CrosswordNewsletters
DAILY BEAST
  • Capitol Riots
  • Covid-19
  • Cheat Sheet
  • Politics
  • Entertainment
  • Media
  • World
  • Half Full
  • U.S. News
  • Scouted
  • Travel
Culture

Australia’s LGBT-Only Island

Paradise Found

Marriage equality discrimination led a group of Australian activists to set their rainbow flag on Cato Island. This ‘homeland’ even has a Gloria Gaynor anthem.

Nina Strochlic

Updated Oct. 11, 2019 3:47PM ET / Published Apr. 18, 2015 6:45AM ET 
BEAST INSIDE

Photo Illustration by Sarah Rogers/The Daily Beast

When Australia refused to allow its gay citizens equal rights to marriage, a group of activists deserted the country, sailed 200 nautical miles to an island off the Great Barrier Reef and hoisted a rainbow flag in the highest spot they could find.

They declared it the Gay and Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands.

The impetus came in 2004 during the Brisbane Gay Pride festival, when a collective of friends decided that without being granted legal marriage rights they would leave and start their own more inclusive country.

READ THIS LIST

DAILY BEAST
  • Capitol Riots
  • Covid-19
  • Cheat Sheet
  • Politics
  • Entertainment
  • Media
  • World
  • Half Full
  • U.S. News
  • Scouted
  • Travel
  • Beast Inside
  • Crossword
  • Newsletters
  • About
  • Contact
  • Tips
  • Jobs
  • Advertise
  • Help
  • Privacy
  • Code of Ethics & Standards
  • Diversity
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Copyright & Trademark
  • Sitemap
  • Coupons
© 2021 The Daily Beast Company LLC