Police show support for Pride in country’s first station rainbow illumination
QUEENSTOWN’S newest tourist attraction is, perhaps, an unlikely one.
The town’s police station has been turning heads after dark since Saturday night, when exterior rainbow lights were switched on for the first time.
They will remain in situ for the duration of Winter Pride.
It is the first police station in New Zealand to be lit up in support of the rainbow community.
Queenstown police diversity liaison officer Detective Constable Alex Cully said each year the police had seen other businesses around the resort town show their support for the rainbow community and Winter Pride by flying the flags, and had sometimes joined in, ‘‘but it just felt like it wasn’t quite enough’’.
‘‘This year the thought occurred to us to do this, and making it a real talking point for everyone that’s in Queenstown for Winter Pride — we got the goahead, and we decided to do it . . .’’
The installation had been done by the Queenstownbased South Island Light
Orchestra, which worked on the annual Luma lights festival, traditionally held in Queenstown Gardens.
‘‘They came up with the inspiration for how it was going to look and have just been supersupportive to our cause,’’ Det Const Cully said.
Winter Pride codirector Martin King said seeing the lights switched on was a ‘‘pretty emotional’’ moment.
‘‘I think when public institutions, like police, actually show their commitment through doing something as a public statement, you know that it is really hard fought for.
‘‘So you know there are people internally who are saying ‘we need to do better; weneedtoshowthatwe actually care’.
‘‘By them doing that, it changes people’s lives.
‘‘It also sets a standard for other people to go . . . ‘if the police can do it, we probably should be having a think about it, too’.’’
Det Const Cully said the police were ‘‘progressively building better and better relationships’’ with rainbow communities throughout New Zealand.
She hoped to see other police stations follow Queenstown’s lead when
Pride festivals were held in other parts of the country to show their support and ensure members of the LGBTQIA+ communities felt safe.
Winter Pride runs until Sunday.