It was 1978, the first ever Sydney Mardi Gras, and railway worker and union delegate Wally Cowin was in the crowd.
The city's gay and lesbian community had gathered in Taylor Square, some in capes and ruffles, extravagant hats and makeup, music blaring from the back of a flatbed truck.
They had a permit allowing them to gather and march for equal rights, but police would take no notice.
The crowd had come for a party. They found themselves in a riot.
All up, 53 people were arrested that night, some badly beaten by overzealous police.
Many lost their jobs after being named in the media, their sexuality revealed publicly.
By the early 90s, Cowin was living in Queensland where legal reform for LGBTQ rights was on the agenda.
Brisbane had been a city where men could be arrested for walking down the street together.
Cowin, who'd been on the wrong side of such interactions with police, saw the need for a local source of information to keep his community informed, safe and connected.
With Cowin at the helm, the first edition of Queensland Pride rolled off the presses in early 1991 and carried a one-word headline: "Welcome."
"This is your paper - use it and support it," the introductory passage read.
Collecting history
A University of Queensland and AusLit project is mapping Brisbane's street press and the people behind the publications that brought communities together.
Streets of your town: Mapping Brisbane's street press at State Library on 28 February will showcase the library's significant collection of street press along with a panel of key figures in the underground publication scene.
It will coincide with the launch of a website for readers to share their own stories.
Dr Caroline Wilson-Barnao from UQ's School of Communication and Arts said street press has been hugely influential.
"From helping people in regional or remote areas of Queensland affirm their sexuality and connect with their community through to the Cane Toad Times, which was seen as a place of political resistance," Dr Wilson-Barnao said.
"Time Off and Rave were critical for the music, art, movie and theatre scenes - they've all played a very big role in building Brisbane and its whole cultural identity.
"What we're trying to do is collect this history."
Dr Wilson-Barnao said UQ had played a significant role in Queensland's street press.
"It was UQ students who formed community radio station 4ZzZ in 1975, and a year later 2 of its staff created Time Off magazine," she said.
"4ZzZ launched Murri Hour in 1984, a vital resource for First Nations people to share music, activities and perspectives and that soon led to street press publication Murri News.
"UQ students also created Brisbane Underground Music Scene (BUMS) in 1990 - its first issue was printed on photocopiers in the journalism school and put together with sticky tape and felt pens."
Glory days for music magazine
Sean Sennett started writing about Brisbane's music scene for Time Off fresh from university.
He was just 23 when he and a couple of others chipped in and bought it after the publication went into receivership.
Sennett became its editor - a role he'd hold for decades.
"I think back now and it seems crazy, but that's the great thing about being youthful and naïve," he laughed.
Sennett went to tiny local gigs, major international acts and wrote about bands pulling a decent crowd at The Zoo in Fortitude Valley.
He saw them before they were famous, and after.
A mixture of hard work, well-placed contacts and good fortune soon saw him interviewing the musicians who changed the global culture of music - Bowie, Paul McCartney, B.B. King, Iggy Pop.
Sennett recalls running into Bruce Springsteen, in town for a gig, while walking down Alice Street.
"I did the ambassadorial thing and said, 'Welcome to Brisbane, Mr Springsteen'," he said.
Springsteen's reply was friendly, prompting Sennett to continue with: "Can I just ask you one question - what was it like to play with Roy Orbison?"
The pair chatted on the footpath for 20 minutes.
Not an interview - just a conversation between two people passionate about music.
When Springsteen recalled the conversation to someone later that afternoon, they happened to know Sennett and told the star his chance encounter was with a music journalist.
"He told them to get me to come backstage that night and he'd make time for an interview," Sennett said.
"It was incredibly generous - every news outlet in the country wanted to talk to him and he spoke to Time Off."
The publication printed 20,000 copies an issue and went directly into the hands of music enthusiasts.
"Street press around the country became a powerful thing to record labels," Sennett said.
Connecting communities
Queensland Pride was born out of Wally Cowin's garage and printed at a small press in Gympie.
"Our first edition had a map of businesses that welcomed gay and lesbian people - doctors, hairdressers and restaurant owners who supported the 'pink dollar'," Cowin said.
Distribution soon spread to Sydney and Melbourne, with travel a key feature.
"Our map grew and soon restaurant and BnB owners in Queensland's tourist towns told us they were getting carloads of interstate customers," he said.
Cowin said the resource of community groups, events and friendly, safe spaces was incredibly important to the gay and lesbian community.
"In those days there weren't mobile phones and the social media we have now," he said.
"It meant everything. Back then, it was the only thing."
Streets of your town: Mapping Brisbane's street press will be chaired by The Zoo founder Joc Curran and feature Sean Sennett, Black Magic Woman podcast host Mundanara Bayles, James Lee from Rave Magazine and Screamfeeder band member Kellie Lloyd.
Image top left: Sean Sennett
Image bottom left: Wally Cowin
Media contact
UQ Communications
