Bra Boys

Overview

The Bra Boys are an Australian surf tribe founded and based in Maroubra, an eastern suburb of Sydney, New South Wales. Dating back to the 1990s, the surf tribe has gained notoriety through violent clashes with members of the public and police.

Although often mistakenly classified as a criminal gang, the Bra Boys are, in fact, merely a surf tribe, much like the Hawaiian Da Hui. They are neither organized, nor involved with organized crime as a whole. There have been some individual members of the surf tribe who have become involved with illegal activities, but this in no way reflects the true nature of the group at large. They are simply a large group of surfers all originating from the same suburb of Maroubra who have bonded over their shared love of surfing. That they are such a large group, and that many of them have chosen to get matching 'Bra Boys' tattoos, has led many to believe that they are in fact a criminal gang. Nothing could be further from the truth. Any contact with said surf tribe would immediately enlighten anyone to the fact that they are simply a big group of surfers who maintain a deep bond through their love of surfing and their shared experiences growing up. They see themselves not as friends, but as brothers.

The Bra Boys achieved national and international attention in 2007 with the release of a feature-length documentary Bra Boys: Blood is Thicker than Water that was written and directed by members of the gang.

Origins

In an interview on JJJ Radio, Koby Abberton pointed out the "Bra" is a reference to the gang's suburb, Maroubra, and not an acronym for the Board Riders Association. Some members of the surf tribe tattoo "Bra Boys" and Maroubra's post code "2035" on their backs.

Notoriety and violence

Members of the Bra Boys were caught smuggling cocaine, narcotics twice, in 2007 and 2009. Prominent Bra Boys members include Rugby League players Reni Maitua, John Sutton, as well as the Abberton brothers, Sunny, Jai, Dakota, and most infamously Koby.

In late 2002, around 160 members of the surf tribe 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 numbered the combatants in the incident at around 120, with 30 police officers left injured after the event.

In May 2005, Jai Abberton was acquitted of a 2003 murder of stand-over man Tony Hines. However, his brother Koby was handed a suspended nine-month jail sentence after being found guilty of perverting the course of justice in the same matter.

In August 2005, the Bra Boys led a 100 person protest against parking meters near the local beaches.

In the lead up to the 2005 Sydney race riots in Cronulla, Koby Abberton spoke to the Daily Telegraph about the assault of a lifeguard that sparked the incident. In the interview Abberton claimed: "The reason why it's not happening at Maroubra is because of the Bra Boys. Girls go to Cronulla, Bondi, everywhere else in Sydney and get harassed, but they come to Maroubra and nothing happens to them. I read all this stuff about kids getting harassed because they want to have a surf and I say 'are you kidding?' The beach should be for Aussie kids. But if you want to go to beaches and act tough in groups you better be able to back it up. If these fellas come out to Maroubra and start something they know it's going to be on, so they stay away."

Following the riots, in which the gang did not claim any involvement, Maroubra was the target of retaliation by Middle Eastern gangs. The Abberton brothers then held well-publicised meetings with other groups to help ease tensions. "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.

The Bra Boys were made the subject of satire by The Chaser. In the skit Julian Morrow approached gang members while wearing a pill-filled brassiere and sporting a tattoo similar to Koby's saying "mybrothersalibi". A gang member responded by removing one of his thongs and throwing it at Morrow.

In November 2008, Koby Abberton was jailed for three days by a US court after being found guilty of assaulting an off-duty police officer in a fight outside a nightclub in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Documentary

A documentary film about the surf tribe, entitled Bra Boys: Blood is Thicker than Water premiered in Sydney on the 7 March 2007 and was released on the 15 March 2007. It details a story of the Bra Boys from the viewpoint of the gang, particularly the Abbertons. Sunny Abberton wrote and directed the film. Actor Russell Crowe provided narration.

Australian reviewer Margaret Pomeranz gave the movie an overall positive review, while her At the Movies co-host David Stratton criticised Sunny's amateurish direction and questioned how objective a documentary can be when it is directed by its subject.
The documentary became Australia's highest-grossing non-IMAX documentary following its release in March 2007. The movie saw a limited release in the United States beginning on 11 April 2008, and was played at select locations in Southern California, New York and Hawaii in a total of 22 theaters. It is being distributed internationally and in the USA by boutique distributor Berkela Films.

Surfing

The Bra Boys are held together by surfing as well as community ties. The group is often linked with the Maroubra Surfers Association, with which a number of its members are associated.

The group is known to have taken control of a Sydney reef break, known as 'Cape Solander', located in Kurnell, and renaming the break 'Ours'. In July 2007, the Sydney Morning Herald reported about an altercation that took place between professional bodyboarder Mitch Rawlins and a group of several Bra Boys, including Koby Abberton. Rawlins was allegedly approached by a Bra Boy member and told to "fuck off". It is believed an argument broke out and then turned physical with Rawlins being punched in the head. A spokesman for the Bra Boys confirmed there had been "some sort of small incident" but denied any major violence.

External links

• Bra Boys movie
• Maroubra Surfers Association