Sydney’s bear community group, the Harbour City Bears, is celebrating 30 Years!

Introduction:

In a city known for its queer identity, Harbour City Bears (HCB) has stood proudly at the heart of Sydney’s LGBTQIA+ landscape for three decades. Founded in 1995, HCB provided belonging to a growing subculture of men who didn’t always fit the mould of mainstream gay representation. 

Born out of the ashes of OzBears, the national bear club that folded in 1994, HCB grew from humble beginnings as a group of friends in Sydney who wanted to continue to socialise with their beary brethren, to become one of the largest bear clubs in the world, with approximately 1,300 members currently.

HCB’s 30th anniversary is a time to honour the work of generations of volunteers working together to keep the club going. The club has stood strong through the ups and downs of modern gay history, shining as we proudly marched in every Mardi Gras parade since the club’s founding, as well as benefiting from changing attitudes to the LGBTQIA+ community. The club also weathered the storms of Australia’s hateful gay marriage referendum, the closing or straightening of many of Sydney’s venues, the decades of anti-gay conservative government, as well as internal strife within the club over the years, and, of course, the COVID pandemic.

Bear culture has always held a special place in Sydney. The Bear scene offered a culture that celebrated people of all sizes, ages and life stages. The bears were a lot of people’s first interaction with ‘gay culture’, as those coming out late would not feel excluded, even though they didn’t fit the youthful, polished ideals portrayed in the media. And of course, every twink eventually becomes a bear! For many, HCB wasn’t just a club, it was a refuge, a home, and a family.

Harbour City Bears will have Bear Pride Week 2025 from Sunday, 31st August to Sunday, 7th September 2025. Check out HCB Events page for more information: https://hcbears.com.au/Events-Top

A Brief History:

HCB was founded in 1995 and incorporated in 1997. It was founded after the collapse of the previous OzBears group.

The image below is the earliest picture of the group at the iconic Sydney Opera House.

Mister Harbour City Bear (Mr. HCB) Honour List:

The winners of the past Mr HCBs are:

2009	Jason Lee
2010	Justin Hyde
2011	George Showell
2012	Alan Cadogan
2013	Ash Luton
2014	John Kuna
2015	Peter Conway
2016	Chris Knight
2017	Dale Apple
2018	Duncan Peak
2019, 2020 and 2021 (three years of service due to COVID-19)	Adam Cooney
2020 and 2021	(There was no competition in 2020 & 2021 due to COVID-19)
2022	Luke Walter
2023	Thomas van den Berg
2024	Ajay Anderson
2025	John (Jono) Metzl

Additional Resources:

If you want to learn more about the Harbour City Bears, please check out the links below:

*Bear World Magazine – Sydney Guides: https://bearworldmag.com/bear-guide-to-sydney-aus/

*Harbour City Bears – Webpage Home Page: https://www.hcbears.com.au/

*Harbour City Bears – Webapge – Bear Essentials (during Sydney Mardi Gras – Feb every year): https://www.bearessentials.com.au/

*Harbour City Bears – Social Media – Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/harbourcitybears

Special Thanks:

I would like to thank the following people for their support for the article:

*Scott Ridley – the current President of the HCB (2024-2025), who had provided me with the vital information for the HCB article and supplying the high resolution images that would give the online article the best possible outcome that you see above. Thanks Scott for your help in a timely manner.

*Ryan Adams – the current Vice President of the HCB (2024-2025), who provided effortless support for both Scott and me with the preparation of this article. He was the first point of contact for my request for assistance, and he has been a great trooper to get all information asap. Thanks Ryan again for your help.

*Richards Jones – he is obviously the co-founder for the Gray Jones Media and Bear World Magazine (BWM), but he was passionate about having more Australian content on BWM media, so I am glad that he has entrusted in me with this opportunity to have at least three or more articles per month. Thanks Richard for making this article possible. And he would agree that there are many milestones with bear kindred groups and would like to hear about them!