At the ALGA 2020 AGM held on Thursday 3 December, members were asked to vote on a special resolution to change the name of the organisation from the Australian Lesbian and Gay Archives to the Australian Queer Archives. The result from the vote came in at 96% in favour of the name change to Australian Queer Archives.
“This is a significant achievement after 2 years of consultation and engagement with our members, volunteers, supporters, broader communities and stakeholders and we are all really happy to have arrived at this change. We always thought the time was now,” said Angela Bailey (ALGA President).
Here is a little bit of history for you about the name:
- In 1978, when the Archives was founded, it was named the Australian Gay Archives.
- In 1991 the name was changed to the Australian Lesbian and Gay Archives (ALGA) to be more reflective of the identities within the community.
- In 2020 after 2 years of community consultation the name was changed to Australian Queer Archives.
Over the 2 years, the consultation included public surveys, member surveys, one-on-one conversations, discussion forums, workshops, email correspondence and in the last round of a survey to members in April 2020, with a choice of three names up for consideration, Australian Queer Archives was voted most popular.
In discussing the name change on the night, Vice President, Tim Jones said: “In its current usage, Queer is a broadly inclusive term for all our communities and the acronym of AQuA pleasingly references the fluidity of gender and sexuality.”
It will take a little period of time to transfer the new name across all platforms and communications. AQuA are hoping to have this completed by the New Year. For more information about the Australian Queer Archives, visit: www.alga.org.au for details. Collecting, Preserving and Celebrating our LGBTIQ+ Histories.
Image: Adelaide Gay Pride Week, September 1973, Jill Julius Matthews Collection, with collaged badges, Australian Queer Archives (AQuA)
Source: Australian Queer Archives