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Queer
history Walk
Join us for a queer-friendly walk in nature as we explore the tracks through the Federation Walk Coastal Reserve.
Together, we will walk through this stunning coastal landscape encompassing native vegetation, dunes, open space and ocean views. Get some exercise, meet new people and learn about the Gold Coast's fascinating coastal ecology in a safe space for LGBTIQA+ people!
Our guides will be local artists and permaculture enthusiasts, who will share insights about native vegetation and revegetation practices in the dunal forest as we experience it.
The track is about 45minutes return on established sand and gravel paths with some small hills suitable for walking and cycling.
On our return to the trailhead we will share a picnic and stories about this shared space.
Come on the walk, or simply enjoy some forest bathing under the trees as you listen to an array of native birdlife singing in this protected space, accompanied by the sounds of the ocean.
Bring a picnic if you can. Some light refreshments will be provided. In the event of heavy wet weather the event will be rescheduled.
Walk 'N Talk
Gathering
WHAT: Guided walk
WHEN: Sunday 18 June, 11-1pm
WHERE: Federation Coastal Reserve. Meet at the trailhead.
WHAT TO WEAR/BRING: Sturdy walking shoes, hat, sunscreen, water bottle
Queer Ecology
“The Spit” is the name for the northernmost section of Gold Coast beaches stretching from Main Beach and Surfers Paradise all the way south to Coolangatta.
The Spit extends into the seaway and is the gateway between the Gold Coast Broadwater and the open ocean.
The Spit was formed between 1897 and 1898, when high seas broke through narrow sections of land on Minjerribah (Stradbroke Island). This made a new ocean passage, Jumpinpin Channel, which divides Minjerribah in two (North Stradbroke Island and South Stradbroke Island), and continued to erode South Stradbroke Island. Longshore drift (the process of transportation that shifts sand along the coastline) continued to shape and reshape the narrow stretch of sand, which now features extensive native vegetation and regenerated bushland.
Federation Walk Coastal Reserve is a public parkland that hosts numerous activities, including walking, jogging, cycling and cruising. While the LGBTIQA+ history of this area is rarely acknowledged in official records, it remains an important part of the Gold Coast’s queer history as a site where LGBTIQA+ people (and also many heterosexual people) have encountered each other.
This is a site which sees a complex interplay between bodies and space; a space in which different modes of sensory experience are not possible but coexistent across multiple communities.
This space has changed many times throughout its life, combining multiple layers of time, elements and stories to become the popular recreational space of multi-use it is today. Can we look at this place through a queer lens, to take another look at nature’s shaping forces at work?
