Just looking at the venues in this guide is pretty well a dead giveaway for its year of publication. By the mid-80s, the Roman Baths, 253 Baths, Club 80, the Apollo Bar and Flo’s Palace had closed. Flo’s was to become the Hellfire Club, then the Den Club – both incarnations as men’s sex-on-premises venues. Patchs became DCM. The Link also closed around the same time. KKK Baths closed on 20 May 2012, having opened in 1972. The Exchange Hotel closed in 2015. The Midnight Shift (previously Tropicana) became Universal in 2018. DCM closed around 2009. The Unicorn, The Oxford, The Flinders and The Beresford have undergone a number of incarnation over the decades. The Albury closed in 2000, and has been reincarnated as retail stores. The “Golden Mile” of gay Oxford St, Darlinghurst is a sad excuse now for what used to be a thriving ghetto. It is now a long string of empty premises featuring For Sale, or For Lease, signs.
timalderman 
Hi Tim, I’m currently writing a history thesis on Sydney’s gay communities during the 80s and 90s. I came across this image and it’s a great insight into gay nightlife in Inner Sydney in the early 80s. I’m wondering if you have any further info on the map – was it published in a magazine, do you know the year? I’d so appreciate any help you can give me. Best, Isabelle
Hi Tim, I’m currently writing a history thesis on Sydney’s gay communities during the 80s and 90s. I came across this image and it’s a great insight into gay nightlife in Inner Sydney in the early 80s. I’m wondering if you have any further info on the map – was it published in a magazine, do you know the year? I’d so appreciate any help you can give me. Best, Isabelle
Hi Isabelle…the best I can tell you is that it is from “klick” magazine (not the current “Klick”), a gay magazine that had a brief life back in the early 80s. As far as years go, I can make an educated guess and say either 1982 orv1983. I returned to Sydney in mid 1982 after a brief 21/2 year hiatus in Melbourne, and that is exactly what the scene was. The Midnight Shift is named, and that is the year it became known by that name, after the fire in it’s original,incarnation of “Tropicana”. If memory serves well, “klick” had its demise around 1983ish. Hope this helps. If you click on the “Gay Interest” category link down the bottom of the page, you’ll find many articles…both local and otherwise…on the scene.
Thank you so much for your quick response, Tim. This is such useful info. Really appreciate your help!