Bra Boys

The Bra Boys are an Australian surfing group in Sydney's East. The group is centered on the Sydney suburb of Maroubra.The group began as a small surf club in the 1960s.Fact|date=February 2007 The group is named after the suburb Maroubra and not the Board Riders Association as some people may think. Some members of the group tattoo "Bra Boys" and Maroubra's post code "2035" on their backs. [ [http://www.abc.net.au/austory/content/2005/s1497507.htm Sons of Beaches] , "Australian Story", ABC-TV]

Notoriety

Prominent Bra Boys members include Rugby League players Reni Maitua, Lachlan Gordon, John Sutton, as well as the Abberton brothers, Sunny, Jai, and most famously Koby.

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. [ [http://www.surfermag.com/features/onlineexclusives/kobyabbertonprofile/ Koby Abberton] , "Surfer Magazine"]

In late 2002, around 160 members of the group 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. [ [http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/12/23/1040511005516.html Night the thin blue line ran into the Maroubra stomp] , Les Kennedy, Chief Police Reporter, "The Sydney Morning Herald"]

In August 2005, the group led a 100 person protest against parking meters near the local beaches. [ [http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/rage-over-7000-meters-for-beaches/2005/08/06/1123125942487.html?from=moreStories Rage over 7000 meters for beaches] , Angela Cuming and Catharine Munro, "The Sun-Herald"]

Following the Cronulla riots, in which the group was not involved but was subsequently targeted, the Abberton brothers held well-publicised meetings with other uninvolved groups to help ease tensions. [ [http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/when-two-tribes-go-to-war-a-culture-clash/2005/12/13/1134236064343.html When two tribes go to war: a culture clash] , Dan Silkstone, "The Age"] "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". [ [http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2005/s1530302.htm Emergency powers to crack down on riots] , Reporter: Jonathan Harley, "The 7.30 Report" ABC-TV] .

Documentary

A documentary film about the group, entitled "Bra Boys" 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 group, particularly the Abbertons. Actor Russell Crowe provided narration. [imdb title|id=0951318|title=Bra Boys]

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. [ [http://www.abc.net.au/atthemovies/txt/s1864026.htm At the Movies: Bra Boys] , ABC TV, Review by Margaret Pomeranz]

The documentary became Australia's highest-grossing non-IMAX documentary following its release in March 2007. [" [http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200703/s1882217.htm Bra Boys breaks box office record] ", ABC News Online, March 27, 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. [ [http://www.braboysfilm.com/ Official Bra Boys Film Site] Release dates appear on the front page. Accessed April 10, 2008] . It is being distributed internationally and in the USA by boutique distributor Berkela Films. [ [http://berkela.com/ Berkela Films official Website] BRA BOYS film coming soon to a theater near you]

Surfing

The Bra Boys is 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 lethal 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 four 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. [" [http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/bra-boys-say-its-ours/2007/07/14/1183833835467.html Bra Boys say it's Ours and we'll fight for it] ", Heath Gilmore, The Sydney Morning Herald,July 15, 2007]

References

External links

* [http://braboys.com.au/ Bra Boys movie]
* [http://www.maroubramsa.com.au/ Maroubra Surfers Association]