'I distinctly remember my first visit to the Australian Lesbian and Gay Archives (ALGA) in 2014. I had long been an ALGA follower on Facebook and knew members of its executive committee. Yet I was a little nervous that first visit because I was only beginning my foray into the field of LGBTI history. Like so many other academics starting new projects, I felt almost like a phony, moving into well-established turf occupied by other historians – professional, academic and those independent scholars who research out of sheer passion.' (Introduction)