Lesbian Wellington web links
Assorted NZ media
Book That’s What I Am: Oral Histories of Older Lesbians
Lois Cox's book, That’s What I Am: Oral Histories of Older Lesbians, has just been published by Town Belt Press, the publishing imprint owned by Hilary Lapsley and Lois.
The book draws on interviews conducted in the late 1990s with sixteen New Zealand lesbians over
the age of fifty. It tells the women’s stories through the decades, capturing memories of childhood,
adolescence and early adulthood, falling in love and establishing relationships. The storytellers
talk of navigating identity and social stigma and forming connections to Wellington’s lesbian community.
Together, their lives paint a vivid picture of resilience and solidarity. Sadly, some of the
storytellers whose oral histories are the basis for the book have died.
Listen to the RNZ podcast of an interview
with Lois.
The book is available from Unity Books Wellington, the Women’s Bookshop in Auckland, and other booksellers. LILAC Library has copies for members to borrow. Any queries to townbeltpress@xtra.co.nz
Movie Same but Different
The movie Same but Different is now available to at nzonscreen.com.
Produced by RAW Productions, Same But Different: A True New Zealand Love Story follows Rachel, a single working Grey Lynn mum, who breaks a three-year spell of singledom to pursue her escalating feelings for Nikki, whom she meets at a Maori film festival. Things don’t go according to plan, with Rachel’s awkward first romantic attempts fumbling into a sequence of embarrassing events, and her ex-lover, Rob, turning up. With all hope gone, it’s Rachel’s humanitarian efforts that eventually grab Nikki’s attention, and the two finally connect. Based on Kiwi-Samoan writer/director Nikki Si’ulepa's and producer Rachel Aneta Wills’ journey in pursuit of true love.
FLUNK: The Exchange - Lesbian High School romance web series
Sabina and Esther's relationship is pushed to breaking point when international exchange student Annie comes to stay. The Exchange is a new feature film from the creators of Flunk. Buy or rent on Vimeo to support Flunk and see the whole film, as well as get access to lots of exclusive behind the scenes videos.
Filmed in Auckland – FLUNK: The Exchange follows the complicated love lives of Annie (Mirene Castelltort) Sabina (Lucy Wyma – ‘Shortland Street’) and Esther (Celine Dam – ‘The Eggplant’) exploring themes including first loves, believing in yourself, and moving on from the past.
Pot Luck web series
Pot Luck, a kiwi lesbian TV webseries Season two launched on 10th December 2017. Both series 1
and series 2 are available on youtube
Butch on Butch
Jac's Butch on Butch photo exhibition is long over. Jac has loaded the photographs on to facebook, and the recordings of her interviews with the women photographed are available at pridenz.com.
Takatāpui resources
Two booklets by Elizabeth Kerekere are available online and to download at takatāpui.nz, a resource hub for Takatāpui and their whānau
PrideNZ.com audio/video/digital archive
- prideNZ.com audio files of interviews with a diverse range of quirky characters from diverse queer communities, yarning on topics and ponderings such as dis/abilities, gender fluidity, writing, history, activism, spirituality, out at school etc etc.
- PrideNZ.com has a downloadable spreadsheet of 3,600+ newspaper articles from The Press in Christchurch from the 1870s-1989. It has been created using Generative AI to surface and summarise historic newspaper articles relating to Takātapui Rainbow LGBTI+ communities. PrideNZ partnered with Christchurch City Libraries to digitise The Press, and then The Press have made the paper available non-commercially under a Creative Commons License.
- The Events section on the Pride NZ webside has audio from many queer/rainbow events, conferences and campaigns from around the country - a treasure trove with more being added regularly.
- The On This Day page has a rich mix of rainbow life - from events that happened over 100 years ago to today.
- An interactive map of rainbow related sites in Wellington with links to interviews and articles on the website.
- Check out the historical timeline of GLBTTIQ events and people in New Zealand. Sample it by decade or settle in to read the big page with the full list.
- A series of podcasts about how to go about creating an LGBTQIA+ Rainbow walk tour is available at www.pridenz.com/out_on_these_streets.html
- A section in prideNZ.com has links to the original categories, article titles and text captured from GayNZ.com before it ceased. Each entry has a link to the text of the article, and many also have links to the original articles held in the Internet Archive.
- The Missing Pages Project an online volunteer project that aims to ensure that significant LGBTQIA+ Rainbow people, events, organisations, and legislation in Aotearoa New Zealand are properly documented and made freely available on Wikipedia. Check it out if you are interested and have the aptitude to contribute.
Follow news of the latest audio files of interviews and events added to PrideNZ on their facebook page
History resources
- Queer History research guide from the National Library of New Zealand
- Lost lesbian places in Wellington, New Zealand - a list of lost (or mostly lost) lesbian places.
- Lesbian organising in New Zealand on the NZ History website
- Lesbian lives on Te Ara, the online Encyclopaedia of New Zealand
Local lesbian websites
- Armstrong & Arthur Charitable Trust for Lesbians
- LILAC - Wellington's lesbian library. It has a page of links to lesbian full-text titles on the web, and an online catalogue.
Wellington rainbow websites and groups
- Different Strokes - Wellington's gay and lesbian swim team
- Te Ngākau Kahukura o Te Awa Kairangi | Rainbow Hutt Valley on facebook and their website
- Kawe Mahara - Queer Archives Aotearoa - (formerly LAGANZ, Lesbian and Gay Archives of New Zealand Te Pūranga Takatāpui o Aotearoa)
- Queer Arts Trust - empowering and affirming queer artists with workshops and events
- Siân Torrington art classes
- Queer whānau building Pōneke [facebook]
- Rainbow Team Wellington - an umbrella group for Wellington's LGBTI sport and recreation clubs
- Rainbow Wellington - providing opportunities for members to network with regular social events.
- Tīwhanawhana - a takatāpui community group based in Wellington that welcomes people of diverse sexualities and gender identity
- UniQ Massey Wellington - on facebook
- UniQ Victoria - group for queer students at Victoria University of Wellington
- Walk Tours NZ - free community LGBTI rainbow themed walked tours in Wellington.
- Wellington Pride Festival website and on facebook
New Zealand websites
Lesbian websites
- Charlotte Museum Trust - a lesbian museum for New Zealand
- Lesbian Aotearoa
- ALBA formerly called the Auckland Lesbian Business Association
- Christchurch lesbians - information on the Women's Centre website
NZ rainbow websites
- gaynz.com - a digital hub of the LGBTQ+ community in Aotearoa New Zealand
- Rainbow NZ Charitable Trust - providing nationwide support for LGBTI+ individuals, projects and organisations
- Auckland Pride Festival
- Vinegar Hill rainbow camping - the annual camping holiday/party for Rainbow people and their families over Christmas and New Year holiday period. See also facebook roup
- EquAsian - an LGBTQI+ group for Asian Aucklanders on facebook
- Indian Origin Pride New Zealand
- InsideOUT - works to make Aotearoa a safer place for young people of diverse genders and sexualities.
- Out@Work - the Council of Trade Union's network for lesbian, gay, takatāpui, bisexual, intersex, transgender and fa'afafine union members
- Overwatch - an organisation of Regular, Reserve and Civilian members of the New Zealand Defence Force who are GLBTI their friends, family and allies
- PFLAG Palmerston North is a support network for parents and families of lesbian and gays - they are on facebook.
- Police diversity liaison officers
- Queer Asian stories from New Zealand
- Rainbow Youth - an Auckland based organisation that provides support, information and advocacy and education for queer young people and their families.
- Rainbow Youth have released an accessible educational resource which can be viewed online or downloaded.
- LGBT collection on NZ on Screen collection showcasing Aotearoa Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender screen production audio files - a diverse range of quirky characters from diverse queer communities, yarning on topics and ponderings such as dis/abilities, gender fluidity, writing, history, activism, spirituality, out at school etc etc.
- Te Papa's LGBTQI+ histories of Aotearoa New Zealand - text, images, videos
International lesbian and queer websites
- Herstoric lesbian imagery - a collection of historic photos and videos on Instagram (signin required)
- Historic gay & lesbian photos from the digital collections of the New York Public Libraries
- Queer Music History 101 - Part 6 - from a 10-part American college course
- ILGA - International Lesbian and Gay Association
- Autostraddle - American magazine-style site - all sorts of goodies
- Lesbian Avengers - history, pixs, videos, and the full text of the classic Lesbian Avengers Handbook, 3rd ed. - available in dead-tree format at LILAC library
- One More Lesbian - for movies, TV, web series etc., some free, some pay per view
- glbtq - archive of an encyclopedia of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender & queer culture ... heaps for the congenital insomniac (no new material added since 2015)
- QueerBio - a biographical reference source for contemporary and historical figures who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or queer
- Out History - a freely accessible educational website in development about lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and heterosexual history. [a bit earnest on the home page ... but there are riches]
- Wikipedia LGBT portal - not just lesbian but an interesting and eclectic collection of articles and links
Help lines and support
- OUTLineNZ provides a free confidential telephone help line from Auckland for Gay Lesbian Bisexual Transgender & Takatāpui (GLBTT) - 0800 688 5463 (0800 OUTLINE)
- Kowhai Therapeutic Services - counselling support for Rainbow Communities, including those questioning and exploring their sexuality.
- Im Local - a project of Rainbow Youth that helps queer and gender diverse youth all over the country to feel valued, recognised and supported in their local communities. They focus on getting information into rural areas.
- Intersex Youth Aotearoa - a place to share information, find support and network.
- Hohou Te Rongo Kahukura - Outing Violence - dedicated to building Rainbow communities in Aotearoa New Zealand free of partner and sexual violence.
How Safe Are Our Schools? - a 2014 report on bullying in schools produced for the Greens (pdf 200kb). It is based on Official Information Act requests to 60 New Zealand high schools
Human rights
- Courage Unfolds - a film about LGBT human rights and the Yogyakarta Principles in Asia.
- Yogyakarta Principles on the application of international human rights law in relation to sexual orientation and gender identity.
Wellbeing and health
- You, Me / Us - booklet and information about healthy relationships for the queer, takatāpui and gender diverse community
- Lesbian Cancer Survivors and Caregivers - a facebook support group
- miscellaneous.nz - resources about rainbow mental health.
Lesbian families and pregnancy
- Rainbow families NZ - a friendly forum for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) parents, prospective parents, and their families
- Lesbian mothers: Queer Families - the experience of planned pregnancy - by Caroline Bree (thesis, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Auckland University of Technology, 2003)
- "It was kind of awkward and kind of special all at once": Lesbians' experiences of conception, maternity and family spaces - by Lisa Melville (doctoral thesis, University of Waikato, 2021)
Travel
- Women Travel New Zealand - essential information for the woman traveller in New Zealand, including guided outdoor trips.
- Sidetracks women - guided outdoors adventures.
- New Zealand Awaits - small group trips and bespoke adventures.
- Women's Adventures NZ - more outdoors adventures.
- Gaystay.co.nz
