The Rebels Motorcycle Club is an

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 ...

. At its peak in Australia, it had around 70 chapters and over 1,000 members and associates nationwide, making it the largest club in the country at the time. It was founded by Clint Jacks in

Brisbane, Queensland Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

, in 1969 and was originally named the "Confederates". Their insignia is a

Confederate flag The flags of the Confederate States of America have a history of three successive designs during the American Civil War. The flags were known as the "Stars and Bars", used from 1861 to 1863; the "Stainless Banner", used from 1863 to 1865; and ...

with a cap-wearing skull and 1% patch in the centre. The

Australian government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government or simply as the federal government, is the national executive government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. The executive consists of the pr ...

and law enforcement consider the Rebels to be a criminal organisation, but the club claims to be a group of motorcycle enthusiasts rather than gangsters. After the former National President,

Maltese Maltese may refer to: * Someone or something of, from, or related to Malta * Maltese alphabet * Maltese cuisine * Maltese culture * Maltese language, the Semitic language spoken by Maltese people * Maltese people, people from Malta or of Maltese ...

boxer

Alex Vella Alessio Emmanuel Vella (born 5 June 1953), or Maltese Falcon, is a Maltese businessman, former boxer and the former national president of the Rebels Motorcycle Club in Australia. Despite having lived in Australia since the 1960s, he is not a ci ...

, was stranded in Malta after a visit in 2014, it is presumed that Damien Vella, who was permitted to return to the country, took the role of National President. That being said, his visa was later cancelled and he was sent to Malta. Its constitution states it is a non-profit organisation which promotes the riding of

Harley-Davidson Harley-Davidson, Inc. (H-D, or simply Harley) is an American motorcycle manufacturer headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Founded in 1903, it is one of two major American motorcycle manufacturers to survive the Great Depression along with i ...

motorcycles. Members are only permitted to join the club once and never to join another motorcycle club. The Rebels established their first international chapters in New Zealand in 2011.

Criminal activities

In November 2000, police raided Rebels clubhouses in

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

and

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

and seized

drugs A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalation, injection, smoking, ingestio ...

firearm A firearm is any type of gun that uses an explosive charge and is designed to be readily carried and operated by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see legal definitions). The first firearms originate ...

s and even a

crocodile Crocodiles (family (biology), family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large, semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term "crocodile" is sometimes used more loosely to include ...

. A number of people were arrested on charges relating to the items seized. Two Rebel associates were arrested for the murder of

Bandidos Bandidos may refer to: * Bandidos (film), ''Bandidos'' (film), a 1967 Italian spaghetti western film * Bandidos Films, a Mexican film production house * Bandidos (TV series), ''Bandidos'' (TV series), a 2024 Mexican TV series See also

* Ba ...

member Ross Brand after their clubhouse was raided, on 16 November 2008. Brand was shot dead outside the Bandidos clubhouse in

Breakwater, Victoria Breakwater is a residential and industrial suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia, located on the Barwon River, 4 km south-south-east of the Geelong central business district. At the 2016 census Breakwater had a population of 1,014. Bre ...

on 22 October. On 23 April 2009. A series of raids across Australia ended in 27 members of the Rebels being arrested on a number of charges. Drugs including

methamphetamine Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug use, recreational or Performance-enhancing substance, performance-enhancing drug and less commonly as a secon ...

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a morphinan opioid substance synthesized from the Opium, dried latex of the Papaver somniferum, opium poppy; it is mainly used as a recreational drug for its eupho ...

and

cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

were seized as well as firearms, cash, stolen goods and stolen vehicles. Edin "Boz" Smajovic, a Bosnian

refugee A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...

and Rebels member, was shot dead at the Macarthur Auto Centre in

Campbelltown, New South Wales Campbelltown is a suburb located on the outskirts of the metropolitan area of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is located in Greater Western Sydney south-west of the Sydney central business district by road. Campbelltown is the adminis ...

. His funeral, which was held on 15 January 2009 at Auburn Gallipoli Mosque, was attended by over 300 Rebels, including National President

. He was referred to as their 'little brother'. On 18 May 2009, Michael Paul Falzon was sentenced to ten years in prison for the trafficking of

, which he had been producing in

Mackay Mackay may refer to: *Clan Mackay, the Scottish clan from which the surname "MacKay" derives Mackay may also refer to: Places Australia * Mackay Region, a local government area ** Mackay, Queensland, a city in the above region *** Mackay Airport ...

Rockhampton Rockhampton is a city in the Rockhampton Region of Central Queensland, Australia. In the , the population of Rockhampton was 79,293. A common nickname for Rockhampton is "Rocky", and the demonym of Rockhampton is Rockhamptonite. The Scottish- ...

and Dalby and used the Rebels to transport and sell it throughout Queensland and

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

. The drug ring operated from 1999 until 2003 and made at least $1.5 million.

Conflict with the Rock Machine

The Rebels began to be involved in a conflict, when a

Rock Machine The Rock Machine Motorcycle Club (RMMC) or Rock Machine is an international outlaw motorcycle club founded in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in 1986. It has eighteen Canadian chapters spread across seven provinces. It also has nine chapters in the Un ...

chapter was established in the

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 ...

suburb of Myaree in 2009 by then Rock Machine MC Canada leader Critical J. The Rock Machine had arrived in Australia during 2008. At the time Sean Brown had given permission for a Nomads chapter to be formed. The defection of Rebels MC members to the Rock Machine MC sparked an ongoing violent feud between the groups, when the Rock Machine settled in Perth in 2009 there was allegations by media that a turf war broke out between the two rival motorcycle clubs, with exchanges between the two groups including firebombings, assaults and the assassination attempt in 2011 of Rebels WA president Nick Martin, who survived being shot, tensions remain ongoing. On 14 April 2012,

Anthony Perish Anthony John Michael "Rooster" Perish (born 4 September 1969) is a convicted Australian murderer from Leppington, New South Wales, who killed a Sydney drug dealer, Terry Falconer, in November 2001. Perish was assisted in the murder of Falconer by ...

Gypsy Joker Motorcycle Club The Gypsy Joker Motorcycle Club (GJMC) is a " one-percenter" motorcycle club that was originally formed in San Bernardino, California on April Fool's Day, 1956.Isaacs 2004 Though founded in the United States, the MC expanded successfully oversea ...

member), his brother Andrew (a Rebels Motorcycle Club member) and Matthew Lawton were sentenced to eighteen, nine and fifteen years respectively imprisonment for the homicide of convicted Sydney drug trafficker Terry Falconer, as well as firearms and drug dealing offences.

Overseas expansion

In January 2011 the New Zealand Police announced that the Rebels were attempting to set up a New Zealand chapter, and that this was not welcome. New Zealand has reportedly been deporting Australian Rebels members. Despite this, many members wearing Rebel's patches have been spotted throughout the North Island of New Zealand and it is believed they now have a permanent presence in the country.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rebels Motorcycle Club Outlaw motorcycle clubs 1969 establishments in Australia Organizations established in 1969 Motorcycle clubs in Australia Gangs in Australia Gangs in New Zealand Crime in Brisbane Organisations based in Brisbane