New Zealand: "We're making K' Road safer"

Followup: original article here



Barbara Holloway loves the diversity of K' Road.

K' Road precinct manager Barbara Holloway tells us how the neighbourhood is working together to fight crime - and why she prays the attack on Miss Ribena was a random, isolated incident.


"I was actually up at 5am this morning thinking of all the reasons why the gay community is so important to us," Barbara tells me as we sit sipping coffee in nearby Beresford Square. "I have a whole list!"



According to Barbara, who's been working with the K' Road Business Association to make the area a better place for over three years now, gay crowds regularly filling the street's variety of gay businesses bring with them a variety of benefits. There tends to be more people coming to K' Road just to have a good time, less violence, less drug use, less problems involving the police, more moneyed people bringing their dollars, a greater connection to creative industries - creating a cycle of creativity leading to K' Road's many art gallery spaces - and even a shown increase in tourism - especially American visitors ("my largest numbers of K' Road brochures are taken from Centurian sauna," she reveals).

So she was naturally shocked to hear of the attack on Family bar's drag host Miss Ribena two weeks ago. Outside on K' Road, the diva confronted a group of young men who had punched a Family patron, and was herself punched in the face, leading to a rush to hospital and a big black eye. "I would pray that it was just a random incident," Barbara responds when I mention the incident. "In my experience, we have a lovely marriage of different people here, and no problem with violence against gay people."

The assault on Ribena is the first homophobic act of violence that has been reported to Barbara, and it's a case she finds particularly worrying. "It was a group of people against one person… and such a random attack… it makes me very concerned. I know that they arrested two people on the night it happened, and they would have been charged."

In the days after the incident, Ribena spoke out about what she'd been through, calling for a major Stop Homophobia campaign, like the successful march along Sydney's Oxford Street recently, after their spate of anti-gay attacks.

Having read about the crackdown on homophobic violence in Sydney, Barbara is open to Ribena's idea. "We'd be keen to work with the owners of gay bars to design a specific programme dealing with any issue," she assures.

"We enjoy the diverse range of people we have on this street, and we're keen for that to grow."

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