2005 Cronulla Riots - Riots

Riots

Over the course of Sunday, 11 December 2005, approximately 5,000 people gathered in and around North Cronulla Beach. Early in the morning, people began to gather and impromptu barbecues and "partying" took place. However, at 12:59, a young man of "Middle Eastern appearance" was spotted on the beach and the crowds began "chanting stuff yelling out things" before rushing him. The man attempted to avoid the crowd by quickly entering "Northies" (a local pub) but the crowd forcibly dragged him out and attacked him. The police, having been in Cronulla since the early morning (including police helicopters and patrol boats), quickly intervened and resolved the situation. A Cronulla High School teacher later claimed that the crowd had attacked the man after he had shouted "I'm going to blow youse all up".
At 13:30 two women verbally argued with a small group; the police arrived and both parties left. However, an hour later, they again met and a scuffle ensued. At 13:45, another two boys (from Bangladesh) were surrounded by the crowd, and had bottles thrown at them, with the crowd repeatedly chanting “Fuck off Lebs!,” with the boys subsequently being able to escape by car. Chants and slogans such as “Fuck off Lebs!”, “We grew here, you flew here”, “Aussie Pride”, “Fuck off wogs!”, were repeated throughout the day by the crowd. The crowd also attacked the police by throwing beer bottles. Police vehicles were also prevented from entering the area.
Around 14:00 another three males were assaulted on the beach with the crowd throwing sausages and beer bottles at them.

Rumours had persisted throughout the day that an additional 600 people would arrive by train, mostly from the west of Cronulla, to join the crowds. At approximately 15:00 “two young men of Middle Eastern appearance” arrived at Cronulla train station with the crowd outside chanting “Fuck off wogs!”. The two men took refuge in the train. However, the crowd entered and began assaulting them; a police officer entered the train and cleared the crowd. At 15:20 two separate assaults took place; one involved a crowd attacking a man of “Middle Eastern appearance” and throwing beer bottles. In this case an officer intervened and was able to remove the victim as they were both struck by the bottle. A second assault took place outside a Nando's restaurant; three men were taken inside the restaurant as refuge and the diners already inside were moved towards the back. The glass doors and windows were broken and those inside were moved outside without incident.