From Sydney’s King’s Cross, where the coke sign once glowed over sailors and strip clubs, to Kalgoorlie’s Hay Street, where brothels outlasted the gold rush, there are several districts that tell the story of vice, politics, and punter culture in Australia.
Some of Australia’s most famous red light districts have been scrubbed clean by gentrification, others survive in plain sight thanks to legal loopholes or council tolerance, and a few have turned into tourist curiosities.
In this guide, we take a look at the evolution of the Aussie RLD – and where you can still find them!
Evolution of the Aussie Red Light District
The red light districts of Australia have similar roots to their European counterparts with prostitution activities mainly centring around the 19th century commuter hubs of the ports and, latterly, the train stations.
The convenience for everyone is obvious and just makes good business sense; both these areas offered a passing trade of workmen, sailors and travellers.
However, times have changed since the colonial days and the sex industry has developed into a multi-million dollar behemoth.
During the Vietnam War, many of Australia’s cities and major port towns were used as rest and recuperation stations for soldiers (mainly) from the United States. The result of which changed the shape of some red- ight areas with prostitutes taking up camp around these bases to provide sexual services. Some such zones were not just sanctioned by the authorities… but were also funded by them.
In the 21st century, red light districts in Australia have become less defined. Many working women now use the internet to secure regular clients (the escort trade is considerable) and a lot of cities no longer have a large community of street hookers.
Despite the shift from the streets to the web, there are still areas synonymous with the sex trade that will find it hard to ever shake their association as ‘red light districts’.
We’ve selected the top eight city zones that have a colourful history and have helped (and, in some cases, continue to help) shape street prostitution and the adult entertainment scene of Australia.
8 Most Famous Red Light Districts in Australia
So where are these infamous Aussie hot spots?
Some you’ll know by name, others might surprise you, but all have left their mark on the country’s adult landscape…
1. King’s Cross & Darlinghurst (Sydney)
We have to start with King’s Cross in Sydney, colloquially “The Cross”. This famous destination is the stuff of legend… a former GI playground turned nightlife and red light hub earning it the nickname “Sin City”.
Brothels are legal in New South Wales and Sydney has plenty of bordellos in and around the city. However, it is the King’s Cross and Darlinghurst areas of town that have become synonymous with the sex industry.
The area stretching south to include Darlinghurst incorporates a couple of brothels, adult massage parlours and a mix of street prostitutes.
The area came to prominence as a result of servicing American troops staying on recuperation breaks during the Vietnam War. King’s Cross was a notorious centre of vice in its heyday and has become famous the world over for its association with cheap and easy sex.
Neon signs for venues like Porky’s and Showgirls once blazed over crowds of sailors, gangsters, and wide-eyed tourists. The Cross’s bawdy identity set it apart from the rest of Sydney… this wasn’t the Opera House and Harbour Bridge, but a gritty enclave of strip joints, brothels and 24/7 parties where anything went. Even heritage laws protect some old neon marquees, a nod to the area’s former glory.
Though no longer a swinging red light district, King’s Cross still has a lot going for it and, beyond the new and trendy bars, there still beats the heart of an old-school sex industry.
2. Hindley Street (Adelaide)
A century ago, Hindley Street was home to a thriving population of street prostitutes and gained itself a notorious reputation for debauchery and impropriety. As well as ‘ladies of the night’, the street was home to many of the city’s brothels and running houses.
Though 21st century Hindley Street no longer has bordellos (illegal in South Australia), you can find much of Adelaide’s adult entertainment in the area. By day, Hindley Street can look almost ordinary, but after dark it transforms into a neon-lit mix of pubs, clubs, and strip joints.
It’s the street where you might catch a raucous buck’s night spilling out of Crazy Horse at 3am, or spot someone stumbling from a topless bar into one of the late-night yiros shops.
In fact, local authorities have floated plans to confine all new strip clubs and sex shops to Hindley Street… effectively designating it Adelaide’s official red light district. We’ll see how that progresses, but it’s a testament to Hindley’s enduring association with the sex trade.
And while sexual services are not legitimately offered, some massage parlours do offer a rub and tug.
3. Fyshwick (Canberra)
The Fyshwick area of Canberra has gained a reputation for being the unofficial red light district of the city.
This industrial suburb has a unique claim to fame: it’s one of only two areas in the Australian Capital Territory where brothels and strip clubs can operate legally (the other being Mitchell). The ACT legalized prostitution way back in 1992, but with a catch: sex industry premises are restricted to industrial areas like Fyshwick and Mitchell.
The results, as you can imagine were somewhat inevitable.
Home to many of the Canberra’s legal brothels, including ACT Pretty Girls and Harlots, Fyshwick is also known for attracting street prostitutes in certain quarters. It’s basically a mini adults-only enclave that sets itself apart from the buttoned-down bureaucratic vibe of the rest of the capital.
If that wasn’t enough to tempt punters out of the city, you can also find adult massage studios and plenty of sex shops. While some of the old X-rated bookstores have closed, and the area is slowly diversifying, there’s still that lasting reputation – bureaucracy in the CBD, booty in Fyshwick.
4. Grey Street, St Kilda (Melbourne)
St Kilda’s Grey Street is Melbourne’s most storied stretch of streetwalker territory… a seaside boulevard with a split personality. By day, St Kilda is all luna parks, cake shops and beachside fun, but Grey Street and its back alleys have long been the domain of street sex workers, setting this corner of the suburb apart from the city’s prim business districts.
For decades, Melbourne’s legal brothels were confined to industrial zones under strict licensing, and street prostitution was technically illegal. That didn’t stop Grey Street… police often looked the other way, and a tolerance zone of sorts persisted around here.
The area acquired a reputation for heroin-driven street trade, with police in the 2000s estimating dozens of regular street workers, many struggling with habits.
It’s perhaps no surprise that the headquarters for Victoria’s health and education for the sex industry (RhED) is situated here!
These days, Melbourne bordello mainstays like the California Club can be found on St. Kilda Road.
You can still find hookers in St Kilda, specifically along Grey Street. Most women work during daylight hours as the police presence, designed to clampdown on solicitation, increases at night. The corners of Robe Street, Barkly Street and Dalgety Street are all popular haunts with the local punters.
Fitzroy Street in St. Kilda West is also known for its sex workers.
5. Northbridge (Perth)
From the 1900s, with the advent of the railway line, prostitution in the city began to flourish in one particular location; Northbridge.
At the time, this area of the city had dozens of brothels and coffee houses where locals and visitors could pay for sex. A containment policy in the 1920s demarked the area around Roe Street as a red light district.
On paper, the old red-light zone seemed perfect: it sat away from housing, right by the police station, and hemmed in neatly by the railway line. But pressure soon mounted to shut it down. Local businesses fretted about the “moral dangers” for staff, women’s rights groups protested the trade, and developers eager to expand into the area all leaned on Perth City Council to act.
As the city centre grew, the brothels were gradually pushed out and workers drifted to the suburbs.
By 1958, Northbridge was officially closed as a red light area, and further crackdowns in the 1970s looked to have killed it off for good. Yet sex work has a way of circling back to the action… and the steady return of workers to inner-city streets eventually saw Northbridge reclaim its role as Perth’s unofficial adult playground.
Local laws remain among Australia’s strictest… keeping a brothel is illegal (and yet still tolerated), and there is no licensed brothel system in WA. Yet Northbridge and its surrounds host several well-known private establishments.
6. Fortitude Valley (Brisbane)
Known as the suburb that never sleeps, Fortitude Valley was once the centre of Brisbane’s sex scene and remains a popular place for adult entertainment.
“The Valley”, as it’s known to locals, wears many hats: live music mecca, clubbing district, and historically, the city’s red light and vice quarter. Located just northeast of the CBD, the Valley has always been a bit unruly compared to strait-laced downtown Brissy.
Its proximity to the old port on the Brisbane River made it an ideal location as the base of bordellos and bawdy houses. This tradition continued throughout the 20th century with the area gaining notoriety during the 60s and 70s.
In modern day Brisbane, much of the licensed action in terms of brothels has moved further west to Spring Hill but the city’s strip clubs and massage parlours can still be found in the ‘Valley’. The proliferation of bars and clubs attract street prostitutes after dark and the area is still seen by locals as the red light district of the city.
2024 brought big changes: Queensland finally passed laws to decriminalise sex work, aiming to remove most penalties and the old licensing system. This reform is fresh, so the practical effects in Fortitude Valley are still unfolding. But it could mean more freedom for small operators and less police hassle for sex workers in the area.
7. Surfers Paradise (Gold Coast)
Sun, surf, and…sex shows?
It could be argued that much of Surfer’s Paradise is a red light district with an abundance of brothels, swinging clubs and strip venues… as well as bars and clubs full of NSA opportunities.
You can find brothels on Upton Street, but the street action in this hedonist’s playground centres around Cavill Avenue. One of the central routes connecting the esplanade to the central shopping zone, this route has a lot of hookers after dark.
There isn’t much massage action going on in town, but the gentleman’s clubs offer good titivation; two of these are on Orchid Avenue with a third on Surfer’s Paradise Boulevard.
The party house scene – where groups rent luxury homes for wild weekends – often involves private strippers and sex workers being hired to perform at raucous gatherings around GC.
Local residents infamously complained of one waterfront mansion hosting constant bucks parties complete with “naked girls in the window” and other unmentionables, which just goes to show how the adult industry spills into Surfers’ social fabric in unofficial ways.
In response, the Gold Coast City Council at one point even discussed creating a “party precinct” in central Surfers!
8. Hay Street (Kalgoorlie-Boulder)
Finally, out in Western Australia’s remote Goldfields, Kalgoorlie’s Hay Street is a red light district with a Wild West twist.
Kalgoorlie is most famous for being one of the new towns that was founded on the back of the Coolgardie gold rush of 1892. The Hay Street area became a centre for prostitution and was backed by the town’s authorities in order to service the huge demand.
Kalgoorlie became synonymous with hookers and was often reported in the mainstream media as a vice capital. In its heyday, Hay Street’s corrugated iron “starting stalls” were packed with working girls and miners queueing up after a long day in the pits.
Kalgoorlie is home to Australia’s oldest and longest serving brothel, the Questa Casa, where you can get a tour of the premises by the current madam. This 120-year-old ‘Museum of Vice’ is a popular tourist destination, but you can also use the facilities (after the tours are over!) to get a full service… just as prospectors from over a century ago would have done.
The local council even promotes it as a heritage site of sorts.
Standing under Kalgoorlie’s wide Outback sky, with the faded pink brothel facade in front of you, you get a tangible sense of that bygone era.
In an age where most red-light districts have been sanitised or shut down, Hay Street remains a stubborn holdout… a little lane of lusters that refuses to go quietly into history.
Have you visited any of these red light districts? Are there any notorious hotspots that we’ve forgotten?
Let us know your thoughts and experiences!