Radical- The Wall, Sharpies and The Point.

   The Wall at North Cronulla………Smack bang in the middle of the Cronulla beach strip was the Surf Rats favourite spot called The Wall. This is where a concrete Breakwall separates the beach from the headland between Elouera and North Cronulla. The original concrete sea wall stood around 5ft to 6ft high and acted as a walkway as well as preventing storm swells eroding away the coastline. The grassy slopes that dropped off steeply from Prince street above were eroded with numerous ridges and pockets that offered protection from the strong sea breezes. Maggo and his friends hanged out most days at the beach on the patches of grass on the southern end of the hill . The group was a regular fixture and made their presence felt by being a pack of annoying grommets that craved mischief. There were different little gangs up and down the beach with there own members. Each group was protective of their little stretch of sand. You could safely leave your gear if you were apart of the crew.

The Train Billies were abused” and risked having their stuff  “Taxed” or thrown in the ocean if they hanged around uninvited. The Wall attracted more than its share of teenage girls looking for a bit of fun . As the scores of scantily dressed young ladies paraded by they were scrutinised from head to toe. More than a few lost their cherry in the back of a Shagging Wagon parked nearby.

The concrete Wall attracted all the wild kids and it’s where the bulk of the train Billy’s liked to hang out on the sand. It was home to the majority of Non-local locals who came from every corner of the suburbs. It was also where all the animal behaviour went on. There were no families and even fewer Lifeguards along this strip. During the summer months this part of the beach was lawless on the sand.      

SHARPIES……The Sharps or Sharpies cult is one of the few homegrown subcultures unique to Australia. Sharpies modelled themselves after The Skinheads from England. They dressed similar and indulged in the same boot stomping violence but still maintained there own unique style and street swagger.Their spikey hair style made them standout by wearing it slightly longer than a Skinheads completely shaved head. The Sharpie cut was a short-cropped top and sides but with collar length in the back.

Sydney Sharps spread terror and violence and most came from the poorer Western Suburbs or inner city towns. Being a Sharpie was all about looking and acting tough, dressing the same and bashing anyone who looked different and not apart of the gang. Hippies and Surfs wore their hair long so they where enemies.  Sharpies were anti drugs and it was the booze that fuelled their lust for committing crime. Sharpies attracted the tougher kids the ones with the hard look about them who grew up in housing commission where the rules were simple, you either learnt to fight or you stayed home and off the streets.

Unlike the grungy ripped and torn look worn by Hippies, Surfers and other longhairs of the day, Sharps dressed clean cut.In Sydney, the Inner City and Western Suburbs there seemed to be a gang on every street corner. They gathered together in a pack and with the numbers came the power. Members average age was mostly around 14 to 18 and were made up of bored kids who lived for the weekend when they turned into vicious young thugs fuelled by beer and hell bent on fighting. They travelled on trains  in numbers and  if a mob of Sharps invaded the beach there was going to be a big fight.  One such incident involved a large group of Sharps that arrived at Manly by ferry around 5pm on a Saturday night. The thugs walked the length of the Mall to the beach and back bashing any Seaweeds who had long blonde hair or looked like a Surfer.

The Point………..At the Southern end of Cronulla Beach, the older heavies and experienced local rippers gathered around the rocky headland where the waves broke on a shallow reef bottom. The Point surfers had a tight pecking order and as far as they were concerned if you weren’t a regular face you weren’t worth shit. Outsiders were banished to Southies. The hardcore crew who hanged underneath the sandstone cliffs on the rock platform below were so committed, they refused to lower themselves to surf the gutless beach breaks just to the north.

The Point had its heavies that ruled the line-up with fists and local pride. The grommets were all terrified of the older agro Surfers. If you weren’t one of the regular faces you got grunted at and told to “Fuck orf”. The Blowins from out West got absolutely no waves at all and were looked on like raw sewerage. Complain and you could end up the victim of some degrading Grommet abuse. Having your face rubbed in dog shit or even worse dacked in public. Sometimes intruders had their clothes thrown into the open fire that burned most days down on the rock ledge beneath the cliffs while they were out surfing.

If an outsider took off, The Point heavies who were the biggest bunch of bastards when it came to sharing their waves would shut them down. Without the slightest bit of guilt they would drop-in and fade the intruder so that they went headfirst and wiped out into the shallow sharp rock bottom then laugh as they got smashed by the rest of the sets. If an out-of-towner Dropped-in they would need a rapid exit to escape the biffo that was waiting for them out the back.

Exerts from Radical…….What it was like living in the early 70s. ………..To be continued