The SSO A-Z guide to queer Sydney
K is for:
King St South Word to the unwise: It’s now some years since Leichhardt gave up its Dyke-heart title. It was once the centre of Australia’s lesbian universe, but there’s much more Sapphic action to be seen down the Beirut end of King Street Newtown these days.
Dykes and dyke-spotters should consider taking a window seat at the lesbian-owned and operated Succulent Caf?But be prepared to wait for a seat, it goes off on weekends. From there, a stream of trendy, daggy, younger, older, child-bearing or barely-out-of-puberty-themselves lady-loving-ladies can be observed en-masse.
South Newtown and Erskineville have been gay for years, but the make-up of the queer community is definitely veering towards dykes. As for Leichhardt, the lesbians moved out years ago and were replaced by young, mostly straight families. The long-term Italian residents must wonder if it was all a dream.
KKK But I don’t do Karate! How many times men have said these words when told of Ken’s Karate Klub, now more simply known as Ken’s of Kensington. The fact is, no one at KKK does karate, but there is always action going down on the mats in the cubicles throughout the two-storey, poolside establishment.
Once the city’s most glamorous drag venue The Purple Onion, the building became Ken’s in the early 1970s and today proudly boasts the title of the city’s oldest gay sauna. KKK has become an intrinsic part of Sydney’s gay community, with many a good time had among the maze of corridors, particularly on a Sunday afternoon when the men are renowned to be hot to trot and the action non-stop.
Apart from pleasures of the flesh and fast love in the shadows, many an aerobic workout has also been gained in KKK with the endless walking around the corridors, all in search of that elusive good time. Many relationships have also begun among the swirls of steam, but alas, many have ended there too, as philandering partners have been caught out.
Still, one unofficial rule about KKK persists with most of its visitors – what happens in the steam stays in the steam.
