Melbourne Drag Storytime Moved Online After Alleged Threats of Violence

Drag storytime events prevalent across Australian capital cities

Prep students enjoy the schoolyard at Lysterfield Primary School in Melbourne, Australia, on Oct. 12, 2020. Daniel Pockett/Getty Images

A Melbourne-based drag storytime event has been moved online after state police warned organisers of alleged threats of violence.

A “Rainbow Storytime” event with cross-dresser Frock Hudson was supposed to be held at the Eltham Library on May 17 in the northeast of the city.

Organisers will now hold the event, geared towards babies, toddlers, and preschoolers, online via Zoom, according to the Rainbow Community Angels group.

“The wonderful Eltham Library have been forced to move their Drag Storytime online due to Victoria Police advice,” the group wrote on Facebook.

The Epoch Times has reached out to the Yarra Plenty Regional Library for a response but did not receive one in time for publication.

Community Uproar Over Events

The change comes just over a week after Monash City Council cancelled its drag storytime event at the Oakleigh Library.

Victorian Senator Ralph Babet said there was “overwhelming public displeasure” with the event, with locals airing their concerns at a council meeting on April 26.

“Public concern centred around the use of ratepayer money to host what many residents believe is inappropriate content for children aged one to six,” the senator said in a statement.

The cancellation drew a critical response from Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews, who said it was “shameful.”

“My message to those people is very [clear], if you want to behave like the worst elements of the Floridian Republican Party, well, get to Florida. Get over there where your hateful views might be worth something. They’re worth nothing here,” he told sitting MPs on May 4.

But former Victorian Liberal MP Neil Angus said the premier was pandering to the left wing of his party.

“[Premier Andrews] continues to pander to the hard left of his party, as evidenced by his repeated strong support for what are, in reality, minority views, especially in the area of sexual identity,” he previously told The Epoch Times.

In March, the Labor government flew the transgender flag following a rally in the Melbourne city centre against transgenders entering women’s spaces and sports.

“Some of Andrew’s comments could be an attempt by the premier to try and attract far-left voters, who would often be Greens voters,” Angus said.

Events Now Nationwide

Drag storytime events have popped up all around Australia, sparking a strong response from local communities.

In January 2020, students from the University of Queensland’s Liberal National Club—headed by Wilson Gavin—protested such an event at the Brisbane Square council library located in the CBD.

Yet local council member, Vicki Howard, criticised the group calling them “narrow-minded” and reiterating that the Club no longer had an affiliation with the state’s opposition Liberal-National party.

“This is a very successful event that has been held four times in Brisbane over the past two years, and staging this event reflects the values of Brisbane City Council,” she wrote on Facebook.

In August 2022, councillors from both sides of the aisle stood by the events in response to a petition from the Australian Christian Lobby that garnered 7,000 signatures opposing drag storytimes for kids.

Meanwhile, in Adelaide in March, death threats were issued against staff at the Mount Gambier Library over a drag storytime event featuring Dolly Diamond.

“Threats to any member of the community are unacceptable, and any acts of violence will be responded to accordingly,” said South Australia Police, in comments obtained by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

In the same month, the CEO of the City of Bayswater in Perth stood by drag performer Cougar Morrison after protest flyers were dropped in the area surrounding the Maylands Library, where Morrison was set to perform.

While in Sydney, protestors in February rallied outside an event in the city’s Northern Beaches at the Manly Library while holding signs that read: “Drag Queens are not for kids” and “Protect little kids from sexualisation and adult themes.”