Basketball court users told to whisper before dusk and after dark by Port Phillip Council

UPDATE: A SIGN asking users of a Melbourne basketball court to “whisper before dusk and after dark” will be changed, with the council admitting it got it wrong.

Popular Melbourne rock 'n' roll venue Cherry Bar has taken aim at Port Phillip Council over these “nanny state” signs.

A SIGN asking users of a Melbourne basketball court to “whisper before dusk and after dark” will be changed, with the council admitting it got it wrong.

Port Phillip council was accused of taking “Nanny State to the next level” for displaying signs outside the basketball court at Eastern Reserve, South Melbourne, calling for people to “have fun” but “keep noise levels to a whisper before dusk and after dark”.

In a post on the Facebook page of internationally famous rock ‘n’ roll venue Cherry Bar seen by more than 50,000 people, it said: “For the love of God let’s not hear the hideous sound of children actually playing outside as the sun sets,” the post said.

“Also, can you imagine anything creepier than children only whispering to each other? Cue Stephen King.”

Port Phillip mayor Bernadene Voss acknowledged the signs were wrong and changes would be made soon.

“We apologise for any confusion. The sign should read ‘before dawn’,” she said.

“The sign ... will be corrected to ensure the message — which simply asks users to be mindful of residents and keep noise to a minimum from the early evening to the morning — is clear.”

Cr Voss said the signs had been installed in response to “about 10 complaints” from nearby residents.

“We placed the sign during the summer of 2015-16 in response to residents’ and community complaints about excessive noise after dark,” she said.

People have flocked to the post to share their views on the signs, many pointing out ‘quiet time’ appears to be a 24-hour event.

Rebecca Alcott wrote: “We can only hope there’s a typo here or the poor little terrors have to creepily whisper 24 hours a day”.

“Before dusk and after dark ... so all the time?,” Carole Barker commented.

Will Marshall wrote: “So, during dusk, make as much noise as you want!”

The irony of bouncing balls making noise did not go unnoticed either.

Mark Stephens said: “Make sure you set your basketball to whisper mode as well”.

“Bounce basketballs and run on the court but don’t talk loudly because of the noise??,” Jamie Hurst wrote.

Some tongue-in-cheek commenters called for more extreme measures, including muzzling children before they hit the court.

But Stuie Armstrong defended the council, saying the only thing worse than the Nanny State was “people who rush to the internet to complain about everything they see without having any idea of why it’s happened”.