Police tell Manly backpackers hostel to remove offensive sign containing f-word
A primary school has complained to police about a boutique hostel using the f-word on signage just 30m from the school gate.
Manly
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Complaints from a school have prompted police to order an up-market hostel for young travellers to remove a sign that contains an offensive word beginning with “f”.
The newly-refurbished premises, which used to be Manly Backpackers in Raglan St, placed a metre-long permanent sticker on a window this week saying: “F*** PLANS FOLLOW YOUR HEART”.
But each day dozens of schoolchildren from St Mary’s Catholic Primary School pass by the window on the Stoke Beach House, Manly on their way to sport or lunchtime play at nearby Manly Oval.
The hostel is about 30m from the school and St Mary’s Catholic Church.
A teacher, and her Year 3 and 6 pupils, saw the “f” word on Wednesday afternoon and the school called the manager of the hostel to complain about the “offensive” word and that it can be seen by primary school-aged children.
Stoke Beach House, Manly, owned by Lachie Paramor, is aligned to the international Stoke Travel Co. He bought the Manly Backpackers hostel about 18 months ago.
Mr Paramor said the phrase “F*** plans follow your heart” is one of the marketing phrases Stoke has used for 15 years.
Staff have it on T-shirts.
“The phrase is on a required safety decal used on our windows to stop people walking through the glass,” he said.
“It's a phrase Stoke Travel has been using for 15 years.”
When Northern Beaches Council was made aware of the wording, it referred the complaint to
the Northern Beaches Police Area Command.
A police spokesman said officers visited the Stoke Beach House and told Mr Paramor that the wording on the window was “attracting the attention of the public”.
“A representative apologised in advance if anyone was offended and would make arrangements to cover it up,” the police spokesman said.
Management placed a strip of masking tape over the offending word.
Mr Paramor told the Manly Daily that it had received just one complaint and that was from the school.
“The feedback overall on the refurbishment of the building has been positive,” he said.
“But we will be removing the decal, because we don;lt want to cause offence, when the sign-writer is avaiable, just after Christmas.”