The so-called ‘March for Australia’ echoed the Cronulla race riots – and not by accident. Are we seeing history repeating, or the start of something worse?
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The text messages circulating around Sydney’s Sutherland shire in early December 2005 explained precisely the purpose of the gathering. “Just a reminder that Cronulla’s 1st wog bashing day is still on this Sunday,” one read. “Chinks bashing day is on the 27th and the Jews are booked in for early January.”
On Sunday 11 December, more than 5,000 people, mostly young men, swarmed Cronulla beach. They wore Australian flags as capes, they had drawn the Eureka flag on their bodies. They were drinking alcohol and they were chanting – and they were beating up anyone who wasn’t white.
While tensions had been growing in the area for months, the catalyst had been a fight between three off-duty lifesavers at North Cronulla beach and a group of eight men of “Middle Eastern appearance”. The 2GB radio host Alan Jones was outraged as his listeners told stories of the “lebs” and “wogs” at the beach, and he said he was in favour of “a rally, a street march, call it what you will. A community show of force” and urged his listeners to attend. Police said 26 people were injured, 104 arrested and 285 charges were laid.
