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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Stephanie Convery

In Australia, racist violence is nothing new. But emboldened neo-Nazis form a frightening new spectre

An illustration of an Australian flag
Protesters across the country wore Australian flags during the March for Australia rallies – just like the rioters in Cronulla in 2005. Illustration: Guardian Design

The text messages circulating around Sydney’s Sutherland shire in early December 2005 explained precisely the purpose of the gathering. “Just a reminder that Cronulla’s 1st wog bashing day is still on this Sunday,” one read. “Chinks bashing day is on the 27th and the Jews are booked in for early January.”

On Sunday 11 December, more than 5,000 people, mostly young men, swarmed Cronulla beach. They wore Australian flags as capes, they had drawn the Eureka flag on their bodies. They were drinking alcohol and they were chanting – and they were beating up anyone who wasn’t white.

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