A Skins ‘n’ Sharps Exhibition will be held from Sunday 4th of July 2010 @ The Kustom Lane Gallery, 8 Luton Lane, Hawthorn.
Googled “Blackburn South Sharps” and found this grouse site!
Larry Jenkins, aka ESOTERIC, is the photographer responsible for the now infamous “Sharpie” photos recently [sic] exhibited at ACMI / Federation Square in Melbourne, Australia.
Larry was the leader of the notorious street gang the “BLACKBURN SOUTH SHARPS” from 1972-1977 when the Sharpie sub-culture was at its peak and the working class suburbs of Melbourne were a tough and violent place to grow up. These photographs represent a period from 1975-1976 in Australian sub-cultural history and are one of the few photographic records of that time. Larry began taking photos at the age of 16 using a pocket camera, when he started working as an apprentice motor mechanic and spent his weekly wage developing his shots…
See also :
::: Sharpies – A Unique Australian Subculture
“The recent fascination with Sharpies leaves you wondering – when did a spotted past in suburban Australia become an object of fascination rather than derision?”
::: The Sharpies – Cult Gangs of the Sixties and Seventies
In the 60’s and 70’s the streets of Melbourne were full of gangs but it was the Sharpies, enemies of the Hippies and Mods that held the power on the street. For a mean bunch of kids they were extremely fashion conscious with their crest-knit black shirts and personally designed cardigans. But as Saturday night fever exploded the Sharpies started to conform until the gang slowly faded away.
::: Blackburn South Sharps on Wikipedia :
The Blackburn South Sharps were the most prominent of the 1972-1977 Melbourne ‘sharpie’ gangs. The Sharpies were unique [?] to Melbourne and are an important element of Melbourne’s history in that their clothes were not a copy of US or UK fashion and they listened to Melbourne rock bands. Sharpies were an early precursor to the Australian phenomenon of bogans.
[On ‘bogans’, see also Michelle Griffin, ‘Bogansville: meet the new in-crowd’, The Age, July 16, 2002. NB. The lexicographers at the ANU claim that the earliest trace they can find for the term is 1985, but I can recall its use in 1983.]
WTF !!!!!
Lots of memories, lots of drivel, let’s try to keep some semblance of order pertaining to what was & still is an anomaly in our lifetime, some good, some bad, just like everything else on this planet – yin & yang, black & white, left or right, I could go on, but I will refrain…
I was a Melbourne Sharp, why? I’ll answer that later, the question that no one seems to want to ask is, how? I wasn’t a Thomastown, South Blackburn, or a Sydney Sharp (that later too). December ’71/Jan ’72 I was on School Holidays, as was most of us, & I was cruisin’ around the local shops, the odd gang of thugs, be it rockers, mods, widgies or bodgies, razor gangs, & of course the worst of them all, the local constabulary (in the immortal words of ‘Ajax’ from the Warriors (1979): “I’m sick & tired of running from these fuckin’ wimps!”). Nothin’ much to do except get beaten up by the bigger & stronger alpha males of the pack. ‘Can’t beat ’em? join ’em?’ No thanks, not this little black duck. After several more poundings, Chinese burns, pea shooters with dressmakers pins (little darts, plastic ball on end – they really hurt & drew blood etc), my Dad, a wharfie, & some of his mates having a b.b.q. one day when I came home after a course of fence jumping & a laneway kicking, decided that I needed to learn how to box, wrestle, the art of ducking/blocking an impending blue suede shoe to the nuts.
Over the next few months & being 14 years old & knowing everything there was to know about the world, I whacked on a few pounds & inches, learned how to attack, defend, subdue, & run like the wind when needed. I headed off to the Frankston Rock Concert to pay my dues. Apart from Chris Stockley (Dingoes?) being shot, Bob Jones’ Karate Klowns going beserk & kicking a pregnant girl in the stomach – which I was told, was the catalyst for the whole debacle – they were wading through the crowd on the oval yelling for everyone to sit down, or else! Kicking & punching all who disobeyed, some of the ‘thugs & rockers’ from my area sat down on the spot so they wouldn’t get their hair messed, I took out two of the Klowns before I got king hit from behind by another, no back-up from my locals, but a couple of guys came over & picked me up, tending my wounds & pride & looked after me for a couple of minutes, then disappeared into the crowd. Never did see them again, but I’ll always remember them, I had never seen anyone dressed like them before, magic, stunningly attired, short hair, wisps of a tail over the collar of a short sleeved light blue crestknit shirt, light grey cardigan, fine woolen knit with a couple of thick red stripes around the chest, tapering off into thinner red lines at the waist – brilliant! Clean, ironed blue denim 501 Levi jeans, dark blue basket weave leather shoes & black socks. I wanted to join them, who were they? where were they? I wanted to be them, they exuded an air of grace & confidence on one hand, an air of ‘you do not want to fuck with these guys’ on the other…
The only male in my family, I wanted them to be my friends, I wanted them to be the brothers I never had, I even pretended they were, that was until I spotted a couple of guys (5), on a train that were dressed in a similar fashion, finally convinced them that I wasn’t a loony for approaching 5 skinheads on the Broady line, found out where to shop & shave, ordered my shoes from a place in Collingwood, I think it was Batsani’s, hand made blue leather Cuban-heeled boots, with hobnails, black suede chisel toed shoes, with hobnails, & after some sliding around Carlisle St Balaclava footpath, I got a job in a Menswear store & accumulated some Crestknit tops & 501s, more than I needed actually, so I sold them to some soon to be Sharps & bought myself my first Cardy, light grey fineknit with yellow stripes & a seemingly unnecessary woolen ‘half belt’ on the back. After purchasing a plastic trimmer, with a razor blade in it for those hard to reach places, all that was left to do to bring this chrysalis into existence, was a nice, neat haircut… After leaving the barber in St Kilda & paying 50 cents for the ‘repair’ job as he so succinctly put it, I was ready to, umm, er, to do… umm, do what?
What did I know? I was a cocky little shit, I think I still am, but at least back then, I didn’t know it. If any of you old blokes in their 50s out there can get hold of a copy of Tiger’s book, ‘TOP FELLAS’, there are some more of my fond memories enclosed within this tidy little gem, I’ve got 3 or 4 copies laying about somewhere in storage, I’ll have a decent look over the next few days for them, I’m sure that we all have an abundance of tales to tell, If not, just make them up, I did…
For my next installment, I will tell you the whys & hows of my Melbourne Sharp era & I will touch on some subjects like music, girls, incarceration & I have some questions of my own, do we use names? I have no problem with nicknames, but some people may not like to unearth past exploits, I know a couple who asked not to be mentioned in my memories with TOP FELLAS & can I get some feedback from you guys? Do I continue on with my story? After all, this is a Blackburn South site & we all remember how you used to mince about in those silly little t shirts. I used to wipe off the blood from my shoes with a couple of them after you lot ran away crying & hiding in the bushes at the Box Hill & Kew Saturday night dance… none of that is true by the way, I actually hung out with some of you when I was roaming the Met looking for some excitement for the night, but that’s another story!
cheers boys!
B.T.
LOOKING FORWARD TO THE NEXT INSTALLMENT BOBBY… GOOD DAYS MATE ! THE CONCERT AT FRANKSTON BRINGS BACK MEMORIES. THE NIGHT BEFORE, DRIVING AROUND WITH SHANE GOODFELLOW AND MICK WOLFE AND SHANE GEEING US UP TO GO AND BASH THE BOB JONES BOYS… BIG ASK ! WE DROPPED SHANE OFF AT HIS HOUSE ABOUT FIVE IN THE MORNING SO HE COULD HAVE A SHOWER AND WHEN WE GOT BACK HIS DAD SAID THE JACKS HAD RAIDED THE JOINT AND TAKEN HIM IN… TOOK THE WIND OUT OF OUR SALES… NEVER DID MAKE IT TO FRANKSTON… I WONDER WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED IF WE HAD MADE IT !! EVERYONE THAT WAS IN THE CAR THAT NIGHT HAS SINCE DIED EXCEPT FOR ME AND WOLFIE… THAT’S HISTORY. OH.
Ditto Bobby,
Love to hear more while I am still in my 50s!
G’day to you OH.
Cheers.
WE SHOULD GET ALL THE HUNDREDS OF STORIES TOGETHER AND WRITE A BOOK…IT WOULD BE A BEST SELLER !!!!! AND GETTAY TO YOU NOEL…OH.
hey bobby,this is not a blackburn south site…its a slackbastard site !!! say what you want ~!
slack bastard is a blacky sth boy. say what you want, but don’t dis the hood!
more like poor bastard !!!!!!!
havent been on this site in ages!
new stories!
well theres a name i havent heard 4 30 years Shane Goodfellow one of the best, it was a sad day when he past away top fellow lived in Qew; Chris O Halloran i need a connie its 2 be put in a frame and on my wall in rockingham W.A. CAN U HELP ME.
i’ll see what i can do johnpaul…..love the frame idea mate. how did you know shane? did you come from that area ???? keep in touch…..OH.
THANKS CHRIS IF U COULD THAT WOULD BE GREAT MATE. CHRIS I HAVE BEEN ON THE SITE IVE PUT IN A WORD OR SO. CHRIS I COME FROM THORNBURY BUT MOVED AROUND ALOT SHANE. WELL CHRIS BRO IM NOT SAYING JACK SHIT OVER THE INTERNET HA HA HA. WHEN IM IN MELBOURNE NEXT ILL LET U KNOW. WILL HAVE A COFFEE AND HAVE A TALK AND HOPE 2 PICK A UP A CONNIE. THAT BE WOULD UNREAL. THANKS CHRIS. UNITED WE STAND.
I UNDERSTAND JP…LET HIM R.I.P !!! THORNBURY… I KNEW SKINNY MICK, ROBBIE LOWE AND THATS ABOUT ALL MATE BUT WE WERE UP AT THORNBURY AT LEAST ONCE A MONTH TO GET OUR NEW CARDIGANS OF COURSE !!!!! HAVE YOU CHECKED OUT OUR SITE ‘SKINS N SHARPS’, JUMP ON AND PUT YOUR TWO BOBS WORTH IN !! LET ME KNOW YOUR T SHIRT SIZE AND AN ADDRESS AND I’LL SEND YOU A ‘SHARPS UNITED’ T SHIRT AND STICKERS ON THE HOUSE… JUMP ON OUR SITE MATE AND GET INVOLVED… CHEERS. CHRIS.
HEY ANDY ARE ANY OF THE BLACKY SOUTH BOYS COMING TO THE EXPO NEXT YEAR ??
yer chris that sounds shit hot . give me a call on 0423 189 740 or msg me with your number i will give u a call . thanks mate.
Skins ‘n’ Sharps
http://skinsnsharps.com/
hey chris,thanks for the ‘SHARPS UNITED’ t shirt,it’s great,now the missus wants one so i’ll post the money today mate,she takes a small,but if not medium will do.thanks again T.
THANKS CHRIS GOOD 2 HEAR FROM U. DID LIKE U SED WENT INTO SKINS N SHARPS WHOT CAN I SAY, ITS GREAT TO SEE AND HOPE 2 GET MY T SHIRT SOON ‘GIVE ME A CALL ANY TIME BRO.
great talking to you jp. i will be posting t shirt tomoro mate…might not have xxl but will do my best…keep in touch mate. chris. leave us a blog on the ‘skins n sharps’ site jp and let us know what you think…cheers.
GREAT CHRIS BEEN ON SKINS N SHARPS AND HAD A LOOK . AS FAR AS BOYS DANCEN TOGETHER IT WAS A WAR DANCE AND WHOT U BE COPPING IF U WERE FUCKING WITH US . EARLY DAYS , WE WILL DANCE ALL OVER UR HEAD MOTHER FUCKER. ENYWAYS THAT WAS THEN HAHAHAHA. CHRIS ILL LEAVE A BLOG ON SKINS N SHARPS IN A FEW DAYS MATE GOOD ONE.
I went to Blackburn South High and was mates with Ricky Jenkins (Larry’s brother). I loved the sharpie gear but I couldn’t bring myself to cut my hair. I remember those guys and to be honest it almost seems a bit tame now. I had punch ups with a couple of those blokes but nobody really got hurt, we were just kids really. I went to a different school in ’76 and never really hung out with them after that. He was a cheeky little bastard that Larry. Geez those cardigans looked good didn’t they.
Had a beer with a bloke the other day, who said his Dad was in the Collingwood boys 1967-1969. He spoke about how his feet are shaped pointed because of his shoes, has the Collingwood boys tatts, and one time Chopper Reid came up to Collingwood back in the day with a group of blokes but Reid didn’t go too well.
Howdy lads,
Looking forward to the Sharps Expo thingy, from all information, it should be quite an extraordinary & HUGE event, expect thousands, not hundreds. Compiling a book of our exploits & adventures sounds like a daunting task, perhaps we could start now & have something ready for the event, perhaps our learned friends, Noel, thommo, @ndy, Chris OH & Mick & all the rest of you guys, know somebody, who knows somebody in the printing/publishing trade & an editor of sorts to help us get underway?
Shane Goodfellow & I had a couple of stories to share, as I’m sure we all have. Remember Ma’s Hamburger Van after trains stopped running at midnight from Flinders Street? Mutual Bowl? Platform tickets for 5 cents? Con, the Victorian Railways Station master? Froggy who sold the Heralds underneath the clocks? And on a sad note, do any of you remember the car accident on Jan 13/14th 1974, that claimed one of our girls, Pauline Bishop & hospitalised 5 others? Stolen HD panelvan hit a pole at high speed in Flemington I think… Not all Happy Memories, but memories none the less. I spent a fair amount of time in & out of Turana, an interesting place to meet solo members of suburban sharpie clans, one from Broady, one from Ringwood, one from Chelsea, me from East Bentliegh, all sharps, so we stuck together on the inside & beat up the odd rocker, surfie dude, & non-sharpie thugs, very handy at a couple of venues later on in life, 4 gangs from 4 different suburbs, suddenly became 3 gangs, then 2, then 1 big gang & nobody got hurt, unless you weren’t paying attention, like some people, who suddenly found themselves surrounded by a single gang of 50 sharpies, & I’ll never forget the look on these guys faces & those immortal words that they spoke…………
“RUN!”
Great to hear those bits Bobby, ah yes Ma’s Hamburgers outside Flinders St, not as good as Greasys in Box Hill eh OH? but bloody good. Talking food OH, do you remember the Faleron Cafe north up Elizabeth St either just before Lonsdale or Latrobe? Best and biggest bag of hot chips for sixpence one would ever want, if you were working at PO hopefully you would, I worked directly opposite PO in those mid-sixties years.
Exploits book is a great idea Bobby, don’t think there would be enough trees to make the paper we would need mate. Turana, I knew some kids we mucked around with who spent time in that place and I don’t think it did any of them much good, as you said mate, it just gave more strength and contact around the burbs.
Why the hell was the connection so strong for Sharpies, I am sure, rockers, mods, jazzers, stylists, surfies from the past or emos (what the!) of the now, do or certainly will not tell stories like these 40 years on, for me 43 years on. I said once here, the crew I hung around with were the most eclectic group of kids one could ever have as mates and such a bloody time to remember… And again I repeat, I would not swap one minute of it for quids… er well maybe little bits of it!
Take care Bobby and all,
N
Hi O’Hooligan,
I remember those days well, flags, maroon tops and the pub with Lobby, Whitehorse. What about the Matthew Flinders and the Jordy Boys… where are you all???
Kaz
HEY KAREN…HOW’S THINGS??? WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN UP TO MATE…I WAS THINKING ABOUT THE OLD DAYS LAST WEEK, I DROVE PAST GARY MERCHANT’S OLD HOUSE IN QUEEN ST. POOR BUGGER! I’M LIVING WITH MY 16 YEAR OLD DAUGHTER IN CROYDON SOUTH AT THE MOMENT. I STILL SEE GRAEME, FRANNY, BOB O’KANE etc. etc. I GET FREE PHONE CALLS SO GIVE ME YOUR NUMBER AND I’LL GIVE YOU A RING. CHEERS. CHRIS.
PS. REMEMBER THAT FRIDAY NIGHT,,,YOU, ME, BOYDY AND RICHARD PRESTON IN MY BUNGALOW PISSED, LISTENING TO THE ‘EASYBEATS’ AND YOU CRYING OVER LITTLE STEVIE WRIGHT WHILE KAREN CRASHED ON WITH PRESTON!!! FUCKEN FUNNY……GOOD DAYS!
hi folks,
just wanted to say hi, keep bloggin’ folks, it stimulates my brains……what I have left at least!
The book of exploits sounds great, you could always look at self publishing on a site like http://www.lulu.com.
It is a pity Top Fellas wasn’t self published, we would be able to buy copies rather than wait for a reprint.
WHEN ARE WE GOING TO KICK ROB’S HEAD IN…
FLO REMEMBER STOJ, BOX HILL
Deep – about three sharpies (two chicks and a guy) trying to join a gang of bayside sharpies…
[Excellent find Julie — cheers!]
Sharps, Sharpies & Skins a 1960-1970’s Melbourne Subculture on Facebook.
CLASSIC JULIE………TOP FIND!!!
What a classic!
Steven, here is an old pic of your mum
http://www.facebook.com/photo_search.php?oid=90431749249&view=user#/photo.php?pid=2188006&op=2&o=user&view=user&subj=90431749249&aid=-1&oid=90431749249&id=562699494
ha ha ha whot a ripper THATS WHOT WE NEED MORE OF. DEEP
JULIE MAC…… ‘QUEEN OF THE SHARPS’. GOT MY VOTE !!! R.ABELLA.
Thanks Rocky, that is so sweet! (Ooops that’s not very sharpie like.)
http://sharpaustralia.blogspot.com/2009/09/skins-and-sharps-not-sharps_19.html
Some familiar faces/words
Some Mods in the U.K discussing Aussie Sharpie subculture
http://www.modculture.co.uk/forum2/index.php?topic=7169.0
Hey Chris,
Sorry I haven’t been in touch, comp went down and have just recently got back on. You can e-mail me any time. I would love to chat and catch up on all the gossip.
Love Karen.
WELCOME BACK KAREN… WHERE ARE YOU LIVING NOW AND DO YOU SEE ANY OF THE OLD CREW… BOYDY ETC ??? NOTHING MUCH HAS CHANGED IN MELBOURNE MATE WE’RE ALL JUST GETTING OLDER BUT NOT NECESSARY WISER… HA HA ! I STILL SEE A LOT OF THE OLD CREW… PENTON, O’KANE, MEEHAN, HEWITT, LAWSON, REDFERN etc. etc. MY DAUGHTER IS SIXTEEN NOW AND SHE IS GIVING THE SHITS BIG TIME… PROBABLY JUST KARMA THOUGH… OH WELL KAREN I’LL GET BACK TO YOU IV’E GOT TO HEAD OFF TO WORK… FUCK IT !!!! KEEP IN TOUCH AND CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE ‘SKINS N SHARPS’ A FEW OLD HEADS FOR YOU TO LAUGH AT… I THINK THERE MIGHT EVEN BE A PHOTO OF RONNIE MASCARA IN THERE SOMEWHERE… HA HA. CHEERS CHRIS. PS. GRAEME SAYS HI !!
A VERY MERRY SHARPIE XMAS TO ROCKY, NOEL, ANGIE, KAREN, BREN, BOBBY, ROLAND, JOHNPAUL, THOMASTOWN ROB, JULIE THE QUEEN OF THE SHARPS AND TO ALL THE REST OF YOU GREAT PEOPLE,,,,,, SEE YOU ALL ON THE 4th OF JULY…… LIBERATE ROCK !!!! CHEERS, O’HOOLIGAN. X
I have just stumbled onto this site following the death of Mick Cox of Rose Tattoo, bless his soul. From my early teens l ran with sharpie/boot-boys in the northern suburbs we did a lot of fighting and a lot of fucking but it was always the music that brought everyone together. When AC/DC went overseas the Tatts were the main attraction. RIP Mick Cox.
Hey buddy,
Take care and may 2010 be one hell of a year for us all to remember in the best possible ways. Caught up with some of the crew at a 60th, farrrrrrrrrrkkkkkkkkkkkk 60th!!!! recently, and lots of laughs and memories from the good ol Box Hill days.
My baby girl will be giving birth to my first grand child in the next week or so, where the F did those years go. Tried to find JC for you Chris but he has just gone off the radar. Take care all, and thank god I got the street education commencing from my first flags in 1966, it has held me in good stead for the last 40 plus years!
Noel
HI JP FOUND THE WEBSITE
HI U ALL I HOPE WE ALL HAD A GOOD AND A SAFE XMAS AND NEW YEAR. CHRIS DID U HAVE A GOOD ONE BRO, MATE ILL TRY 2 GET THERE 4 JULY MATE. YER MUZA U GOT IT MATE, GOOD 2 C.
JP, to you and all, Happy New Year!!!!