Queens' Cross

Long before twinks were ordering pineapple Vodka Cruisers and busting Beyoncé-inspired moves at gay bars on the Golden Mile, they were drinking, flirting and picking up trade, at a number of Kings Cross' most popular gay nightspots. Time Out caught up with some legendary queer identities who remember the Cross at its dearest and queerest.

The Jewel Box (1961-1965)
41 Darlinghurst Rd, Kings Cross

Originally opened by American entrepreneur Lee Gordon and his wife, the Jewel Box on Darlinghurst Road gave Kings Cross its first glimpse at drag. Before the licensing laws changed, punters would have to bring their own liquor to this meagre venue that held a maximum capacity of 80 people.

Ken ‘Kandy' Johnson, one-time owner of the Purple Onion in Kensington (now Kens at Kensington) and former drag queen, recalls the Jewel Box in its most popular era and sums the venue's atmosphere up in one word. "It was sleazy," says Johnson. "That's where Carlotta and a few of the drag queens got started. The offshoot from the Jewel Box were clubs like Les Girls and the Purple Onion, and when they opened, the good clientele like the queens and the well-to-do moved away from the Jewel Box and it sank back into its Kings Cross heritage, and eventually closed after three or four years."


Les Girls (1963-1990)
32a Darlinghurst Rd &  2c Roslyn St, Kings Cross

The internationally renowned Les Girls was single-handedly responsible for introducing mainstream ‘respectable' Australian society to the world of drag. Owned at different times by Sammy Lee, Reg Boom and eventually Abe Saffron, this Kings Cross hotspot recruited trans showgirls from the Jewel Box to its bigger, brighter and bolder stage and launched the careers of Les Girls legends such as Monique Kelly, who joined the busty fraternity in 1973. "Every night was like a party, you never knew who you were going to meet," recalls Kelly. "We had the likes of Shirley Bassey, Bette Midler, Eartha Kitt and Sammy Davis Jr come to see us back in the day."

While it may not have been the best paid work for a showgirl, it was consistent and saw these talented artists perform up to 18 shows a week, rolling out ever-changing routines choreographed by Sheila Cruze and adorned in elaborate costumes designed by the likes of Christopher Essex. "All-in-all I was at Les Girls for 23 years," says Monique. "You get less these days for murder."

The Rex Hotel's Bottoms Up Bar (1955-mid 1980s)
58 Macleay St, Kings Cross

Phaedra Nunn-Smith is a former Les Girls showgirl who never considered herself as a paid-up member of the transgender society, but rather as a "poof who went a bit too far." "I simply had to have my breasts done because Carlotta wanted us all to have tits for the Les Girls Christmas show," the original Judy Garland impersonator tells us.

While she spent her working nights belting out spectacular numbers at Les Girls, Phaedra was known to dash into the Bottoms Up Bar before and after work where she would meet up with other ‘camps', as gay men were referred to at the time. "The Rex was fabulous and had a front bar where the thousand-year-old queens would drink and of course the Botttoms Up bar in the back, which for a while was a little rough," says Phaedra. "When the rough trade would have a punch up over the drag queens, all the camps would jump up on the bar and get out of the way. They eventually painted the walls red so the blood would stop showing up.

"Seriously though, the place was great for a pick-up and always popular with local queens and camp celebrities."


The Barrel Inn (1973-1980)
12 Challis Ave, Kings Cross

Many consider the Barrel Inn as Sydney's first gay bikie bar.

Lance Day, a longtime volunteer at Sydney's HIV/AIDS charity the Luncheon Club, had more than a few drinks at the Barrel Inn in its day and recalls the clientele well. "It was meant to be a tough gay leather bikie bar, but you'd see leather queens arriving in taxis clutching their bike helmets like handbags," says Day. "Out of the 30 leather-clad guys in the room, only about three of them actually owned a bike."

Dimly lit and small in size, the Barrel Inn did not offer live music or drag shows, but instead tried to create a masculine and cruisy environment for leather enthusiasts. Day points out the bar's strong suit: "The dunnies would go off like a cracker any night of the week. A fella could always get a shag in there."

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