Central Australia is synonymous with a lot of things.

A self-described group of "country queers" and "devil dykes", however, is probably not one of them.

But that is what John Hobson and his circle of friends set out to defy in 1988, taking their fight for gay rights almost 3,000 kilometres from Alice Springs to the Sydney Mardi Gras.

For Mr Hobson, the decision to enter the parade was a "spur of the moment idea". Little did he know they would go down in the history books as the first-ever entry from Alice Springs.

"There was a group of us sitting around our lounge room in Alice Springs telling the younger ones the wonderful tales of 'Gay Sydney'," he said.

"Then someone asked, 'Do you think we could go?' And we stopped and thought about and decided, 'Yeah, we probably could'."

John Hobson (left) with friends at his mother's house in Albury on the way to Sydney. ( Supplied )

Huddled in an old Ford Falcon Station Wagon, with bodies crammed across seats, Mr Hobson and his friends drove non-stop to Sydney.

January in the Red Centre was known by locals as "hotter than hell", so it was only fitting, they decided, that the Northern Territory's first-ever Mardi Gras float would be named in its honour.

However, when the intrepid travellers piled out of their car in Sydney, they received an ominous message from the event organisers.

"People from the Mardi Gras office insisted that we report in a couple of days before the parade," Mr Hobson said.

"We quickly realised that was because they wanted to make sure we weren't a hoax."

A red flare at the parade at Taylor Square, ignited by John Hobson in 1988. ( Supplied )

In the sexually liberated enclaves of Sydney, the group stuck out like a sore thumb — a factor helped in no part by the beaming red flare Mr Hobson lit in the centre of the parade, after picking it up from a fishing store in Albury.

"Being good Territorians, we brought along some bags of liquid refreshment, much to the entertainment of all the people around," Mr Hobson said.

"They kept coming around and asking us, 'Are you really from Alice Springs?'"

Weeks after the parade, the "queen of the desert" received a call from the event organisers out-of-the-blue.

"We were asked to come down to Sydney to attend a special ceremony so they could give us an award for having driven all the way from Alice Springs to be in the parade," he said.

It is a memento he keeps to this day.

Alice Springs resident Chips McKinolty was part of the first Mardi Gras in 1978. ( ABC News: Nick Hose )

While the unlikely Territory icons may have been welcomed with open arms, some 10 years prior, it was a far different story for Chips Mackinolty.

Before relocating to the NT, Mr Mackinolty had been working as a graphic artist for a printing business in Sydney.

He had been out celebrating with LGBTI friends in 1978 when things took a turn for the worse.

"I think at that time the police force were essentially carrying out the great Australian tradition of poofter bashing," he said.

"[But] people fought back, people dragged people out of paddy vans and away from the cops."

"I think the police were just as surprised as the protestors. It was very violent."

A gay liberation poster designed by Chips McKinolty. ( Supplied )

Mr Mackinolty was the last person on the night to be arrested, but he was also the first to be bailed out — because he always gave his real name.

"People were scared to give their real names, so my job was to remember as many fake names as I could," he quipped.

As the long-time Territorian prepares to descend on Sydney for the 40th annual Mardi Gras parade, yearly commemorations have become a time of reflection as much as celebration.

In how far Australia has come in recognising LGBTI rights, and how far it has to go.

"[Alice Springs] is a much more accepting place than a lot of rural or remote places in Australia, and I think that's fantastic," he said.

"But I've no doubt people do face great barriers."