Homemade History: Ken Garrahy home movies

When Ken Garrahy came to Sydney as a young man, a whole new world opened up for him. Despite homosexuality being illegal in New South Wales until 1984, and the harassment or criminalisation of anyone who didn’t conform to traditional gendered behaviours, the ’60s and ’70s were a time of growing freedom and community. Garrahy found his tribe, and captured the blossoming scene in 43 Super8 films that show us his friends’ close bonds and their joy in being ‘camp’ – at the time a catch-all term for gay men and women, who in Garrahy’s set ‘all joined in together’.  

In this clip, taken from an SBS series called Homemade History about the heritage of 8mm home movies, Garrahy reminisces about the gay social clubs that emerged in 1960s Sydney, including one he and his friends started, the Boomerang Club. The footage, taken from a Pollys Club sports day and a visit to the beach, forms a snapshot of the affection, humour and exuberance of a community delighting in free self-expression. As Garrahy says, ‘It was a wonderful time.’ 

Read more about Ken Garrahy and his home movies.