Bra Boys: Sydney's notorious surf gang turns tide of violence into big-screen adulation

Bra Boys: Sydney's notorious surf gang turns tide of violence into big-screen adulation

Maroubra Beach is only a few miles from Bondi, but the working-class Sydney suburb - home to a maximum-security jail and a massive sewage plant as well as some superlative waves - is a different world.

Maroubra may lack Bondi's glamour, but it has a fame of its own, thanks to a notorious surf gang, the Bra Boys. The gang, led by the Abberton brothers, was for many years a byword for tribalism and violence. Now, thanks to a film narrated by Hollywood actor Russell Crowe, the Bra Boys' image has been transformed.

Box office takings on the first day of release broke all records for a local documentary. The premiere attracted clean-cut celebrities such as Ian Thorpe, the Olympic swimming champion, and Nikki Webster, a pop singer and model. Crowe joined the heavily tattooed Abberton brothers on the red carpet in Sydney.

The film tells how the siblings, born to a heroin-addicted mother and three different fathers, grew up in poverty and squalor. Surfing was their escape. They formed a gang, naming it "Bra" partly after their neighbourhood and partly after the street slang for brother. They swore loyalty to each other and their mates, and jealously guarded their waves and their territory.

The oldest brother, Sunny, now 34, who wrote and co-directed Bra Boys with Macario De Souza, became a professional surfer. Koby, 28, is renowned as one of the world's most fearless big-wave riders.

Along the way, the "boys" acquired an iron reputation. Allegations of violence, drug deals and organised crime followed them as they surfed their way to fame and wealth. In 2003, Jai Abberton, now 32, shot a fellow gang member, Tony Hines, in the back of the head, then dumped his body over a cliff. He spent nearly two years in jail, but was released after convincing a jury that he acted in self-defence, certain that Hines was about to rape his girlfriend and then murder them both.

full article:  http://news.independent.co.uk/world/australasia/article2371561.ece