Bodgie

Bodgies and widgies refer to a youth subculture that existed in Australia and New Zealand in the 1950s, similar to the rocker culture in the UK or greaser culture in the United States. Most bodgies rode motorbikes but some had cars, many of which were embellished with accessories such as mag wheels and hot dog mufflers. Bodgies engaged in violence, but there was never any motive behind these acts. Males were called bodgies and females were called widgies.

Bodgies were often depicted in Australian media and folk-lore as louts. On 1 February 1951, the ''Sydney Morning Herald'' wrote on its front page:

In New Zealand, the Mazengarb Report (Report of the Special Committee on Moral Delinquency in Children and Adolescents) of 1954 was partly a response to the emergence of the bodgie & widgie subculture.

Citing a ''Sydney Morning Herald'' article from 21 January 1956, Professor Keith Moore wrote in 2004:

There was a Victorian Police (Australia) Bodgies and Widgies Squad formed – plain clothed. Their job was to bust up the gang.

In 1983, the ''Melbourne Age'' interviewing Joh Hewett for his upcoming theses suggested:

Australian rockers

Australian Rockers stemmed from the bodgies and widgies subculture that came into prominence in the late 1950s. Bodgies took on that James Dean look in the period of post-World War II prosperity.

The 1970s were the rockers' heyday in Adelaide. During the 1980s in South Australia, and possibly other Australian regions, Australian rockers were typically working class and fairly reactionary. Typical interests were alcohol, girls, music and cars. They were known as troublemakers and street fighters, and there were several rocker groups. It was not uncommon for rockers to fight members of other subcultures, such as surfies, mods, and skinheads. They mostly liked hard rock and heavy metal music, by bands such as AC/DC, The Angels, Midnight Oil, Iron Maiden, Led Zeppelin, and Deep Purple. Adelaide Rockers of the 1970s enjoyed the music of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, but identified heavily with the look, style and rock n roll style of music and movie greats such as Elvis Presley and James Dean.

Unlike their British counterparts, rockers in Australia had no association with rockabilly or Cafe Racer motorcycles. This Australian youth subculture had more in common with the 1950s and 1960s rock n roll scene.

Cars common to rockers included Chevrolets, Oldsmobiles, Fords, Pontiacs or other American 1950s and 1960s classics. Rockers who did not own those brands generally had modified Australian cars, such as early model Holdens, Fords or Valiants. A number of rockers owned motorbikes.

Style and clothing

Australian rockers commonly wore black mesh shirts; black or white T-shirts; singlets or flannelette shirts (usually in a blue or occasionally red check pattern). Common jackets included classic suit jackets, generally dark coloured (blue or black); herringbone jackets; leather motorcycle jackets (sometimes with a fur-lined collar); red Holden or blue Ford jackets (with the logos of local car manufacturers emblazoned across the back); or denim jackets or vests. Australian rockers usually wore tight jeans, often with the legs taken in. Some rockers sewed their jeans on (i.e. take in their jeans while wearing them, to make them as tight as possible) for the weekends.

Footwear common to Australian rockers included black ripple-soled suede shoes and black boots. Many rockers wore RM Williams leather elastic-sided square-toed boots, and some wore pointed shoes. Alternatives included ankle-high work boots (often steel capped), Adidas Officials (a black leather trainer/sneaker) and the Ciak casual shoe (usually black).

The common look was slicked back or coiffed into a quiff, using Brylcreem or another hair cream. Some styled their hair into what were known as ''racks'', hair curled into two waves meeting at a point at the forehead, but always slicked back on the sides. The Elvis look was extremely predominant in Rocker culture. Headgear, if worn, was typically a black knitted beanie (US name: watch cap, Canadian name: tuque).

Tattoos, including ''bum tatts'' (amateur tattoos), were common among Australian rockers. Harder rockers often had small red stars with black/blue outlines tattooed on their faces (usually cheeks) and ears. These tattooed stars were known as ''rocker stars''.

In media

Actor and comedian Grahame Bond created a character named Kev Kavanagh for the 1972 sketch comedy series ''The Aunty Jack Show'' and the spinoff series ''Wollongong the Brave''. A more exaggerated version of the character was revived as the "last living bodgie" in the 1985 comedy series ''News Free Zone''.

Former Prime Minister of Australia Bob Hawke was nicknamed the Silver Bodgie by the Australian media for his thick silver-grey hair worn in the bodgie style and loutish behaviour before entering politics.

'' Bodgie'' is a 1959 ABC television play.

See also

* Beatniks
* Bogan
* Sharpies
* Skinhead
* Teddy Boys

References

Further reading

* Manning, A. E. (1958) ''The Bodgie: a study in abnormal psychology''. Wellington: Reed

External links

Scarborough Beach once again comes alive to revive the infamous Snake Pit days, when the bodgies and the widgies danced to rock ”n‘ roll music


* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20140416143718/http://www.abc.net.au/dimensions/dimensions_people/Transcripts/s781096.htm George Negus Tonight :: people :: Transcripts :: Gang History
Bodgies, widgies and moral panic in Australia 1955 – 1959, Paper presented to the Social Change in the 21st Century Conference

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bodgies And Widgies
History of Australia (1945–present)
Australian fringe and underground culture
Australian English
New Zealand slang
Counterculture of the 1950s
Culture of New Zealand
Working-class culture
Working class in Australia
Working class in New Zealand
category: Australian youth culture