Oct 4, 2026 · 8 min · 8 segments
Harry Potter, Andy Griffiths and Batman were all banned... by Australia’s ruthless book police. This episode will answer questions like: - Why were books banned? - What books were banned in…
Let's take a trip all the way back to the 1960s when Australia had the questionable reputation of being one of the strictest censors in the world.
I think for a lot of reasons.
For it being really inappropriate is one thing.
For it being, like, just too scary.
Like, things that would completely, like, terrify even adults.
Books could be banned because they're not Christian, or they don't fit, like, the religion.
Like, what if they're really racist and say mean things in them about other people?
Up until the 1960s, customs officers, who were in charge of protecting Australia's borders, would ban anything they considered immoral from entering the country.
Immoral basically means wrong, but the problem is people can have lots of different ideas about what's right and what's wrong.
Here's a news report from 1967 explaining how the customs people decided which books to ban.
The custom department bans books on titles rather than on content.
For instance, let's look at some of the titles that have inflamed customs men to seize books in the past.
Between Man and Man, which was actually a work on humanist philosophy.
Fun in Bed, games for children to play while sick in bed.
And, uh, I Lost it at the Movies, a collection of film criticism.
Hang on, so these dudes at the airports weren't even reading all the books they banned? Cheeky.
Police would even raid bookshops if they suspected banned titles were being sold, like this place in 1970.
Police have raided at least three bookshops, including Angus & Robertson's.
This was the scene when they raided the Third World Bookshop owned by well-known Sydney radical Mr.
Let's take a trip all the way back to the 1960s when Australia had the questionable reputation of being one of the strictest censors in the world.
I think for a lot of reasons.
For it being really inappropriate is one thing.
For it being, like, just too scary.
Like, things that would completely, like, terrify even adults.
Books could be banned because they're not Christian, or they don't fit, like, the religion.
Like, what if they're really racist and say mean things in them about other people?
Up until the 1960s, customs officers, who were in charge of protecting Australia's borders, would ban anything they considered immoral from entering the country.
Immoral basically means wrong, but the problem is people can have lots of different ideas about what's right and what's wrong.
Here's a news report from 1967 explaining how the customs people decided which books to ban.
The custom department bans books on titles rather than on content.
For instance, let's look at some of the titles that have inflamed customs men to seize books in the past.
Between Man and Man, which was actually a work on humanist philosophy.
Fun in Bed, games for children to play while sick in bed.
And, uh, I Lost it at the Movies, a collection of film criticism.
Hang on, so these dudes at the airports weren't even reading all the books they banned? Cheeky.
Police would even raid bookshops if they suspected banned titles were being sold, like this place in 1970.
Police have raided at least three bookshops, including Angus & Robertson's.
This was the scene when they raided the Third World Bookshop owned by well-known Sydney radical Mr.
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