The Australian Queer Archives (formerly the Australian Lesbian and Gay Archives) was established in 1978 at the Fourth National Homosexual Conference. We are based in Melbourne and operate with the assistance of members and supporters interstate.
The Archives is the only community organistation in Australia that actively collects and preserves LGBTIQ+ material from across the country, and makes it readily accessible.
The collections include material of national or international scope, but the heart of the Archives’ work is the collection and preservation of the historical life of LGBTIQ+ communities of Australia. From the time of the Gold Rush to the battles against AIDS, the collections save our rich and diverse histories for us and future generations.
The works of writers, artists, photographers, and performers; the papers of leaders; the records of community organizations; the posters, flyers, buttons, matchbooks of political movements or trends or bars and other venues; the stories that record our own lives and those of our lovers and friends … all these document the history of our community and of the individuals who form it.
The Archives preserves these materials and makes them accessible to students, historians, and anyone else who is interested.
You’ll find details of our recent activities in our annual report (pdf). You can also read our past annual reports.
What we do
- We preserve historical materials and make them accessible to students, historians and anyone else who is interested.
- We publish books and other materials on LGBTIQ+ histories.
- We auspice the Australian Homosexual Histories conference series.
- We run a Queer History Walk during Melbourne’s annual Midsumma gay and lesbian festival.
- We award a prize for undergraduate theses deposited with the Archives.
- We give in-kind support to non-profit projects that have similar or parallel aims to ours.
Governance
The Australian Queer Archives Inc. is a community-based, nonprofit organization, incorporated under Victorian law. The association is run democratically, by an elected committee of management, so ownership and control of the collection remain within the lesbian and gay communities. We are independent of any other organization.
- You can read the rules of our association (pdf).
Revenue is generated from membership fees, fundraising, and tax-deductible donations. The Archives is an income tax exempt charity and a deductible gift recipient under Australian taxation law.
- Our annual report (pdf) contains our financial statements.
If you’d like to become a member, click here.