Flamingos a no go
LGBTQI+ CREW STILL SEARCHING FOR NEW VENUE TWO YEARS LATER
HOBART is believed to be the only Australian capital without a dedicated LGBTIQ+ bar as Flamingos, which closed more than two years ago, still searches for new premises.
Equality Tasmania wants the Hobart City Council to work with the community to find a home for the popular dance bar, which opened 18 years ago.
Flamingos licensee Gary Quilliam believes homophobia may have contributed to the difficulty finding a suitable venue.
“It’s beyond desperate, it’s embarrassing,” he said.
“Ever since closing, we have been contacted on a weekly basis by locals and tourists alike searching for a safe space in Hobart to catch up with other likeminded people for a drink and to socialise.
“To the best of my knowledge, Hobart is the only capital city in Australia that has no dedicated LGBTIQ+ bar or club.
“Despite our best effort to date searching for a suitable venue, the options are very limited.
“Plus we believe we are also subject to homophobia, which could have played a role in preventing us from
being able to secure our desired premises.
“As we were the only permanent dedicated safe LGBTIQ+ venue in Hobart, it means members of the LGBTIQ+ community, either locals or tourists, no longer have a safe space to go to on a weekly basis, should they want to.”
Flamingos first opened in Argyle St in 2005 before moving to 251 Liverpool St in 2007 and 201 Liverpool St in 2010.
When the building was sold, it had to vacate in October 2020 but had temporary space at Altar DarkLab for six months.
Mr Quilliam said Flamingos
always operated on a tight budget “to maximise our reach to everybody in the rainbow community”, which was the vision of founder Thomas Williams, who died recently.
Equality Tasmania’s Lucy Mercer-Mapstone said in recent years there had been a proliferation of groups, events and venues for LGBTIQA+ people in Tasmania, “showing leadership and resilience from within our diverse community”.
“That makes it all the more disappointing that a club like Flamingos still doesn’t have a home after two years,” she said.
“LGBTIQA+ spaces allow us to feel safe and connected.”
Lord Mayor Anna Reynolds said she would meet with Flamingos soon and was “very open to hearing ideas about how council can help”.
Juniper Shaw, who runs the live music venue Grand Poobah where Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was a DJ for a Labor fundraiser in 2016, said it was hard to find a suitable venue that did not attract noise complaints.
“We try to offer a safe and inclusive space and regular parties pop up for the LGBTIQ community,” she said. “It’s a tough gig postCovid with costs going up.”