Flanked by the old Darlinghurst Police Station and across the road from St Vincent’s Hospital, this low stone wall wasn't just a pick-up spot; it was a lifeline for rent boys trying to survive in a city that offered few options for queer youth. While the street saw its share of danger and stigma, it also bore witness to solidarity and subculture—where queer identity and survival were forged night after night under flickering streetlights.

As the AIDS crisis hit Sydney in the 1980s, The Wall’s community was devastated. Many of the rent boys who once leaned against that cold stone found themselves across the street in St Vincent’s, often in the final stages of illness. And in a striking display of compassion and resilience, the female sex workers who also worked The Wall became caretakers—visiting the hospital, sitting by bedsides, and offering comfort when families and society turned away. It’s a lesser-told chapter of Sydney’s queer history, one that speaks to the raw humanity, sisterhood, and defiance that bloomed even in the city’s darkest moments.