The Coffin Cheaters are an international

outlaw motorcycle club An outlaw motorcycle club, known colloquially as a biker club or club (in Australia), is a motorcycle subculture generally centered on the use of Cruiser (motorcycle), cruiser motorcycles, particularly Harley-Davidsons and chopper (motorcycle ...

that was formed in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, Western Australia, in 1970. The Perth-based Coffin Cheaters amalgamated in 1999 with a previously unrelated club in Victoria called Coffin Cheaters, and later "patched over" two Norwegian 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, 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, also known as the Mighty Mongrel Mob or simply 'the Mob,' is a prominent organised crime group and prison gang based in New Zealand. With over thirty chapters across the country and additional operations in Australia and Canada, ...

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 Potassi ...

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. 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 and t ...

. 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