In conversation: Community Policing, Policing a Community

Policing has two sides: the police and the policed. On the anniversary of the first Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras (24 June 1978), join us for this special Collections Series event.

This panel discussion between Garry Wotherspoon (78er and historian), George Savoulis (Curatorial Director, Qtopia Sydney) and Tuan Nguyen (Assistant Curator, Museums of History NSW) will consider the complex relationship between the LGBTQIA+ community and the police, within the walls of the former Water Police Court at the Justice & Police Museum.

The discussion will use the Darlinghurst Police Station – now the home of Qtopia Sydney, a centre for queer history and culture – as a point of reference, drawing upon photographs and plans from Museums of History NSW collections. Also on display will be letters written in 1880 by the bushranger Andrew George Scott (aka Captain Moonlite) in which he professed his love for his accomplice James Nesbitt; the 2018 video artwork With whom I was united by every tie by Todd Fuller, celebrating the love between Scott and Nesbitt; and the original plan of the Darlinghurst Police Station.

This event is part of the official Sydney Pride program.