The Hero Parade was an (almost) annual gay and lesbian Parade through the streets of

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, in the 1990s. The last Parade was in 2001. It was the showpiece of the Hero Festival in Auckland which runs to the present day. The Hero Parade and Festival usually took place in February, a week or two ahead of the

Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras or Sydney Mardi Gras is an event in Sydney, New South Wales attended by hundreds of thousands of people from around Australia and overseas. One of the largest such festivals in the world, Mardi Gras is the ...

. The Parade was an event attended by more than one hundred thousand people annually, (and at its height, by as many as two hundred thousand), in the years that it ran, from 1992 to 2001.

LGBT rights in New Zealand Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in New Zealand are among the most progressive in the world, and the country is considered to be gay-friendly. The protection of LGBT rights is advanced, relative to other countries in Oceani ...

were significantly improved because of the Hero Parade. In 1999 the

Prime Minister of New Zealand The prime minister of New Zealand ( mi, Te pirimia o Aotearoa) is the head of government of New Zealand. The prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, leader of the New Zealand Labour Party, took office on 26 October 2017. The prime minister (inform ...

, Rt Hon

Jenny Shipley Dame Jennifer Mary Shipley (née Robson; born 4 February 1952) is a New Zealand former politician who served as the 36th prime minister of New Zealand from 1997 to 1999. She was the first female prime minister of New Zealand, and the first woma ...

, of the National Party announced that she would attend the Parade. The Leader of the Opposition, Rt Hon

Helen Clark Helen Elizabeth Clark (born 26 February 1950) is a New Zealand politician who served as the 37th prime minister of New Zealand from 1999 to 2008, and was the administrator of the United Nations Development Programme from 2009 to 2017. She was ...

had attended the Parade several times before and she criticised the then National Government for not attending earlier. In the end the Hero Parade was the beneficiary of the publicity created, and the Parades in 1999 and 2001 were bigger than ever before. In 1998, the Auckland City Promotions Committee voted against funding the Parade. A complaint against the Committee was made to the

New Zealand Human Rights Commission The Human Rights Commission (Māori: ''Te Kāhui Tika Tangata'') is the national human rights institution (NHRI) for New Zealand. It operates as an independent Crown entity, and is independent from direction by the Cabinet. Legislation and func ...

, alleging "discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation". The Commission reported that it could not find any evidence of discrimination. By 2001 however Auckland City Council was prepared to support the Parade, and did so. The Hero Parade, despite the support of many in the public, was under constant financial pressure. The 2000 Parade was cancelled for a lack of organised financial backing, and the 2001 Parade, for which there were high hopes, again saw the Hero Trust Board make a significant loss. The organisation responsible for the Hero Parade (the Hero Trust Board) was unable to continue. 2013 saw the return of the Hero festival as the Auckland Pride Festival for the first time in 12 years. The Auckland Pride Festival once again featured a parade along Ponsonby Road (during the day rather than at night), as well as a large closing party in the newly renovated Victoria Park.

References

External links

Photos - Te Ara, The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

Human Rights Commission comment on discrimination complaint (Google cache)

Hero Parade
(1998), hour-long TV broadcast, NZ On Screen Events in Auckland LGBT events in New Zealand Pride parades Recurring events established in 1992 Recurring events disestablished in 2001 1992 establishments in New Zealand 2001 disestablishments in New Zealand Parades in New Zealand {{LGBT-event-stub

See also

References

External links