Toowoomba street party outside anti-vaccine mandate venue Bar Wunder to be investigated by police

Police have confirmed it is investigating an informal street party that formed outside a controversial Toowoomba bar on New Year’s Eve, after supporters were blocked from entering.

Police stand blocking the entrance to Bar Wunder as people gather on the footpath outside the Toowoomba bar shut down over failing to comply with public health orders. Picture: Kevin Farmer

Police are investigating an informal street party that formed outside a beleaguered Toowoomba CBD venue on New Year’s Eve, after its supporters were blocked from entering the bar.

Officers were stationed outside Bar Wunder on Ruthven Street on Friday to prevent the venue from being opened by its owners, who have expressed contempt and opposition for the State Government’s vaccination mandate.

The bar, which has been on the forefront of the city’s anti-mandate and anti-vaccination movement in recent weeks, posted a short video just before 11pm showing a crowd on the street listening to live music performed by a local artist.

“Block us from entering our own premises? No probs, we’ll take the party outside,” the owners wrote.

The bar had been ordered to be shut last week after being fined.

The owners will face court on January 25.

North Brisbane District Superintendent Chris Stream confirmed it was looking into the incident and whether it breached health directives.

“There was an incident in Toowoomba where police attended last night and the investigations are still continuing,” he said on Saturday.

“There were some issues with the crowds and capacities there which resulted in police attending.”

The bar’s owners, Fiona Davis and Mark McElligot, have continued to mock the fines issued to them for breaching Queensland Health directives on social media — including pretending to use them as toilet paper or a wash cloth.

In several posts, they have compared the mandate to that of racial segregation experienced by African-Americans prior to the Civil Rights Act of 1964, while also equating the State Government to Nazi Germany’s Gestapo secret police.

Bar Wunder’s consistent disobedience has been the only blemish among Toowoomba’s business community, which has generally followed the new rules introduced in recent weeks according to police.