workingclasshistory:

On this day, 23 August 1851, a violent riot broke out in Sydney, Australia when police tried to arrest Michael Knight, a sailor who was wearing women’s clothing. To cheers of the locals, Knight decked the officer who attempted to arrest him and headed to a church, where he disturbed the service and began abusing the parishioners, until he was arrested. On hearing of the arrest, hundreds of sailors assembled and began attacking police officers and police stations, freeing all prisoners along the way. We have produced a poster commemorating this event, illustrated by Agustin Huarte, to help fund our work: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/collections/homeware/products/sydney-sailors-riot-poster https://www.facebook.com/workingclasshistory/photos/a.296224173896073/1508710175980794/?type=3