The Coffin Cheaters are an international

outlaw motorcycle club An outlaw motorcycle club is a motorcycle subculture generally centered on the use of cruiser motorcycles, particularly Harley-Davidsons and choppers, and a set of ideals that purport to celebrate freedom, nonconformity to mainstream culture, ...

that was formed in

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 is ...

, Western Australia (WA), in 1970. The Perth-based Coffin Cheaters amalgamated in 1999 with a previously unrelated club in

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

called Coffin Cheaters, and later "patched over" two

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

gangs, Forbidden Few MC and Wizard MC, in 2004 and 2005 respectively. The Coffin Cheaters were the first Australian gang to expand internationally. An unrelated US club, Coffin Cheaters MC, founded in the early 1960s in southern California has no connection to the Australian club. City Crew Mc is a feeder club . (The US club is also unusual in not having "prospects", or probationary members and normally allows only blood relatives of existing members to join.)

Four Club Policy and the Mongrel Mob conflict

In the 1980s Western Australia was home to four outlaw motorcycle clubs,

Club Deroes The Club Deroes Motorcycle Club or Club Deroes MC are an Australian outlaw motorcycle club that was formed in Perth, Western Australia, in 1971. Four club policy and the Mongrel Mob conflict In the 1980s Western Australia was home to four outlaw ...

Gypsy Jokers The Gypsy Joker Motorcycle Club (GJMC), are a " one-percenter" motorcycle club that was originally formed in San Bernardino, California on April Fool's Day, 1956.Isaacs 2004 Though founded in the United States, the MC expanded successfully overs ...

, Gods Garbage and the Coffin Cheaters. All bar the Gypsy Jokers originated in WA. In 1989 these four gangs combined forces to violently eject the New Zealand-based street gang, the

Mongrel Mob The Mongrel Mob (sometimes self-labelled as the Mighty Mongrel Mob or colloquially known as the Mob) is an organised street gang and Prison gang based in New Zealand. With a network of more than thirty chapters throughout the country and additio ...

which was attempting to establish itself in Perth. Events escalated over a five-day period where Selwyn Wharepapa, one of the leaders of the Perth Mongrel Mob, was injured in the bombing of the Mongrel Mob's metalwork shop with two kilograms of

gelignite Gelignite (), also known as blasting gelatin or simply "jelly", is an explosive material consisting of collodion- cotton (a type of nitrocellulose or guncotton) dissolved in either nitroglycerine or nitroglycol and mixed with wood pulp and saltp ...

and the Mongrel Mob retaliated with attempted explosion at a tattoo shop linked with the Gypsy Jokers. The following night police raided three homes, arresting seven people, including Wharepapa in possession of firearms, baseball bats and drugs. Two days later, Wharepapa was shot in the groin in the Perth suburb of

Swan View Swans are birds of the family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Someti ...

. Gypsy Joker Paul Hugo and Gods Garbage member Ronald Scott were arrested and charged with

assault occasioning actual bodily harm Assault occasioning actual bodily harm (often abbreviated to Assault OABH, AOABH or simply ABH) is a statutory offence of aggravated assault in England and Wales, Northern Ireland, the Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Hong Kong an ...

. It was enough to finally force the Mongrel Mob to leave Perth.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coffin Cheaters Outlaw motorcycle clubs Gangs in Australia Motorcycle clubs in Australia 1971 establishments in Australia Organizations established in 1971

Four Club Policy and the Mongrel Mob conflict

See also

References