AGENCIES in Dalby, Queensland

A woman went on trial yesterday accused of raping a man, in what is believed to be the first case of its kind in Australia.

Prosecutor Neville Weston told Dalby District Court Zoe Dawes raped the 24-year-old after he was stripped and tied at gunpoint to the verandah railing of a house in the town in southeastern Queensland.

Dawes, 26, Norman Townsend, 28, and Michael Lloyd, 33, are jointly charged with the rape of the man after a party in the early hours of August 16, 1998. The court withheld the man's identity.

In his opening address, Mr Weston said the man, who had been drinking heavily, alleged the rape happened at Townsend's home, known to locals as "21 Dump Street" because of the mess there.

All three pleaded not guilty before a jury of eight women and four men. They face up to life in jail if convicted.