Happy Pride everyone! We have officially launched our website!! After many months of curating, photography, and attempting to understand website management, we have a public site. You can now look at some of the amazing donations generously given to PLA (link in bio). And there’s plenty more, as we continue to catalogue and preserve the various collections. The photos here are just a teaser of what’s to come. Thank you for supporting and following us on this adventure. We encourage you to take a look at the website, explore our book catalogue, peruse the items photographed so far, and check out the blog. We will continue to update our social media as more items are added to the website. Enjoy! #pride #perth #perthpride #lesbianarchive #perthlesbianarchive #lesbian #perthlesbians #perthfeminism #feminism #boorloo #perth #perthwomen #archiving #localhistory #localherstory #perthhistory #perthherstory #lesbianherstory #lesbianhistory #lesbianvisibility #lesbiansareeverywhere #feministhistory #feministherstory 1. Lesbian books 2. Donated sarong 3. Archive cat, Violet Sappho, being helpful 4. Books & DVD 5. Donated tea towel 6. Lesbian Network logo on donated tea towel 7. Archive cat, Frida Katlo 8. Donated art by Suzanne Bellamy 9. Donated tiles 10. Donated fabric 11. Donated vase 12. Records & pins

At the PLA we have been lucky enough to meet a number of women who have generously gifted the archive with donations. The most recent of these (there was a lot so I’ve only just finished cataloguing them, and this photo is only a small taste of them), comes from a local sister who donated a large amount of books on women, feminism, gender and the body (among other topics). Thank you to @katemakowiecka for your generosity and continued support of our project 💜💚💜 When our website is up, you’ll be able to peruse our extensive catalogue and see what amazing texts we have been gifted 📚 📖 📕 #lesbianarchive #perthlesbianarchive #lesbian #perthlesbians #perthfeminism #feminism #boorloo #perth #perthwomen #archiving #localhistory #localherstory #perthhistory #perthherstory #lesbianherstory #lesbianhistory #lesbianvisibility #lesbiansareeverywhere #feministhistory #feministherstory #booksofinsta #booksofinstagram #lesbianbooks #lesbianlibrary

Happy International Lesbian Day! Today we celebrate lesbians – our history and culture – while being together in the community to build strength, solidarity, and connection. Our history is so important, and that is why we at Perth Lesbian Archive strive to preserve as much of our local lesbian past as possible! Without a dedicated space to share our history and culture which tells the story of our visibility, that we have always been here, we can end up feeling isolated and pressured to conform to a society which still marginalises us. Lesbian lives have so often been ignored, silenced, and invisibilised. Only until recently have considerable efforts been made to pay attention to our history, and even then, its still often considered “niche”. Because of this, we can miss out on the rich stories of our lesbian elders, the experiences of struggle, resistance, and joy. The stories of the past can help us to navigate the present and the future. Without them, we risk having to start our efforts of support, celebration, and social change from scratch. The photos we share today are just a snippet of Western Australia’s vibrant lesbian past. We’d love to hear your stories of local lesbian history! Share with us in the comments about a lesbian story of the past that you love. Did you know this day is mostly only celebrated in Australia and New Zealand? There is some speculation about how the Day began, with some placing it in 1980 with the New Zealand Lesbian Day March, while others think it began in Australia at an event at the Collingwood Town Hall in Melbourne on October 13, 1990. #InternationalLesbianDay #lesbianarchive #perthlesbianarchive #lesbian #perthlesbians #perthfeminism #feminism #boorloo #perth #perthwomen #archiving #localhistory #localherstory #perthhistory #perthherstory #lesbianherstory #lesbianhistory #lesbianvisibility #lesbiansareeverywhere #feministhistory #feministherstory 1. Lesbian buttons donated to the archive 2. Women Out West Magazine - cover art on top issue by Nicky Fabiszak 3. Dykes Delights Cookbook 4. Donated t-shirt 5. Lesbians on the Loose Magazine 6. Lesbian Network Magazine 7. Donated t-shirt 8. Gossip a Lesbian Feminist Journal

The latest additions to the archive came from @sinister_wisdom - thank you to Julie for curating an amazing package of books on top of the ones we ordered 💜💚💜 #lesbianarchive #perthlesbianarchive #lesbian #perthlesbians #perthfeminism #feminism #boorloo #perth #perthwomen #archiving #localhistory #localherstory #perthhistory #perthherstory #lesbianherstory #lesbianhistory #lesbianvisibility #lesbiansareeverywhere #feministhistory #feministherstory #booksofinsta #booksofinstagram #lesbianbooks

This is the Perth Lesbian Archive Goddess statue and her scriptures 💜 Website is under construction, but will be published soon! Exciting things happening at PLA HQ! #lesbianarchive #perthlesbianarchive #lesbian #perthlesbians #perthfeminism #feminism #boorloo #perth #perthwomen #archiving #localhistory #localherstory #perthhistory #perthherstory #lesbianherstory #lesbianhistory #lesbianvisibility #lesbiansareeverywhere #feministhistory #feministherstory #matriarch #goddess #booksofinsta #booksofinstagram #lesbianbooks #lesbianlibrary

While we’re busy developing the archive’s website, we thought it’d be good to introduce ourselves! We are Perth Lesbian Archive, located in Boorloo on Whadjuk Noongar land (never ceded). PLA collects, catalogues and maintains donations relating to local lesbian herstory. We are three lesbians who met years ago through lesbian feminist activism and discovered the need for a place to preserve the very important documents of local lesbian elders’ lives. With hard work and lots of dedication, we are building something special! Watch this space for more lesbian herstory and updates on our activities. Feel free to ask us any questions in the comments! #lesbianarchive #perthlesbianarchive #lesbian #perthlesbians #perthfeminism #feminism #boorloo #perth #perthwomen #archiving #localhistory #localherstory #perthhistory #perthherstory #lesbianherstory #lesbianhistory #lesbianvisibility #lesbiansareeverywhere #feministhistory #feministherstory

The archive has a collection of lesbian vinyl! 🎶💜🧡❤️ #lesbianarchive #perthlesbianarchive #lesbian #perthlesbians #perthfeminism #feminism #perth #perthwomen #archiving #localhistory #localherstory #perthhistory #perthherstory #lesbianherstory #lesbianhistory #lesbianvisibility #lesbiansareeverywhere #feministhistory #feministherstory #oliviarecords

Starting to go through donated materials and discovered the was a Dyke tap dancing group in Perth! 👯‍♂️ 💜🧡❤️ #lesbianarchive #perthlesbianarchive #lesbian #perthlesbians #perthfeminism #feminism #perth #perthwomen #archiving #localhistory #localherstory #perthhistory #perthherstory #lesbianherstory #lesbianhistory #lesbianvisibility #lesbiansareeverywhere #feministhistory #feministherstory

A few books we picked up at a newly opened local secondhand bookshop. #lesbianarchive #perthlesbianarchive #lesbian #perthlesbians #perthfeminism #feminism #perth #perthwomen #archiving #localhistory #localherstory #perthhistory #perthherstory #lesbianherstory #lesbianhistory #lesbianvisibility #lesbiansareeverywhere #feministhistory #feministherstory #booksofinsta #booksofinstagram #lesbianbooks #lesbianlibrary

All the archive materials are back in boxes while we build the storage that we were able to buy with the grant we received from @lesbians_incorporated_au - thanks to Lesbians Incorporated for helping us get closer to our dream of a functioning, fully digitised archive! 💜🧡❤️ Once the storage is built and books are back on shelves we can get back to the fun work of photographing all the archive materials and putting them on the website which is currently being built. Watch this space for more info!

We’ve finished the first stage of cataloging books donated to the Perth Lesbian Archive 🌈 #lesbianarchive #perthlesbianarchive #lesbian #perthlesbians #perthfeminism #feminism #perth #perthwomen #archiving #localhistory #localherstory #perthhistory #perthherstory #lesbianherstory #lesbianhistory #lesbianvisibility #lesbiansareeverywhere #feministhistory #feministherstory #booksofinsta #booksofinstagram #lesbianbooks #lesbianlibrary

A collection of lesbian vinyl has been donated to the Perth Lesbian Archive 🌈 #perthlesbianarchive #lesbianarchive #lesbian #perthlesbians #perthfeminism #feminism #perth #perthwomen #archiving #localhistory #localherstory #perthhistory #perthherstory #lesbianherstory #lesbianhistory #lesbianvisibility #lesbiansareeverywhere #feministhistory #feministherstory #lesbianmusic #vinyl

Hundreds of buttons have been donated by lesbians to the Perth Lesbian Archive! 🌈 #lesbianarchive #perthlesbianarchive #lesbian #perthlesbians #perthfeminism #feminism #perth #perthwomen #archiving #localhistory #localherstory #perthhistory #perthherstory #lesbianherstory #lesbianhistory #lesbianvisibility #lesbiansareeverywhere #feministhistory #feministherstory #vintagebuttons #politicalbuttons

Our girl Violet Sappho being incredibly helpful with the CATaloging of donated books 😻📖💜 #lesbianarchive #perthlesbianarchive #lesbian #perthlesbians #perthfeminism #feminism #perth #perthwomen #archiving #localhistory #localherstory #perthhistory #perthherstory #lesbianherstory #lesbianhistory #feministhistory #feministherstory #booksofinsta #booksofinstagram #lesbianbooks #lesbianlibrary

Let’s try that again, shall we? #censoringwomensbodieshownovel 🙄 And so it begins! First book archived! #lesbianarchive #perthlesbianarchive #lesbian #perthlesbians #perthfeminism #feminism #perth #perthwomen #archiving #localhistory #localherstory #perthhistory #perthherstory #lesbianherstory #lesbianhistory #feministhistory #feministherstory #booksofinsta #booksofinstagram #lesbianbooks #lesbianlibrary

Found this note amongst some of the donations made to the archive! Objective achieved ✔️ #lesbian #perthlesbianarchive #lesbianarchive #feminism #perthfeminism #perthlesbians