Tamworth: Hey Vernon project is a mailbox for support, connection and LGBTQIA+ stories

She's been advocating for her community ever since.

Her latest project pays tribute to a man named Vernon Marshall, who in the 1970s attempted to start a support group for queer people in the country music capital.

It proved a difficult thing to do, as reported in the National Journal of the Campaign Against Moral Persecution, because queer people who hadn't escaped to big cities "put a lot of effort into hiding".

READ ALSO:

Mr Marshall advertised the group in The Northern Daily Leader, using a post office box address for enquiries.

He faced questioning from the postmaster, fought the newspaper to print the ad, and was interviewed by police for an hour, in which he was accused of "making immoral contacts".

The 'Hey Vernon' project is a mailbox for support, connection and stories for the LGBTQIA+ community.

"It made me really sad to realise that Vernon had been brave enough to stand up to just try and be public, and then to have had push back," Ms Ekert said.

"He was so brave to just keep going and to take a stand, and I think it really fired him up almost to see that struggle, and then he just kept going.

"It was very sad what happened to him, but I think we can use that as lessons we've learned from the past, and we can do better in the future."

Ms Ekert encourages anyone living in regional NSW and Tamworth to share their stories.

"I would just like to have that mailbox to encourage anyone anywhere really, who wants to share something of themselves," she said.

"Maybe if we link some of the history of queer Tamworth together, it will help people feel less isolated overall."

The project will launch at an afternoon tea at Hissy Fits Cafe at 2pm, June 25, and more information can be explored online at heyvernon.org.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: