'Sweet bubble gum kisses': The disturbing poetry and photos of the man accused of being Australia's worst childcare monster

By JONICA BRAY, SENIOR NEWS REPORTER, AUSTRALIA Published: 12:56, 24 July 2026 | Updated: 12:56, 24 July 2026 The man accused of being Australia's worst childcare abuser posted love poems to young children on social media over photos of toddlers, including one apparently nude. Hamish Tait, 35, is charged with 329 child abuse-related offences over 16 years with at least 136 alleged child victims, while working at 62 childcare centres across NSW. Police allege they seized more than two million files from his electronic devices, including 500,000 unique child abuse images of his alleged victims. The Daily Mail can reveal Tait ran a social media page where he openly posted about children he had encountered through his work and involvement in the wider community. Tait's personal social media accounts have been disabled, wiping all his messages, but the newly discovered poetry account still contains dozens of accessible posts. The account includes personal tributes, affectionate messages, photographs and handwritten notes that have horrified parents in the wake of his arrest.  Among the many posts, he writes about school pick-ups, 'holding hands' with youngsters and sharing 'sweet bubble gum kisses'.  Tait accompanied many of the posts with photos of children in disturbing poses, lifting their clothes, lying across tables and one of a child's bare legs. Hamish Tait, 35, is charged with 329 child abuse-related offences allegedly committed between 2009 and 2025 while working at 62 childcare centres Tait said in the caption that he had put pen to paper after visiting the local farmers' market 'Give me the babies from the market, with their patchwork trousers and matted hair,' he wrote in one post. 'Give me the sun-kissed shoulders and bare feet that climb the old bricks and race through the daisies.'  Tait explained in the caption that he had put pen to paper after visiting the local farmers' market. The only comments left on his posts have been made since his arrest and the lifting of a suppression order preventing the public knowing of the allegations against him.  Tait created the account in 2021 and he regularly updated the content over the next three years. 'To be a parent is the greatest gift and the most painful curse,' read one of his posts. 'I'm sorry I haven't been the parent I should be, but I will be more sorry if I can't be the parent you need before you leave me.' Wollongong mother-of-four Amy told the Daily Mail last week how Tait gave each of her children a handwritten poem after befriending the family through the home-schooling network on social media.  In other posts he writes about school pick-ups, 'holding hands' with youngsters and sharing 'sweet bubble gum kisses'. Tait posted several inappropriate photos of very young children The mother said Tait openly spoke about his work in remote Aboriginal communities and was following an Aboriginal charity group who regularly post photos of children. 'He showed me photos of a young boy and said he took him out and I questioned what he meant by that,' she said. 'He said he took him to the movies and things as his home life wasn't good.' Tait was arrested in July 2025, but it was only last week that his identity was released to the public. 'I called the police when I realised it was him,' she said.  'I told them about his involvement with the remote community kids too.' Another parent also shared his distress online after Tait's name suppression was lifted last week. 'The AFP called me in May 2026,' he revealed in a social media post. Tait was arrested in July 2025, but it was only last week that his identity was released to the public The scale of the allegations means that, if convicted, Tait would have offended against more children than any other paedophile in Australian history 'I can still hear the phone ringing and the moment my entire world shattered into dust when they mentioned it is an "important matter we need to discuss" related to my daughter.  'They told me six years after my baby girl walked out of FitKidz Warrawee that she was in those images. 'Seven years of her growing up and me thinking she was safe while those files existed. 'I have spent weeks just trying to breathe through the pain, screaming inside my head, why now? Why did it take seven years?' Tait has been charged and the matter remains before the courts. He has not entered pleas to the charges. Police continue to appeal for information, saying at least 22 more victims are yet to be identified. The scale of the allegations means that, if convicted, Tait would have offended against more children than any other paedophile in Australian history. Police allege offending occurred at locations marked with an asterisk: Beaumont Hills OOSH (Jigsaw OOSH or Beaumont Hills OOSH) Carinya Neighbourhood Childrens Centre Inc Cooranbong Valley Community Preschool Endeavour Early Education – Kariong Fit Kidz Learning Centre Box Hill* Fit Kidz Learning Centre Dural North Fit Kidz Learning Centre Dural South Fit Kidz Learning Centre Glenwood North Fit Kidz Learning Centre Glenwood South Fit Kidz Learning Centre Putney* Fit Kidz Learning Centre Rouse Hill* Fit Kidz Learning Centre Turramurra Fit Kidz Learning Centre Vineyard Fit Kidz Learning Centre Warrawee* Glenning Valley Child Care Centre Goodstart Early Learning Centre Woodcroft Gracelands Early Education Centre Heritage House Cherrybrook Early Education Centre Kiddiwinks Play, Laugh & Learn – Warriewood Kradle 2 Krayons Long Day Centre Little Peoples Early Learning Centre Wollongong Milestones Early Learning, Baulkham Hills Montessori Academy – Alexandria Montessori Academy – Zetland – Victoria Park Morisset and District Children's Centre Pennant Hills Before & After School Care Quakers Hill Kindergarten and Child Care Centre Wiggles & Giggles Cranebrook Wild Earthlings Cumberland State Forest Young Academics Early Learning Centre Rouse Hill Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.