Amidst the explosion of colour, glitter and glamour that decorates Hyde Park on the evening of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, Rebbell Barnes, 63, recalls a very different scene.
“Police came from every station around Sydney,” he remembers.
“They came with paddy wagons. We couldn’t run anywhere because they closed off all the side streets. We had decided to go up William Street and head to the Cross. It was a legal march, but we didn’t have a permit for that area. That’s where they caved us in.”
At just 16, the now Sans-Souci retiree was the youngest ‘78er’ to march in the first Mardi Gras on June 24, 1978, back when pride was a protest and homosexuality was a crime, punishable with a 14-year prison sentence. He recalls feelings of excitement and apprehension in the 500-strong crowd that he says carried an unmistakable sense of unity and pride.
I still get that same feeling when you hear the crowd just explode, it’s such power.
Phoenix James, 54
“I was the youngest there,” he says. “Some of us were bashed… I watched a policeman pull a woman by her hair. My straight school friend and I tried to protect her, so we jumped on him. We ended up at Darlinghurst Police Station.”
Barnes tells Central News that he waited eight hours for his parents to collect him after his arrest. He spent the night in a “tiny” cell with 53 others, mostly women, who he says were especially “picked on” by police.
“They had good jobs, parliamentary staffers, school teachers, lecturers… the next day, the local paper printed their photographs across the front page, with their addresses, their occupations. Many lost their jobs and had to move overseas or to regional areas.”
78er Rebbell Barnes. Photo: Elsa Pritchard.
Almost five decades on, Barnes exchanges memories from that night with other ‘78ers and parade-goers. Around him, some of the 10,000 marchers are adjusting elaborate costumes and waving rainbow flags in preparation for the parade that attracts hundreds of thousands of spectators, corporate sponsors and politicians.
Progress, joy and the power of Sydney’s LGBTQIA+ community are central to the 2026 theme, ‘Ecstatica’. It honours the roots of the parade that lie in resistance, celebrating unapologetic pride.
“Mardi Gras is freedom, empowerment, joy, advocacy, pride,” adds Phoenix James, 54.
“I still get that same feeling when you hear the crowd just explode, it’s such power. You’re standing on the corner of Oxford St, and you hear the Dykes and Boys on Bikes, the roar of the crowd, and you start walking. There’s nothing like it.”
The Adelaide public servant’s shoulders are adorned by feathered wings, and purple glitter lines his chest. He comments on the exhilarating atmosphere, expressing his gratitude to march with his fiance, Anthony Bansemer, 54, with the First Nations float.
“It’s about representing our elders, past and present. It’s an opportunity for us to show that we are proud to be Aboriginal, and to celebrate the diversity in our community,” Phoenix adds.
Spiro Livanes, 24, celebrating his First Mardi Gras tells Central News he has travelled from Tweed Heads especially to march with NSW Health in his role as a resident doctor.
“There is just something very happy about being in a safe space where you can be yourself,” he says.
Purple pride marchers. Photo: Orlando Sagar
“For me, that’s exactly what queer joy is, when you’re not afraid to hide who you are, and you can be open and express yourself in the way you’d like to do so.”
It’s this joy Barnes is also most grateful for, as well as the freedom to celebrate in Hyde Park without the fear and brutality he experienced in 1978. Amidst the pop-music soundtracks, vibrant colours and growing crowd, he reflects on what it means to be part of a community that celebrates diverse sexualities and genders.
“Mardi Gras is about remembering our history, and sharing it with new generations of people who celebrate every year.”
Main image by Orlando Sagar.
