Boola Bardip WA Museum is set to host a panel discussion sparked by one of the more interesting artifacts in their collection – a public toilet door with a glory hole.

The acquisition of the door from a public toilet in Gosnells raised some eyebrows back in 2018 when the Museum added it to their collection of objects that capture parts of our Western Australian lives.

The door was donated to the museum by local activist group The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. The door was originally located in public toilets near the Gosnells train station. When the building was demolished in 1997 it was ‘rescued’ by Neil Buckley, who is also known as Mother Greta when in habit.

Back before social media apps, and before homosexuality was legal in Western Australia, gay men would meet up at ‘beats’, spots known for cruising and sexual beahviour. Public bathrooms, parks and secluded spaces were often well know by the queer community.

When the door was first donated the Shadow Minister for the Arts said it was “too tacky to display”. The public outcry led to a art exhibition the following year that explored the themes of sexualised spaces.

On 9th March the Museum will present a panel discussion the challenges of displaying unusual items and to discuss the extent to which queer identity has been desexualised to be made palatable in the dominant culture, and what work needs to be done to recalibrate public collections so that they equitably represent the breadth of the LGBTQIA+ spectrum.

No speakers have been announced for the event yet, but tickets are on sale now.

OIP Staff

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