Mardi Gras Parade

The crowd at 1981's Parade neared 5,000, a sizeable increase on the 2,000-3,000 of previous years.

"It stated around the barracks in Paddington, wound down Surry Hills near Belmore Park, went u George Street and ended in Hyde Park," photographer William Yang remembers.

The move to a warmer month, along with the creation of an independent and elected organising body, and the efforts to enlist non-activist groups, were landmark changes that shaped the Mardi Gras Parade and Festival as we know it today.