Pop-up display: 40 Years of Homosexual Law Reform

While many see the criminalisation of consensual sexual activity between men as a chapter from New Zealand's distant past, for others it is a vivid memory from their own lifetime. Forty years ago, after several other bills failed, Labour MP Fran Wilde’s Homosexual Law Reform Bill was passed into law. Collected ephemera, photographs, audiovisual material and documents illustrate the many years of tension, campaigns and struggle that led to this turning point in New Zealand history.

Come and see a fascinating selection of related materials including posters, t-shirts, flyers, badges and video footage in person.

The display includes materials from Kawe Mahara Queer Archives, the Alexander Turnbull Library at the National Library, Archives New Zealand and Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision.

When: Saturday 1 August to Saturday 8 August (opening hours: Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm, Saturday 9am to 1pm). 

Where: Main Gallery, National Library of New Zealand, 70 Molesworth Street, Thorndon, Wellington 

Take a moment once you’ve seen the display to reflect on what it means to see these materials in 2026. Write a note reflecting on your experience — how do you feel? What have you learned?

The National Library’s Alexander Turnbull Library will collect these responses to help document the continued relevance of these materials and the impact of the reform 40 years on.