On 13 and 14 November 2015, historian and BootCo committee member Tim Roberts attended the 15th Australian Homosexual Histories Conference in Adelaide. The conference was held as a part of Adelaide’s FEAST festival, and nodded to the 40th anniversary of the decriminalisation of male homosexual acts in South Australia, the first such law reform to take place in Australia. Over 120 people from Australian and abroad attended the conference, and over 65 papers were presented.
At the conference, Tim presented a paper on the early years of BootCo. Titled Being Black and Blue in Brisbane, his discussion mapped the early years of the club, and referenced the political and social environment that existed in Queensland while BootCo grew. The paper was read alongside a paper outlining the early years of the South Pacific Motor Club read by Nick Henderson, curator and management committee member of the Australian Lesbian and Gay Archives, Melbourne.
While in Adelaide, Tim attended a number of other events including a Mayoral Welcome to Adelaide for conference delegates, held in the Queen Adelaide Room of Adelaide Town Hall; the FEAST opening party at the University of Adelaide; and a history walk curated by Dr Gertrude Glossip, PhD (Formal Drapery), Curtain University, the persona of Conference convenor Will Sargeant. Overall the weekend was a wonderful success, with Queensland’s (and Australia’s) Leather community history proudly out on show.
