The Torrens beat, from the old city baths to the Cathedral, was also a place that gay men and queens met, as was Victoria Park, and the mangrove swamps at Port Adelaide. These were mostly toilets that were located behind hotels - the Majestic (Majestic Lane), the Eagle (on Bank Street), Tattersalls (located on Hindley Street), and the Astor (behind Pirie and Grenfell Streets) - and could be accessed without having to enter the hotels. Cruising the beatĪs well as parties there were the beats – places for social and sexual encounters between gay men. The latter were often spontaneous events that took place after pubs, such as the Exchange (Hindley Street), Majestic (King William Street), Royal Admiral (Hindley Street), and the South Australian (North Terrace), closed at 6pm. Pre- and post-war AdelaideĪs many of those interviewed by John Lee in the 1970/80s attest, in the 1940s and 50s ‘camp’ nightlife consisted primarily of coffee lounges (such as Monmartre in Twin Street, and the Manhattan in King William Street), and private parties. The following is a brief – and far from definitive – overview of the shifts that occurred in Adelaide’s queer nightlife from the 1940s to the 1990s. Since the 1960s ‘nightlife’ has tended to be associated with nightclubs, but this wasn’t always the case. Nightlife has long been an important part of life for most gays, lesbians, bisexuals, trans, and queer (LGBTQ) identified people.
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