Bra Boys
The Bra Boys are an Australian gang centred on the Sydney suburb of Maroubra. The gang was started in the 1960s[citation needed]. The group is named after the suburb Maroubra and not the Board Riders Association as some people may think. Members of the group often tattoo "Bra Boys" and Maroubra's post code "2035" on their backs.[1]
Notoriety
Prominent members include Rugby League players Reni Maitua, John Sutton and Byron Ford. Surfers Mark Matthews, Evan Faulks, Richie Vaculik and Abberton brothers, Sonny, Jai and professional big wave surfing champion Koby are also members. In May 2005 Jai was acquitted of a 2003 murder of standover man Tony Hines. Koby was handed a suspended nine-month jail sentence after being found guilty of perverting the course of justice in the same matter.[2]
In late 2002, some 160 members of the group attending a birthday party at the Coogee-Randwick RSL Club were involved in a brawl with off-duty Waverley police officers leaving a Christmas party on the same premises. News reports number the combatants in the incident at around 120, with 30 police officers left injured after the event.[3]
In August 2005, the group led a protest of 100 people against parking meters near the local beaches.[4]
Following the Cronulla riots, in which the group was not involved but was subsequently targeted, the Abberton brothers held well-publicised meetings with other uninvolved groups to help ease tensions.[5] "I think that this is the start, the boys have agreed to come down and talk to us, to start some dialogue between the groups, you know, to try and ease some tension", said Sunny Abberton in a group interview on The 7.30 Report.[6].
The members usually drink at the Maroubra Bay Hotel[citation needed].
Documentary
A documentary about the group, entitled "Bra Boys" premiered in Sydney on the 7 March, 2007 and was released on the 15 March, 2007. It details the story of the Bra Boys and is narrated by actor Russell Crowe.[7]
The documentary became Australia's highest-grossing non-IMAX documentary following its release in March.[8]
Surfing
The group is held together by community ties and surfing. The Bra Boys are widely considered (incorrectly) to be the first people to surf the heavy reef break known as "ours". The story goes that a member of the Bra Boys saw a bunch of bodyboarders pulling into the heavy reef and making it out. The group then started tow surfing it. The group is often linked with the Maroubra Surfers Association, with which a number of its members are associated.
References
- ^ Sons of Beaches, Australian Story, ABC-TV
- ^ Koby Abberton, Surfer Magazine
- ^ Night the thin blue line ran into the Maroubra stomp, Les Kennedy, Chief Police Reporter, The Sydney Morning Herald
- ^ Rage over 7000 meters for beaches, Angela Cuming and Catharine Munro, The Sun-Herald
- ^ When two tribes go to war: a culture clash, Dan Silkstone, The Age
- ^ Emergency powers to crack down on riots, Reporter: Jonathan Harley, The 7.30 Report ABC-TV
- ^ Bra Boys at IMDb
- ^ Bra Boys breaks box office record, ABC News Online, March 27, 2007