Sydney park to be renamed in honour of equal marriage vote
A park in Sydney is set to be renamed Equality Green to commemorate the moment Australia’s citizens voted for same-sex marriage.
More than 30,000 people gathered in Prince Alfred Park to hear the result of Australia’s Marriage Law Postal Survey on November 15 last year.
Mayor of Sydney Clover Moore passed a motion during a council meeting on Monday (October 29) to rename the south-western lawn of Prince Alfred Park as “Equality Green.”
Mayor of Sydney Clover Moore announced the proposal to rename the park with Alex Greenwich, member for Sydney, in a video on Facebook. (Lord Mayor Clover Moore/Facebook)
Over six in 10 (61.6 percent) of Australians that took part in the postal survey voted in support of same-sex marriage.
Equal marriage was passed by the Australian parliament on December 7 last year, following the voluntary postal survey on the issue.
Nearly 84 percent of people living in Sydney voted for equal marriage, making it the highest “Yes” vote of any electorate in the country.
Australia’s equal marriage law was implemented on December 9. The law immediately recognised same-sex marriages previously performed overseas between Australian citizens as legal.
The first gay wedding in Australia took place on December 15.
Posting a video about the proposal to rename the park on Facebook on Monday (October 29), Moore said: “It’s just over a year ago that thousands of us were here. And we were very excited, and we were very anxious.”
She added: “It was wonderful when we heard the results.”
Moore said the renaming of the park as Equality Green would “record forever that very historic moment when, across Australia, 60 percent of Australians voted for marriage equality.”
Writing in the caption alongside her video, Moore recalled the moment the postal survey result was read out.
“Cheers and jubilant shouts of ‘yes’ rang out across the park,” she said.
“After years of campaigning, and months of enduring the hurt and hostility caused by the survey, it was time to celebrate.
“Love had won a landslide victory.”
The proposal was suggested by Alex Greenwich, member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat of Sydney.
“People came to the park knowing they had the city of Sydney’s support, but they left the park knowing they had Australia’s support,” said Greenwich in the video.
“It was a gruelling, tough campaign, something that the LGBTI community shouldn’t have had to be put through.
“But we showed the leadership that the political leaders in Canberra failed to do, and Australia said Yes. And we are a fairer and more equal place as a result.”
