- Violence and wanton destruction smeared the beaches of southern Sydney in December 2005, hitting the suburbs of Cronulla, Brighton-le-Sands and Maroubra.
- The worst days and nights were December 11 and 12, with the New South Wales Parliament being recalled for a special sitting on December 15 to enact stringent penalties aimed at stopping the violence. But before the weekend of December 17, police were warning people to keep away from beaches not only in southern Sydney but also in the cities of Newcastle and Wollongong, apparently as the result of new intelligence received.
- By December 19, New South Wales Premier Morris Iemma was urging the public to return to the state's beaches after a massive police deployment over the weekend saw only isolated cases of beachside violence occurring. Extra police would continue patrolling Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong beaches until the end of January, the Premier added.
- The start of 2006 saw the Sydney beaches back to normal with police presence scaled down.
On the first weekend of December 2005, two volunteer surf lifesavers on North Cronulla Beach were attacked by a group of young men described as being of Middle Eastern appearance.
On December 7, near the North Cronulla Surf Club, two groups of young men were involved in a beachside brawl.
Violent demonstrations
From these two relatively minor incidents developed the massive demonstration by white Australian youth at the Cronulla beaches on December 11 which later erupted into violence as several people described as being of Middle Eastern appearance were harassed and attacked by angry mobs. The crowd which took over the Cronulla foreshore was estimated at more than 5000 people with some carrying Australian flags and singing Australian songs.
Later that day and into the night, youths alleged to be of Middle Eastern appearance went on a rampage in Maroubra and Brighton-le-Sands, two other Sydney beachside suburbs, vandalising cars along the way and attacking those who crossed their path.
All-out condemnation
Government officials, including Australian Prime Minister John Howard and New South Wales Premier Morris Iemma, were joined by Lebanese community leaders in condemning the violence on the Sydney beaches as being "un-Australian."
Retaliatory attacks
While government and community groups tried to hose down the situation, the following night, December 12, saw youths rampaging through Cronulla and Brighton-le-Sands. Meanwhile in the Sydney suburb of Lakemba, Sydney police were guarding the Lakemba Mosque for fear it would be subjected to retaliatory attacks.
Undercurrents of fear bring the spectre of continuing "racial" confrontations that could spread beyond Sydney's beleaguered beachside suburbs.
Cronulla in lockdown
In the following days, sporadic violence occurred in other Sydney suburbs as Cronulla was locked down with police maintaining nightly vehicle checks at the main entry points to the beachside suburb.
A Christian church in the western suburbs was torched, and another church nearby had its windows shattered with bullets. Authorities would not immediately confirm whether these attacks were related to the generally perceived series of racial retaliations.
Meanwhile, community groups were busy brokering peace. Middle Eastern community and Muslim religious leaders met with authorities and the locals at the beachside suburbs of Maroubra and Cronulla.
Cronulla and Brighton-le-Sands became virtual ghost towns with few people on the beaches, coffee shops empty, restaurant and hotel bookings being cancelled left and right, and most other businesses relying on visitor patronage coming to an unaccustomed standstill.
Sullied reputation
There is no doubt that Sydney's reputation was sullied by these violent clashes by gang against gang. Its racial undercurrents are difficult to ignore.
So the spectre of racism has again raised its head even as Australia has sought to permanently bury any vestiges of its old, discredited and abandoned White Australia Policy by actively fostering multiculturalism and accepting immigrants from many parts of the world and refugees from war-torn countries including Lebanon and Vietnam.
Should you come to Sydney?
If you plan to visit Sydney for a holiday or any other reason, there should be no worry that you would be in danger. You will no doubt enjoy Sydney's stature as one of the best cities in the world to visit with its iconic buildings, magnificent harbour views, good food, the friendliness of people and — yes! — its white-sand beaches.
As in many other parts of the world, it is best, of course, to err on the side of caution and not venture into potentially dangerous areas.
Are the Cronulla beaches safe? I've been back to Cronulla's beaches several times since the 2005 riots and have not had cause to worry about my safety.
