High Five: Victorian Pride Centre Celebrates 5 Years Of Being A Home Away From Home

Five years is long enough that it’s hard to remember Fitzroy Street without the Victorian Pride Centre jutting proudly over the footpath, its unmistakable architecture quietly announcing that queer people belong here. 

But also young enough that it’s still figuring out exactly what it wants to be, shaped every day by the thousands of people who walk through its doors looking for healthcare, community, art, friendship, advocacy, or simply somewhere they don’t have to explain themselves.

That, perhaps, is the Centre’s greatest achievement.

The idea itself stretches back almost a decade, born from community leaders who believed Victoria’s LGBTQIA+ communities deserved more than borrowed meeting rooms and scattered offices. They imagined a permanent home; somewhere organisations could work together, where history could be preserved, and where future generations would immediately know they belonged.

“The Victorian Pride Centre journey started just under ten years ago,” founding chair Jude Munroe reflected to Star Observer. “We wanted to build a safe haven for all LGBTIQ people, a home for key queer community organisations and a place for celebration of our culture and history. What we have now five years on is all that plus the promise of more to come. A place to grow our Pride.”

It wasn’t an easy journey. The project weathered funding pressures, construction challenges and countless moments where its future felt uncertain.

Former board member Georgie Harman remembers board meetings where “problems and challenges piled up – everything from financial sustainability to asbestos and hitting rock”, admitting the possibility of failure weighed heavily on everyone involved.

Yet the Centre opened in 2021, becoming Australia’s first purpose-built home for LGBTQIA+ communities. Today it houses organisations spanning health, advocacy, queer media and community services, while its gallery, theatre, rooftop and event spaces have become the backdrop for everything from memorials, to corporate meetings, to drag shows.

Of course, the last five years have also been a reminder that queer spaces remain visible targets.

Earlier this year, the Centre secured a $1 million federal funding commitment for upgraded security after experiencing break-ins, protesters, and people yelling anti-LGBTQIA+ abuse into the building. 

“We’re here to do good work. We really want to make sure that people… have a secure building to work in, and also just celebrate the fact that we’re a great community,” VPC CEO Paul Horwell said at the time.

Rather than diminishing the Centre’s importance, it has reinforced why it’s necessary.

Victorian LGBTIQA+ Commissioner Joe Ball says the Centre “stands as proof that belonging is something we build together. It is not just bricks and mortar; it is a commitment to the simple idea that everyone deserves a place where they can be safe, seen and valued.”

Josh Burns, the MP for Macnamara – the electorate the VPC sits in – agrees.

“I’m incredibly proud that St Kilda gets to be the home of such a powerful symbol of equality and belonging. After just five years, it’s hard to imagine Fitzroy St without the VPC – and it’s only just getting started,” he says.

That future is very much on the minds of those now steering the Centre.

Five years is an incredible milestone – in a world of rising hostility towards us, the next five years will be to make sure this home of ours keeps growing, keeping us safe, and helping community flourish.