LGBTIQ History Month
October is LGBTIQ History Month. In Australia, the month is celebrated in October to coincide with National Coming Out Day on 11 October.
The annual month-long observance began in Australia in October 2016 when Minus 18 organised the first Australian LGBTIQ History Month in partnership with the Australian Lesbian and Gay Archives, and Safe Schools Coalition Victoria.
LGBTIQ History Month was founded in 1994 by Missouri high-school history teacher Rodney Wilson to commemorate the first and second marches on Washington in 1979 and 1987 for LGBT rights. His aim was to observe LGBT history and the history of the gay civil rights movement at the time. Today, LGBTIQ History Month provides role models, builds community, and celebrates the contributions of the LGBTIQ+ community.
As of 2020, LGBTIQ History Month is a month-long celebration that is specific to Hungary, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Greenland, and the city of Berlin.
Do you want find out more about LGBTIQ history in Australia?
Here are some resources:
Australian LGBTIQ history timeline: the 20th century
A definitive timeline of LGBT+ rights in Australia
ALGA
The Australian Lesbian and Gay Archives (ALGA) is the largest repository of library, archive and museum material relating to Australian LGBTIQ history, and international LGBTIQ history in Australia. In December 2020, ALGA was renamed as the Australian Queer Archives or AQuA.
“In this video from 1977, a gay rights activist speaks about the legislations that were passed in South Australia and the Australian Capital Territory that repealed some of the discriminatory laws that were in place until then. See if you can find out when these amendments were passed and when other Australian states and territories followed suit.”
