Sat 11 May 2013 In: Our Communities View at Wayback View at NDHA
Walking through newly-opened central Christchurch streets it's now clear that the Christchurch earthquakes wiped out all physical evidence of most of the places gay men, and occasionally lesbians, used to congregate. In pre-internet times in particular, physical spaces that were known to be gay, safe and welcoming were a pivotal part of coming out and making friends and more intimate relationships. Of course some of those intimate relationships lasted only minutes and no names were swapped. For many who visited or who lived part of their gay lives in Christchurch (or perhaps the South Island), the organisations housed in inner-city buildings were beacons of gay companionship and leadership. Most are gone forever. A few might just survive. If you lived in or visited Christchurch pre-quakes here are the fates of some of your favourite places. The Lambda Centre was in the Peterborough Centre These beautiful gothic revival buildings on Peterborough Street, once the Christchurch Teacher's Training College, housed for a time the Lambda Centre, a small drop-in and resource centre where glbti people could meet to socialise and strategise. Fate: Subsequently turned into luxury apartments which, it now appears, will be restored. The notorious Manchester Street Parking Building Less noble, but over the years furtively visited by many, many more gay and bi men, were the Manchester Street Car Park building's men's toilets, or 'bogs.' A long-ish echoing corridor leading from the street gave warning before anyone entered the actual toilet area. Fate: Awaiting demolition. The Colombo Sauna location The first floor Colombo Sauna, incorporating a gay adult bookshop and run by the Auckland-based Out! group of businesses, was the city's first legit sex-on-site premises, although when it first opened consenting sexual activity between consenting adult men was still highly illegal. Fate: Gone forever. Cruz was on the left, Menfriends on the right in this view along Lichfield from the Manchester St corner. Anchoring the nearest Christchurch ever came to having a 'gay strip,' Menfriends on the north side of Lichfield Street and Ministry/Cruz/G-spot on the south side constituted the hub of commercial glbti social and sexual life until the earthquakes struck. Fate: Both buildings gone forever. Heaven's Above was above these cars For a brief time in the late 1990s Heaven's Above on Colombo Street near Tuam was a bijou little upstairs bar which provided a quieter and less overtly erotic venue for Christchurch's gay folk. Fate: Gone forever. The Civic dominated this now-empty block Building on the success of her magnificent annual Gay Oscars, an evening of red-carpet glamour and frocked-up fun latterly held at the Civic Theatre in Manchester Street, the irrepressible Miss Mole for a brief period ran her Miss Mole's Flamingo Bar at the Civic. Fate: Gone forever. The United Service is now a flooded hole The United Service Hotel in the Square was one of several hotels that for a brief time in the 1980s hosted (knowingly or unknowingly) a gay night each week or month, generally in a less publicly visible back or upstairs bar so as not to scare the horses. Others pubs also pressed into service at various times included the Cantabrian and the Rachael. Fate: Gone forever. The site of Ringo's Bookshop The only gay periodical available for years in Christchurch was Out! magazine, but what if someone saw you reaching for it at the bookshop! Ringo's, a seedy little second-hand bookshop on Armagh Street, always had a few dog-eared recent-ish issues, with no scary glances in your direction. And an admiring glance could always be followed up around the corner at the Manchester Street Carpark bogs! Fate: Gone forever. The Dorian Club was above this part of the pop-up mall Up a long flight of stairs between Hannah's shoe shop and Whitcoulls on Cashel Street in pre-Law Reform days was the Dorian club. So long as you knew a member who would sign you in and you didn't want to close dance (or - horrors! - smooch) on the small dance floor it was a wee slice of homo heaven on the second floor. Fate: Gone forever. There were of course from time to time other Christchurch venues and meeting places, some fleeting and a few longer-lasting. They included such places as Angles nightclub, the NZAF's Christchurch centre, Dorothy's boutique private hotel and restaurant, The Box and the Student Union building at Ilam, venue for many glbti dances and events. Almost all are now gone, but their place in Christchurch's glbti memory is undeniable. Jay Bennie - 11th May 2013