Michael Glynn - The Sydney Star Collection

This collection consists of LGBTIQA+ photographs, circa 1979-1984, some of which were used for The Sydney Star, later known as The Star. This was a free newspaper for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community in Sydney. The publication was renamed The Sydney Star Observer and now operates online under different ownership as The Star Observer.

Michael Glynn published an A5 sized bar guide from 6 July 1979. It became a tabloid newspaper and in 1982 the paper changed its name to The Star. The Star was produced fortnightly. The subject content ranges from Mardi Gras parades, awards, fundraising events, protests, celebrations, parties, pub and nightclub culture. In 1984, Glynn sold the paper to a consortium who operated it under the company Seruse Pty Ltd. 

The photographs were received by the City of Sydney as part of a larger donation of Sydney Star Observer photographs from SSO Media in 2011. The Michael Glynn photographs were part of the estate of Michael Glynn and have been retained by the City Archives and shared with the permission of the executor of his estate. It is assumed that Michael Glynn took the photographs but this cannot be guaranteed and he features in some photographs. 

The photographs are copyright. For permission to use and access to the high resolution images please contact the City Archives.

Very little descriptive information accompanied the photographs. Archives volunteers have recorded what was available. Many photographs are undated so a range of 1979-1984 have been applied. Some later photographs have been mixed up with this collection and will be re-dated over time. 

Some information has been crowd sourced from photographers or the LGBTIQA+ community. The City of Sydney welcomes additional information such as dates, places, names and events. Once logged in and you find a photograph item, you can select the suggested edits function on the TOOLS menu.

It is unclear which photographs were published in the magazine, although some have percentage signs (%) indicating the photograph size planned for publication. It is difficult to match photographs to the publication issues. Some photographs from the stock photograph library were culled by editors at various times so the collection is not complete. 

Only selected photographs have been digitised and released by the City Archives. For further information please contact the City Archives. 

See Sydney Star Observer stock photographs for later images.