Lesbian and Gay hangouts
Early on, most lesbian and Gay Hangouts were our own private homes or public places, such as Carmen’s Coffee Lounge, a business where all were welcome. The earliest incarnation of the Dorian Society, in the 1960s, was initially exclusively for men. Many were exclusively LGB events, e.g., occasionally at the university in the 70s and later regularly at the Victoria Club. Some of these places were where exclusively lesbian events were held, like when the Wellington Town Hall was hired for the Lesbian Balls.
The Picasso in Upper Willis St. was where some gay men and lesbians met in the late 1950s. This was where a lesbian entertained by playing piano and singing.
Tete a Tete Coffee Lounge was a vital lesbian and gay meeting place in the early 60s. It was on Herbert St (now Victoria St between Dixon and Manners St).
Carmen's Coffee Lounge, 86 Vivian Street, mainly had straight clientele, and a lot of lesbians felt very safe there. Young lesbians and gay women found the queens kind, friendly, and even protective. They had a great jukebox and made delicious, toasted sandwiches.
Similarly, for The Purple Onion, 1964, and The Balcony Nightclub, which opened in the late 1960s on the corner of Victoria and Harris Streets (site of the current Central Public Library) where gay men performed exotic dancing. A few lesbians and some gay men met at Sorrento Coffee Lounge, which opened in 1960 at 81Ghuznee St.
Even after the 1986 Homosexual Law Reform Act it was still difficult to find public places totally accepting of gay, lesbian, and transexual people. When N.Z.'s first organisation for homosexual men, the Dorian Society, closed in 1986, the Evergreen, 144 Vivian St was the site of Wellington's gay and lesbian community centre (1986-1989).
Victoria Club: 232 Oriental Parade, was THE club for gays and lesbians through the 80s to 1992. It was the home of the Lesbian Club in 1991-2.
Dorian Society:
First site of the Dorian Club at Cornhill St (near Regent Arcade) 1962-c1965. Women are not allowed to be members or visitors.
Second site of the Dorian Club in Willis St, near St John’s Church, c1965-c1970. Women were accepted as members here, … then later rejected.
Third site of the Dorian Club on Lambton Quay c1970-c1980. Women are accepted as members again.
Fourth site of the Dorian Club, Willis Street Village, c1980-c1987.
When the Dorian Club admitted lesbians, Jenny was the lesbian rep on the committee. Jenny & Cheryl worked at the Miramar Girl'’ Home. Cheryl's girlfriend was Miss Todd Motors in the Wellington competition. Diana, Lorrie, and Tighe went to one of the functions in a park to cheer her on.
Jenny C. & Wendy & Billy & Jenny M. lived next door to each other on Mt Vic. Victoria University Students' Union Building, site of lesbian/gay dances for over 20 years beginning in the 70s (but straight men came and sexually harassed young lesbians).
Wellington Town Hall was the site of a memorable anti- Homosexual Law Reform rally in 1985. Two women from the audience, Max and Julie, stood and kissed amid uproar. The next year the Town Hall was where the passage of Law Reform was celebrated in '86.
Devotion Parties. 1st in 1991 at The Overseas Passenger Terminal (Tickets $20-25), 2nd at
Shed 26, 1992 (with the merry-go-round), 3rd at Shed 21 in 1993 and 4th at Town Hall, 1995.