The Sydney Sharpies of the 1960’s

The Sydney Sharpies of the 1960’s was a vastly different type of subculture from the Melbourne version of that era and had a much larger network than the Sydney Sharpies who followed in the 1970’s. They were different in their musical tastes, dance and hair styles, the way they walked and stood, their use of language, codes of conduct and dress rules, the latter because Melbourne’s colder weather generated a much broader range of coats, cardigans, jumpers and jackets than Sydneysiders needed for their climate.

Contrary to what has been written about them, the Sydney Sharpies followed very strict dress codes designed to make the wearer look sleek, successful and well-heeled. Each boy went to great pains to achieve this look, typically creating his own personal designs for his trousers before they were made up by noted tailors. However, trousers had to be cuff-less and no more than 13.5 inches wide at the bottom, where it was acceptable to have a 2-inch long slit with a button above it, or even two buttons. Belts were abandoned in favour of waistbands, which could range between 2 and 4 inches wide and were usually buttoned up with two or four buttons. The absence of any side or back-pockets meant that the trousers hugged the body closely – only a fob pocket with varying flap shapes was allowable. Four inches below the waistband at the back, a belt buckle was usually sewn on, but some Sharpies opted for two, just to be different. The more classical Prince-of-Wales check and herringbone patterns were very popular choices for trousers, and summer shorts were often tailor-made, with terry towelling a favourite. Straight-leg jeans, such as Levi-Strauss in blue, and Lee in white, beige and blue were preferred, while very expensive close-weave polo-shirts called Ban-lon were all the rage in plain colours, with all buttons done up. Nobody wore a long-sleeved shirt unless it was with a three-piece suit and a Stetson hat, and short-sleeved shirts had to have button-down short-peaked collars, be in a paisley design and tuck tightly into trousers and shorts. Nobody wore socks with shoes either, and casual footwear was either the plaited (basket-weave) leather style or the smart boating variety, both Italian-made and quite expensive. Dress shoes, although worn only with suits, were slightly chisel-toed and had to shine like mirrors, while runners of any kind were shunned. And unlike the boys from the south, the Sydney Sharpies had little need to rug up. In the autumn they put on light-weight Californian zip-up jackets, and in winter wore expensive Suave brand long-sleeved polo shirts, Alpaca cardigans or woollen ones in cable-stitch and harlequin-check, always buttoned up from top to bottom. Jumpers were a no-no because they suggested intellectualism, and although three-quarter coats were never necessary, they promoted the idea that the wearer of one was someone important, possibly a successful criminal. Alternatively, one could hide an iron bar in a coat that size.

The typical walk of the Sydney Sharpies was an intimidating swagger, with shoulders swaying back and forth, chest out and head up, ready to confront. Their way of standing, or their ‘pose’, whenever they wanted to assert power in any situation was like the ‘at ease’ position of a soldier, only the legs were further apart and the trousers sat higher on the waist. This posturing combined with their short-cropped hair and an indecipherable language rich in jargon, rhyming slang and colourful phrases made them a formidable presence for anyone who did not understand their spoken and body languages. During the sixties they made their mark at city dance venues such as the Teen Canteen, Surf City, Beach House and John Henry’s, which spawned Rock greats like Billy Thorpe & the Aztecs and Ray Brown & the Whispers. Quite often there were as many as 200 Sharpies at these venues, most of whom knew each other or knew about each other through word-of-mouth, and the subculture’s network accommodated gangs from the innercity areas of Redfern, Chippendale, Waterloo, Zetland, Mascot, Alexandria, Stanmore, Leichardt, Pyrmont, Glebe, Drummoyne, Wooloomooloo and King’s Cross. Those who danced did the jive, an American form suited to Rock and Roll, and the Sharpie girls wore twinsets or knee-length pleated skirts, knitted tops, pearls and winkle-picker shoes. Tamla Motown, Soul and R&B were preferred exclusively to the Beatles, since long hair was considered ‘unmanly’ and contributed to scores of bloody confrontations with the longhairs of Sydney. The ‘hairs’ frequented dance places like Beatle Village in Oxford Street, only a stone’s throw from the Beach House, so fights between the two groups were common as they both made their way towards Town Hall Station at the end of a night. On the other hand, Surfies were tolerated by Sharpies, and in places like Surf City and the Beach House they kept out of each other’s way.

Away from the dance venues, the Sydney Sharpies occasionally came together at football matches, the Domain, Coogee and Bondi Beaches, or the various racecourses around Sydney where they were ‘in the know’ with various ‘racing identities’. Otherwise, local gangs frequented their local snooker parlours and illegal SP betting shops, hung around on street corners chatting and skylarking, visited their tailor or a shoe shop, chatted up local ‘brushes’ on the street, or went to football training. Banter was always prominent in conversations and membership of a Sharpie group was conditional on factors such as courage (‘ticker’), fighting prowess, girl-pulling power, sporting skills, ‘gift of the gab’, sledging ability, behaving like a larrikin for laughs, loyalty to the gang, being well-connected within the Sharpie network, knowing the special Sharpie language and looking the part of a Sharpie in posture and dress. Occasionally, some levels of criminal activity were considered necessary for survival, especially amongst the poorer working-class neighbourhoods in Redfern, Chippendale and Waterloo.

Just in case you’ve had problems getting hold of a copy of “Out with the Boys” it is NOW available via Melbourne University Bookshop – after an unexpected delay. Hope the book turns out to be an enjoyable read over Xmas for you, your family or your friends. I’ll also be very interested to hear your comments on the book, so please don’t be shy.

Read on!!

BUT what does it matter WHO motivates you to try to be the best? Even if you’re not accepted by your peers, they’ve unwittingly done you a favour by setting the standard. Without knowing it, they’ve inspired you, challenged you to make something of yourself. They made you struggle so that you developed character, REAL character. They didn’t allow you to settle for an imaginary character built on bullshit, where you still get a medal or a smiley stamp for coming last – not like many of our whimpy teenagers of today.

Yeah, I busted my guts repeatedly, and they made it REALLY tough for me, but I wouldn’t swap those times for anything else. I think most sharpies, in Melbourne or Sydney, 60′s or 70′s, would probably feel the same way.

Out with the Boys: The Sharpie Days

Welcome to “Out with the Boys: The Sharpie Days”, the new release documenting life as a Sharpie in the 1960s inner-city Sydney. If you were an Australian teenager then, or you want to know what your older brothers got up to, this is the book for you. For everyone else, tap in to an untold story of Australian social history, when becoming a man was a challenge where ever you came from, in a time when everyone was making and breaking the rules.

If you are in Melbourne you can get a copy through the Melbourne University Bookshops. To buy your copy today just click on the link below.

http://www.bookshop.unimelb.edu.au/cbc/?AU.The Seagull

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Stand by. The book will be available at the end of this month. The publisher is currently getting it ready for printing. I will give you more exact details when I have them. Soon.