Two years ago, a West Australian town made national headlines when one of its churches hosted an alleged conversion therapy event, but now the town is celebrating diversity with one of the biggest regional Pride festivals in the country.
Albany on Western Australia's south coast is in the middle of hosting a mammoth 10-day Pride festival.
Organisers say it's about celebrating and accepting people for who they are.
Albany drew attention in 2021 when the Albany Baptist Church promoted an event where people could "hear stories of hope and vision and dignity beyond LGBTQIA+ ideologies".
It featured speakers who had "previously lived or identified as LGBTQIA+, but who are now finding a new life in Jesus Christ".
At the time, LGBTQIA+ advocates labelled it a form of conversion therapy, where queer people were told that they could become heterosexual if they adopted certain practices.
Albany Baptist Church at the time insisted it was not conversion therapy.
Conversion therapy has been found to cause significant psychological harm, with the state government announcing in December that it would criminalise the practice.
Albany has 'come a long way'
Drag queen Barbie Q attended the very first Pride festival in Albany in 2016 and has enjoyed watching the celebrations grow over the years.
"The festival, when I first came, was me and one other person. We had one night where we did bingo and that was the entire festival," she said.
"So now with all these beautiful big events, it's so wonderful seeing it blossom."
This year's festival began on Friday and runs until March 12.
On the line-up is drag bingo, a dog parade, a pride picnic, an 80s dance party, clay mediation, and a games night.
Barbie Q said regional pride was important for young LGBTQIA+ people.
"I love seeing parents being really supportive and bringing their kids out and treating our community like a normal community, not a spectacle," she said.
"Everything is just so natural and organic."
Drag queen Alexis Armstrong said queer people were "normal" but "just a little bit more fabulous".
"It's absolutely amazing, just to show that we're here and we're not going anywhere so get used to it," she said.
Pride group says love wins
Millie Reid, one of the Pride organisers, said the festival had been incredible so far at making inroads for the LGBTQIA+ community, but there was still a long way to go.
"We've always known Albany was a pretty conservative place so it's a hard slog, but we've got a really dedicated team who are committed to making sure we've got a visible presence down here," she said.
"It's not always easy and we've had a tough ride this year with people stealing our banners and taking down our posters.
"So it definitely feels like the anti-queer sentiment was a bit ramped up this year, but it just means we push to get bigger and better and brighter."
Ms Reid, who identifies as queer, said although she was confident with her identity, acts of homophobia still hurt.
She said Pride was for everyone, no matter what stage of their journey they were on, or whether they had come out or not.
Tiger Bird, another event organiser, hoped the festival would continue to grow.
"Our level of support has increased each year," they said.
"Sometimes the conservative element of the region gets a bit louder, but we're not going anywhere and we're getting more and more support."
Dykes on Bikes contribution
The Albany Pride Fair Day on Saturday also featured the Dykes on Bikes group, which attracted a crowd.
Member Allison Irving said there was a time when the group rode around to help protect the community against gay hate crimes.
"There was no gay pride without protests," she said.
"[In past events] everyone was taken away and arrested, so it's been an ongoing challenge and events like this help to show that we're still people.
"Love is love."
Gay representation
WA Labor member for Scarborough Stuart Aubrey was also in the Great Southern to celebrate Pride this year.
Mr Aubrey is one of six politicians in state parliament who identify as LGBTQIA+.
"There's myself, Peter Foster, Lisa Baker, Stephen Dawson, John Carey and Sally Talbot," he said.
"It's important to have diversity in parliament to represent the diversity of Western Australia."
Mr Aubrey said that growing up gay in Mandurah had been tough.
"I did go through my challenges and suicidal ideation, but when I came out to my friends it made a huge change to my world. They were very supportive and very loving," he said.
He said that while working in the mining industry he came out as gay to his colleagues, but was lucky in that he continued to feel loved and respected.
"Being gay is part of who I am, but it doesn't define who I am."
Mr Aubrey said help was available to those in need.
"If you are struggling, seek out support, talk to a GP and get that support," he said.
