SURRY HILLS TO GET RAINBOW PATH
12 Nov 2020
To commemorate the legalisation of same sex marriage in Australia, a public art 90-metre rainbow path has been planned for Prince Alfred Park
Surry Hills is about to get a lot more colourful with a rainbow path proposed to run through Prince Alfred Park. To honour the legalisation of same sex marriage, bands of colour will be painted over an existing footpath in the area recently renamed Equality Green, as part of a City of Sydney proposal.
The name and new rainbow footpath commemorate the moment in history when 30,000 people gathered on the lawn to hear the results of Australia’s marriage equality postal survey.
Lord Mayor Clover Moore was in the park to celebrate the historic event on 15 November 2017. “I thought it was a fabulous idea when the Surry Hills Creative Precinct suggested we paint a bright rainbow on Equality Green,” the Lord Mayor said. “This is a permanent tribute to the moment when more than 30,000 Sydneysiders gathered together to hear the results of the marriage equality postal survey in 2017.”
30,000 Sydneysiders gathered together to hear the results of the marriage equality postal survey in 2017 Photo: Damian Shaw / City of Sydney
“The path will represent both the progress we have made towards equality and the long way to go before our LGBTIQ communities are free of discrimination.
“I look forward to the day when we can safely gather again – somewhere over the rainbow!”
“Surry Hills has long been at the vanguard of diversity and inclusivity, and the name Equality Green is a great reflection of that,” said Leigh Harris, President of the Surry Hills Creative Precinct. “Having the rainbow walk painted at the site will be a permanent reminder of our contribution to that historic change.”
The idea follows last year’s installation of a rainbow crossing that curves around the intersection of Bourke and Campbell streets in Darlinghurst – a tribute to the area’s close links with LGBTIQ communities.