Sharpies, or Sharps, were members of suburban youth gangs in Australia, most significantly from the 1960s and 1970s. They were particularly prominent in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, but were also found in Sydney and

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

to lesser extents. Sharpies were known for being

violent Violence is the use of physical force so as to injure, abuse, damage, or destroy. Other definitions are also used, such as the World Health Organization's definition of violence as "the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened ...

, although a strict

moral code Morality () is the differentiation of intentions, decisions and actions between those that are distinguished as proper (right) and those that are improper (wrong). Morality can be a body of standards or principles derived from a code of cond ...

was also evident. The name comes from their focus on looking and dressing "sharp".

Sharpie culture

Sharpies would often congregate in large numbers, regularly attending live bands at town hall and high school

dances Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its reperto ...

Common clothing items included Lee or

Levi Levi (; ) was, according to the Book of Genesis, the third of the six sons of Jacob and Leah (Jacob's third son), and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Levi (the Levites, including the Kohanim) and the great-grandfather of Aaron, Moses and ...

jeans, cardigans,

jumpers Jumper or Jumpers may refer to: Clothing * Jumper (sweater), a long-sleeve article of clothing; also called a top, pullover, or sweater **A waist-length top garment of dense wool, part of the Royal Navy uniform and the uniform of the United Stat ...

, and

T-shirt A T-shirt (also spelled tee shirt), or tee, is a style of fabric shirt named after the T shape of its body and sleeves. Traditionally, it has short sleeves and a round neckline, known as a ''crew neck'', which lacks a collar. T-shirts are general ...

s—often individually designed by group members. Mods were an enemy of sharpies, and their gang brawls were reported in the newspapers during 1966. In a 2002 interview, a former sharpie stated that despite the sharpie culture being quite violent – especially as they crossed other gangs' territories on the

public transport Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typi ...

network – the altercations were restricted to inter-gang rivalries. Sharpies were particularly fond of Australian pub rock and hard rock groups such as

Rose Tattoo Rose Tattoo are an Australian rock and roll band, now led by Angry Anderson, which formed in Sydney in 1976. Their sound is hard rock mixed with blues rock influences, with songs including "Bad Boy for Love", "Rock 'n' Roll Outlaw", "Nice Bo ...

, Lobby Lloyde and the Coloured Balls and Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs.

Sharpies in popular culture

Photographer A photographer (the Greek φῶς (''phos''), meaning "light", and γραφή (''graphê''), meaning "drawing, writing", together meaning "drawing with light") is a person who makes photographs. Duties and types of photographers As in other ...

Rennie Ellis Reynolds Mark Ellis (11 November 194019 August 2003) was an Australian social and social documentary photographer. He also worked, at various stages of his life, as an advertising copywriter, seaman, lecturer, television presenter and founder of ...

has included portraits of sharpies in his works *''Queeny'' (1994), ''Deep'' (1997), and ''Suburban Warriors'' (2003) are

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

s by Rebecca McLean related to sharpies * Blackburn South Sharpies' member Peter Robertson curated ''Sharpies'', a photographic exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney in 2001–02, and also as part of the 2002 Melbourne International Fashion Festival *Blackburn South Sharpies' member Larry Jenkins also photographically documented this gang *The

Australian Broadcasting Corporation The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-own ...

featured sharpies in a 2002 episode of George Negus' ''New Dimensions in Time'' *Comedian

Magda Szubanski Magdalene Mary Therese Szubanski ( ; born 12 April 1961) is an Australian comedy actress, author, singer and LGBT rights advocate. She performed in ''Fast Forward'', '' Kath & Kim'' as Sharon Strzelecki and in the films ''Babe'' (1995) and ' ...

was a sharpie in her youth and parodied the subculture on ''

Fast Forward To fast-forward is to move forwards through a recording at a speed faster than that at which it would usually be played, for example two times or two point five times. The recordings are usually audio, video or computer data. It is colloquially ...

''. *Levi released "Levi's Black Sharps", a

denim Denim is a sturdy cotton warp-faced textile in which the weft passes under two or more warp threads. This twill weaving produces a diagonal ribbing that distinguishes it from cotton duck. While a denim predecessor known as dungaree has been p ...

range inspired by sharpies *''Top Fellas: The Story of Melbourne's Sharpie Cult'' is a 2004 book by Tadhg Taylor on Melbourne's sharpies *''Rage: A Sharpie's Journal Melbourne 1974–1980'' is a 2010 book by Julie Mac on Melbourne's sharpies * ''Out with the Boys: The Sharpie Days'' is a 2011 book by the Seagull about the Sydney Sharpies of the 1960s *''Once Were Sharps: The colourful life and times of the Thomastown Sharps'' is a book by Nick Tolewski, written by Dean Crozier * A resurgence of interest in the Sharpie sub-culture in recent times included Skins'n'Sharps Exhibitions in 2006 (Dante's Gallery, Fitzroy) and 2010 (Kustom Lane Gallery, Hawthorn) and a dedicated website Skins'n'Sharps

References

External links

''Deep''
– short film by Rebecca McLean that features sharpies {{skinhead Gangs in Australia Australian fringe and underground culture Street gangs History of Australia (1945–present) Social history of Australia Australian English Skinhead Australian youth culture