What appeared in the women's magazine later was not very complementary to the members or the organisation. This discouraged any further dalliance with the general media until the late 1990's.
By then attitudes had changed to some extent. The Gay Mardi Gras had become a major event on the Sydney calendar and the Oxford Street area became a tourist attraction. Seahorse membership grew but never more than 100 members of whom only about 30% would ever attend meetings.
It was at one of those meetings that the media was again invited to come and have a look at us. This time the request came from television in the form of a cameraman and a soundman and a female interviewer from the Channel 9 Breakfast Show. What went to air was a very fair segment of about 12 minutes, showing members enjoying the meeting and on camera interviews asking the usual questions. It started with one member being shown doing his day job and following him through the makeup stage to attending a meeting in his other guise.
By the late 1990's, Seahorse again experienced difficult times, because of personality clashes within the organisation. Attendance at Social meetings plummeted because of the tension and unhappiness within the organisation, with as few as five members attending Social meetings.
Fortunately, the Society recovered with a change of leadership in 1999, when Lynne took over in what was originally supposed to be a "caretaker" role, but which in fact lasted six years.
In the 1990's, meetings were held at Henley Cottage, a relatively small hall, before moving to a much more spacious venue at Hunters Hill. For privacy reasons, the exact location of the monthly meetings is only divulged to financial members.
In 1995, the Association Of Self Help Organisations And Groups (ASHOG) honoured Seahorse with the Stephens Anthony James Award as Second Prize in the ASHOG Arts and Community Services display.
