A glimpse of Nellie Small at the Ziegfeld Café
Finding stories of queer people in the NSW State Archives Collection often requires researchers to ‘read against the record’.
For much of the state’s history, same-sex relationships, diverse gender identities and queer lives were rarely documented openly in official records. Instead, traces of these experiences may be found indirectly – in court proceedings, police reports and other records created by government. Although these records were created for administrative purposes and often reflect the prejudices and legal frameworks of the period in which they were made, ‘reading against the record’ can offer glimpses of hidden, marginalised or otherwise omitted experiences and contribute to a richer and more complex understanding of history.
Licensing papers
Licensing Courts were established under the Licensing Act 1882 (NSW). The principal function of the courts was to regulate the sale of liquor by determining applications for and transfer of licences.
NRS-9587 Licensing papers [Metropolitan Licensing Court] are the records of the daily proceedings of the Metropolitan Licensing Court. They show the court dealing with applications for new licences and certificates of registration, transfers of licences, complaints, and disciplinary proceedings against licensees.
The records are valuable for researchers as they can contain detailed information about a locality, the reputation of an applicant, community attitudes, hotel accommodations, public order issues, and the social character of a neighbourhood.
The story within the record
The Ziegfeld Café was a popular Sydney venue that operated from the 1920s as a nightclub and cabaret.
It was known for hosting drag performances, and served as a social space for Sydney’s queer community throughout the 1930s and 40s. Its association with the razor-gang era, when inner-city gangs fought viciously for control of Sydney’s criminal underworld, and sly-grog culture also sees it appear repeatedly in the records of the Metropolitan Licensing Court. These records offer a glimpse of the way the venue operated, and the community that called it home.
On the evening of 20 January 1939, the club was again raided by police looking to crack down on suspected sly-grog sales at the venue. The club had been the subject of a number of raids, and Sergeant Fleming told the licensing court that
...liquor has been illegally sold there for years past and it has been the cause of a great deal of concern to the Police Department...
He outlined his frustration to the court, noting that ‘the greatest difficulty imaginable is experienced in having constables admitted to the bar room’. Not only did the bar room have purpose-built exits for a quick escape, but, Fleming believed, patrons were vetted prior to admission. ‘It is known’, stated Fleming, that a member of staff ‘checks up on all persons who are desirous of being admitted to this room and even during the day time visits addresses given and places of employment to ensure that any person nominated is not connected with the Police’.
Just after midnight, two constables, having left their table in the main room, gained admission to ‘a room near the kitchen … which is set up as a bar room’. A man connected with the venue tried to remove one of the constables from the bar room and there was a scuffle. At the same time, 25 people in the room ‘left hurriedly by two doors which are specifically built for the purpose of a get away taking with them glasses of beer they had purchased’.
Although police were primarily concerned with the illegal sale of liquor and securing convictions under the Liquor Act, the depositions also provide glimpses into the performers and entertainment at the venue. After recounting the swift exit of punters from the illegal bar room, Fleming noted that the patrons ‘joined about 200 people in the danceroom who were being entertained by Nellie Small’, whom he described as ‘a male impersonator well known in City night life’. According to Fleming, Nellie had been ‘a vaudeville artist for some time at night clubs’.
A celebrated figure in Sydney’s vaudeville, cabaret and nightclub scene, Nellie Small was a jazz and blues singer, comedian and male impersonator. She was known for performing in tailored suits, top hats and ties, and had earned a reputation as a charismatic and talented performer. There was even a suggestion that Nellie had performed at the Criminal Investigation Branch Dinner, although Fleming was unable to provide confirmation of this to the court.
In recent years, there has been increasing recognition of Nellie Small’s career and her importance in Australian performance history. Described as a ‘queer icon’ and ‘show business legend’, she is now regarded as a trailblazer for both Black and queer visibility in 20th-century Australia.1
Note
- Alana Valentine, ‘Nellie Small: the trailblazing, cross-dressing cabaret star who Australia forgot’, The Guardian, 5 January 2024, www.theguardian.com/culture/2024/jan/05/nellie-small-the-trailblazing-cross-dressing-cabaret-star-who-australia-forgot.
Browse the full record
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