Seventies Sydney and the Queer Creative Economy – Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences – University of Sydney

This HDR opportunity is part of a larger project on Florence Broadhurst and the social and sexual dimensions of Australian creative culture. We seek to recruit an emerging researcher interested in gay history and culture to undertake an original study of gay-owned or gay-run art, design and homewares businesses in central Sydney in the 1970s.

In addition to the deepening the social history of gay Sydney, which has until now focussed on gay-run entertainment venues, clubs and activist organisations, the research conducted by the HDR will investigate overlaps between wealthy, bohemian and gay milieux. It will also be crucial in establishing the wider context of Broadhurst’s wallpaper business, providing detail on Broadhurst’s peers and competitors, such as Marion Hall Best, whose client list included Patrick White and other celebrated cultural figures.

This project will contribute to the growing scholarly literature on gay domestic style and world-making. Depending on the interest and skillset of the applicant, oral history dimensions may be included in the project brief, as might engagement with the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Business Association, which was founded in 1980, as well as council records and other material held by the City of Sydney Archives.

Please contact the supervisors to discuss other ideas you might have based on your own interests and expertise.