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MardiGrass - The Early
Years
1993
Like anything revolutionary, the MardiGrass had humble beginnings.
In March 1993 the Police made yet another raid on the town dealers.
There are many towns and cities where the contraband cannabis
trade supplements the local economy but Nimbin's trade is out
there, in your face. Undercover police had traded with street
dealers over the preceding summer and would return later in the
year with warrants for arrests - the public Round Up. Generally,
these police raids were met with frank but restrained resentment.
This time, after one whose name was on the list put up a bit of
a fight, the local, predominantly young, street people followed
the police back to the police station and there unleashed a torrent
of frustration, in the form of rotten tomatoes, eggs and toilet
paper.
The Nearly NORML Nimbin group formed in 1988
as the district's first enduring drug law reform outfit and later
became Nimbin HEMP - Help End Marijuana Prohibition
- then later in 1992 this changed to the
Nimbin HEMP Embassy.
This group saw that resulting adverse media publicity was doing
the drug law reform movement no good and that the time was ripe
to channel the increasing discontent into a fun, celebratory and
non provocative form of political action. The "Let
It Grow" may day rally and street parade was concieved
as an opportunity for everyone to come together in a combined
strength, and peacefully and responsibly indicate their opinions
about the drug laws and their impact on society. Despite the refusal
of permission by the local council, the Rally was planned to be
held on Saturday, May 1st, 1993. At 1:00pm it
took off up Cullen Street from the Bush Theatre carpark led by
an impromptu marching band. The colour, zest and unhinged upfrontery
burst forth and by the time the Parade hit the CBD of Nimbin the
numbers had swollen to well over a thousand. The first
of the flagship big joints stumbled blindly, hotly, proudly
to the police station. Here the smoke machine at the front which
had been chugging along throughout the march blew forth a monumental
cloud of smoke, there was much cheering and dancing in the streets,
then the ecstatic crowd returned to the Hall for the Let
It Grow! People's Summit on Prohibition. The Plantem
made his first known public appearance and distributed joints
to the crowd. Social justice activist and lawyer, David Heilpern
made rousing sense about the ridiculously unjust nature of the
legal situation as pertains to cannabis. Many other speakers contributed
considered insights into the evils of the drug laws. The feeling
that day was one of empowered and heady optimism, and the belief
that together we could do something to change these laws that
hang over so many lives as a helicopter of paranoia. A great time
was had by all; everyone was friendly, there was little alcohol,
no violence and a tangible sense of camaraderie and empowerment.
The Rally determined to hold a further MardiGrass each year until
the repeal of prohibition. The National Aboriginal flag flew in
the Nimbin Park all day and has flown there throughout all subsequent
MardiGrasses.
1994
1994 came by and despite our passion, optimism and our righteousness
the drug laws still had not changed! The Beyond Prohibition
Conference was organised and speakers included Dr. Alex
Wodak, Prof. Paul Wilson, Tina Van Raay and Richard Jones MLC.
Also from that conference came the stirring of a coalition of
HEMP groups on an Australia wide basis. That year the MardiGrass
street party on Sunday, May 1st (again refused permission by council)
established itself as an occasion of pure Nimbin culture,
the town alive with colour, green "Let It Grow!" helium
balloons, Pot Art , Cafe Cabaret, The Nimbin HEMP Harvest Ball,
and all overseen by the first Jungle Patrol (the MardiGrass Marshals).
An 8.5 months pregnant Ganja Queen led the belly dancing Ganja
Faeries in what has now become a traditional hookah ritual at
the Ball, and Ed Rosenthal flew out from America and impressed
the local growers with exacting details for the premium growing
and curing conditions. It was a wild, free and unapologetic occasion.
The attendance of the crowd for the march and rally (addressed
by Andrew Katelaris) had grown to well over 3000 people.
1995
1995 and for the first time the 1st of May didn't fall on the
weekend. The organisers, despite being extremely exhausted as
we'd just been involved in running two separate state election
campaigns with all our friends helping out, made the ambitious
move of extending the festivities from Friday, 28th of April to
Monday 1st of May, with the march remaining on the Sunday, as
in previous years. We had only a little over a month to pull together
a festival that by now was going to happen anyway. Co-operation
with the police was working well. Despite our lack of official
council approval (We hadn't even bothered applying that year)
the local cops' calm approach and cooperation in maintaining a
smooth flow of traffic and not hassling the 6-7000 people who
attended town for the Parade was a credit to both them and the
Jungle Patrol. No arrests were needed to be made that year with
the police impressed with the overall cooperative behaviour and
peacefulness of the crowd. The MardiGrass was also becoming an
important date on the international drug law reform calendar of
events.
This time the local community got more involved with the Nimbin
Designers Hemp Fashion Parades, market stalls, the Pot
Art 2 Exhibition, the inaugural MardiGrass Growers Cup,
the burning of a hemp/wicker man (old pagan mayday custom), and
more besides. Jack Herer (author of "The Emperor
Wears No Clothes") came with co-campaigner and author
Lynn Osborne, and Ed Rosenthal came back again.
A major coup that year was securing the World Premiere of Anthony
Clarke's film, "The Hemp Revolution".
1996
1996 became a five day event with a Kombi Konvoy
from Lismore leading in to the opening ceremony. Rain did nothing
to dampen the HEMP alternative Olympix flame
as it was carried down the street, nor the enthusiasm of the hundreds?
Thousands? who had gathered to see it arrive. There was an official
Koori opening with performances from Nunukul
Kunjiel and Quandamooka... and the rain continued. By
the next morning Nimbin was surrounded by floodwater
and you couldn't get in or out of Nimbin. On the Nimbin side of
the floods MardiGrass 96 (Pot for Peace, Peace for Pot)
carried on with dance, voice and lantern making workshops, a stunning
hemp fashion parade, cafe cabaret, and the harvest festival ball
sparked up by the full moon, albeit somewhat cloudy. There was
the Grower's Cup (the judges positions were raffled....),
the lantern parade, accomodation problems, and crowded footpath
areas. The first Hemp Traders Trade Fair was
on in the Hall along with forums, market stalls, a culinary expo
and the inevitable bongo madness drummers. There was a joint rolling
contest, the Hemp Olympix (including bong obstacle course
relay, bong throwing, the marijuana growers iron person event
and the Commisioner Woods Bent Cop Cross Country Steeplechase),
a screening of the updated "The Hemp Revolution", and
Pot Art 3 happening in the shopfronts throughout town. All culminating
in the Street Parade on Sunday 5th of May for
which the rain stopped and the floodwaters magically receded.
Over 4000 people made it to Nimbin for the rally, which was addressed
by Ian Cohen, Faye Scherf, Richard Jones and Steve Bolt
Postscript
The MardiGrass has become a major underground ritual. It is also
about raising public awareness and proposing feasible alternatives
on an issue that affects almost every household in Australia,
in some way or another. As an event it is always what whoevers
there makes it. Come to Nimbin the first weekend of May of each
year (we'll keep doing it annually until the repeal of prohibition)
and be part of this unique, peaceful, joyful and productive play
on politics. We couldn't ask anyone for any more than that.
From the "Nimbin High Times",
of the 1997 MardiGrass.
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