Queer Walking Tour of Freo

Ryan Steed invites ideas as he plans a queer walking tour of Freo.

Only in my late 20s did I realise I was gay. At 31, I came out to friends and family. At 33, as a teacher, I grew sick of lying to my students, who generally assumed I was straight, and I wrote and shared a letter, my hands shaking as I talked to the class of Year 10s. I’ll never forget the affirming way they responded, how much easier I walked in my shoes after that moment.

I know that for many queer people today, in Australia and other parts of the world, it remains dangerous and difficult to be honest about your sexuality. I’m grateful to the queer people who lived before, fought for Marriage Equality, and found ways to express their love.

In many ways, Perth’s queer community is flourishing. The other day, I was talking with a gay friend about walking through Kings Park on a Saturday morning, alongside other Perth Frontrunners. We talked about book clubs, like the one GRAI (GLBTI Rights in Ageing Inc) runs once a month at Perth Pride Centre. Perth has two queer choirs. We’ve got a 56-page guide for PrideFEST 2026, packed with events, many of them free.

And we have the Flaming Galah, our fabulous community hub for queer life in Freo. It’s a place for yarning and dancing, cocktails and burgers, Karaoke and Burlesque. Since it opened three years ago, Leala and her team have done an incredible job of making the Galah a joyful, exciting place where everybody feels welcome.

Unfortunately, Freo Pride Fest, an all-ages afternoon of market stalls and creativity at Walyalup Koort, is not running in 2026 due to lack of funding. Thankfully, the City is still hosting several smaller-scale Pride Month activities, including line dancing at Victoria Hall and queer writing workshops at Fremantle Library. Yet most of Perth’s queer events happen north of the river, centralised in Northbridge.

It’s up to us, as a Freo community, to weave strands of queer connection together.

I’m hoping a Queer Walking Tour of Walyalup is one way to do this.

For the past few months, I’ve been developing this tour, exploring archives and having conversations. I give heartfelt gratitude to everyone who’s sat down with me for a coffee, especially to Leala, James, Neil, Jacqui, Jo and David. These conversations have been intriguing and challenging. They’ve changed the way I experience our town.

Now when I stand on the grass by the Shipwreck Museum, I hear the whispering ghosts of two young sailors from the Zeewijk, condemned to death for loving each other nearly 300 years ago. When I walk past the uni carpark on Henry St, I picture a sharply dressed steward at the Fremantle Club, who called himself Martin Able. Sitting inside Freo Social, I feel the sweat and smoke of a 1980s club, electrified by the subversive, playful energy of seven women, performing as Tokyo Rose.

I promise I will tell you more on the tour. It’s a tour full of history, conversation, reflection and music, and it’s nearly ready to launch.

But first, queers of Freo, I want to hear your stories.

You might be running a business. You might be an artist who finds inspiration here, or once contributed a piece to our town. You might be a community elder, or an international student. Perhaps you love the word ‘queer’; perhaps it doesn’t resonate with you. Maybe you feel accepted and embraced in Fremantle; maybe you find it hard to find your niche in our town.

I’d love to hear your story. I’m particularly curious about accounts of memorable queer scenes, moments or performances around Freo. I’m also interested in inner tales, your journey of ‘becoming queer’ in our town. Together, our stories will shape this walking tour into a deeper, more representative experience.

You can reach out to me here to arrange a time to talk.

I hope to connect with you soon.

*By Ryan Steed

~ If you’d like to COMMENT on this or any of our stories, don’t hesitate to email our Editor.

~ WHILE YOU’RE HERE –