The City of Sydney is pushing to list three well-known gay bars on Oxford Street on the heritage register, recognizing their contribution to Sydney's queer history. Following research into locations of significance to the LGBTQ+ community, the City of Sydney ultimately selected the Oxford Hotel, Palms, and Universal nightclub, the latter formerly known as Midnight Shift.
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03-17, 2025Lord Mayor Clover Moore AO said that these venues are an integral part of the area's social and physical fabric. "We know how important it is to our LGBTIQA+ community to protect, preserve and recognize the rich cultural history along Oxford Street," said Mayor Moore.
Historian and board member of the Sydney Queer History Museum Qtopia, Garry Wotherspoon, also believes that the area's historical significance should not be forgotten. "Oxford Street is a vital part of our city's queer history and culture, and its venues – many of which have disappeared – were important places where our community could safely develop their identities," he said.
Wotherspoon recalled: "We used to call it 'the ghetto,' and it did have some of the characteristics of a ghetto – a place where a common 'persecuted' minority group gathered." As a marcher in the first Mardi Gras in 1978, Wotherspoon has had a connection to the street for nearly 50 years. He pointed out that male homosexual acts were still illegal in New South Wales until 1984. "So, from the early 1970s through to the early 21st century, it [Oxford Street] allowed our LGBTQI+ people to explore opportunities and be themselves." He added, "It was also an important center during the HIV/AIDS era, with discussions held at its various venues and strategies developed to disseminate information about safer sex and other necessary knowledge."
Determining which venues could be listed on the heritage register was not easy for the City of Sydney, but these three venues consistently emerged during consultations with the local queer community. "Each of the venues has been closely linked to the community since the late 1970s and early 80s," said Mayor Moore. "It is wonderful to be able to recognize and share the important role they have played in the diverse LGBTIQA+ community life for more than 40 years." Wotherspoon also believes that these venues hold a special place in the hearts of the queer community. "They were, and still are, important places for queer socializing," he said. "They have an iconic place in our history and culture."
In addition to the broader significance to the LGBTQ+ community, Wotherspoon also has his own personal connections. "Back in the early 2000s at Midnight Shift, I first met Steve Johnson, [who] came to investigate his brother's death in 1989," he said. Scott Johnson's murder was one of the cases that led to the Special Commission of Inquiry into LGBTIQ hate crimes in New South Wales. Regarding the Oxford Hotel, Wotherspoon said: "I remember on the night of June 24, 1978, I and my friends had a few drinks there, and then we started marching down Oxford Street, and that event became the first Mardi Gras."
The Oxford Hotel has been serving Sydney locals since 1905, although the venue has operated as a bar under various names since 1859. It was not until 1982 that it officially opened as a gay venue, advertising itself as "(Oxford Street's) newest gay bar." As one of Sydney's oldest continuously operating queer venues, the Oxford Hotel has hosted many LGBTQ+ events over the years, including the annual "Boys Own Bake-off" fundraiser for the HIV-positive charity Bobby Goldsmith Foundation. Palms, built in 1855 and once home to the Catholic Women's Association, opened as a gay club in 1977, a basement cabaret venue. The venue quickly established itself as a safe space for LGBTQ+ people who rejected gender and sexual norms, trading as Scooters Bar and Diner in the late 80s before reopening as Palms in 2000.
The venue now known as Universal nightclub opened as a restaurant and gay disco called Tropicana in August 1978. Two years later, it reopened as the 85 Club, a self-described "men's disco," but was damaged by a fire a few months later. In November 1980, the venue reopened again as Midnight Shift, and operated under that name until late 2017. The closure of Midnight Shift, as it was known to regulars, was attributed to a long-term decline in attendance due to Sydney's lockout laws, which affected many LGBTQ+ venues along Oxford Street. After being closed for nearly a year, the nightclub reopened as Universal nightclub in September 2018.
Although heritage listings have been fiercely debated in recent years as a possible impediment to social change, Wotherspoon believes they have an important role to play. "Getting heritage listings is an important part of recognizing aspects of the city's history," he said. Learning from history enables us to build a more diverse and inclusive society, Wotherspoon explained. "We live in challenging times," he said. "Sexual and gender diversity is under threat in many places, and the impact on individuals can be devastating, and in some cases fatal." He said that acknowledging history is especially important for persecuted minorities. "History can teach us how to avoid repeating mistakes, history can be used to [remind us] that we are not alone... [and] the history of our persecution by the state [can] be used to demand equal rights with other citizens," Wotherspoon said. "This is too important these days. We are, and have long been, part of Sydney's vibrant multicultural society and have played an important role in its creativity and its movement for equality and social cohesion."
The heritage listing proposal comes as Oxford Street's appearance continues to change. Last week, the popular gay nightclub ARQ announced that it would close this month. Gay Sydney News reported that [the co-founders of straight Oxford Street nightclub Noir plan to take over the current ARQ space], renaming the venue Aura.
Sydney City Councillors unanimously voted in favor of the proposal at the end of last year, and the heritage listing has now been submitted to the New South Wales government for review. Once approved, the proposal will be open for public comment. At the same meeting, councillors also voted to investigate heritage listings for other venues, including the TRADE nightclub, formerly known as Ruby Reds, considered Sydney's first lesbian bar, and the historic LGBTQ+ bookstore The Bookshop Darlinghurst.
