Eulogy for the Dyke Bar
CAMP Women’s Night

This program recreated the 1970s ‘CAMP Women’s Night’ to honour Sydney’s histories of activism and resistance in an evening of storytelling led by Robyn Kennedy.

Campaign Against Moral Persecution (CAMP) was the first lesbian and gay political organisation founded in 1970. Each Wednesday night, lesbians met at 33A Glebe Point Road to socialise and self-organise. Robyn Kennedy recounted lived experiences from a time of protest and change, including stories from the recently published book CAMP: Australia’s pioneer homosexual rights activists (2022). The program then opened up to invite 78ers and queer elders in the audience to share their stories.

The evening recreated elements of the CAMP Women’s Nights, complete with ham and cheese toasties, tea and coffee. It offered an opportunity to share our histories, and acknowledge the resistance and care that has enabled us to enjoy spaces like the Dyke Bar today.