Date

1970-1972

Collection

Papers of Phyllis Papps and Francesca Curtis

Description

Australia’s first political organisation for homosexuals, Daughters of Bilitis (DOB)*, formed in January 1970. It began after two Melbourne lesbians were put in contact with each other by the US DOB in 1969. Relying on a sympathetic curiosity from the media, it worked for three years to influence opinion-makers, and provide social support for lesbians. In mid-1970, DOB rejected its US origins and radicalisation, renaming itself the Australasian Lesbian Movement (ALM). Its new name marked a retreat from political activity, which increasingly fell to Society Five and Gay Liberation. The ALM operated as a social group until its demise in 1973. This photo album documents early activities of ALM, including their 1970 Christmas Party. *Bilitis is the name given to a fictional lesbian contemporary of Sappho, by the French poet Pierre Louÿs in his 1894 work The Songs of Bilitis.