
Aboriginal Culture
Animals and Plants
Conventions
Equal Access
Employment for Travellers
Facts and Figures
Frequently Asked Questions
Gay and Lesbian Visitors
Moving to Tasmania
Our Islands
Reading Up
Studying in Tasmania
Travel Business/Investing
History of Gay Law Reform in Tasmania
By the 1920s there was a vibrant gay community in Hobart. The oldest surviving photos of gay couples in Australia attests to this. At the same time, there was a circle of lesbian writers and performers in the city.
But homosexuality was still against the law and remained so until campaigners took to the streets of Hobart in the 1980s to protest against the archaic legislation.
The Campaign
The campaign took 10 years and involved large-scale protest, educational campaigns, rallies, direct action and appeals to the United Nations, the Federal Government and the High Court.
As a result, Tasmania now has some of the most effective same sex relationship laws in Australia.
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