‘Rebel-land’ Rebels Motorcycle gang now control almost all of Cairns

A Queensland biker expert has revealed the rise and fall of Far North outlaw motorcycle gangs in a power struggle that has meant one club now has almost exclusive control of the streets.

Australia’s biggest motorcycle gang, The Rebels, have almost exclusive control of the streets of Cairns.

The Rebels, one of biggest of the so-called outlaw gangs with about 150 members in Queensland, exist along alongside only a small presence of Bandidos in Far North Queensland a leading criminologist stated.

Odin’s Warriors, Vietnam Veterans and Hells Angels gangs have been known to operate in the Far North – but reportedly not anymore.

The control of territory means effectively that rival motorcycle gangs are unable to ride on any streets in the Cairns region.

“In one case, there were some young guys who watched Sons of Anarchy and decided to start their own gang in Cairns,” said Mark Lauchs, an Associate Professor in the School of Justice at Queensland University of Technology.

Taskforce Maxima executed a search warrant at a Queensland address at 2019; locating and seizing six firearms, a silencer, ammunition and Rebels Outlaw Motorcycle Gang clothing buried in the backyard. Picture: Queensland Police

“They started their own three-tier patch system and started riding around Cairns Streets,” he said.

“The Rebels allegedly pulled them up on the street and told them to stop”.

“The young guys laughed it off, but they soon stopped and closed down their gang after allegedly receiving more menacing visits from the Bikies,” Associate Professor Lauchs said.

The Rebels Motorcycle Club was founded in Brisbane in 1969 and was originally called the “Confederates Motorcycle Club”.

Associate Professor Lauchs described the Rebels, and particularly those who resided in Cairns, as “old school” in both style and substance – as opposed to the newer, designed-clad, younger bikies who had “hung out in VIP areas in nightclubs” or wore $1800 Versace bathrobes in club colours like Comanchero boss Allan Meehan.

Members of Rebels motorcycle club at a party at a private residence. Picture: Adam Smith

He also stressed that “90 per cent of bikies wouldn’t even have a traffic offence to their name” and were “law-abiding family men”.

A situation made more pronounced by the Newman Government’s VLAD laws and subsequent anti-bikie laws brought in by the Palaszczuk Government in 2016, which Associate Professor Lauchs said were “even tougher” and “probably overly onerous”.

The laws mean that bikies cannot display insignia from their club in any way and are prevented from running certain businesses.

“Most of Queensland’s serious bikies moved to Sydney or Melbourne after that,” he said.

Queensland Police Service says that bikies commit less than 1 per cent of crime in Queensland.

The QUT criminologist said bikies are known to be involved in drug production, distribution, and extortion.

An abandoned Rebels motorcycle club house in Queensland. Picture: Patrick Woods.

“Traditionally, the big trade for bikies in Cairns was control of cannabis crops,” he said.

He said that the exact way that bikies take over territory from other bikie groups – which can also have implications for illicit drug distribution – was not entirely known because none of the people involved usually make reports to the police.

Associate Professor Lauchs cited the example of a clash between Odin’s Warriors and the Outlaws in Mackay in 1997 with as many as 40 shots were fired from four different styles of weapons.

“Not one single person involved went to the police.”

Australia’s biggest motorcycle group – the Rebels – are reported to have almost exclusive control of the streets of Cairns.

A spokesman from the Organised Crime Gangs Group with Queensland Police said “Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs in particular, have a long history of violence and links to established criminal networks; they attract and recruit criminals”.

“To those thinking of joining a gang, the Organised Crime Gangs Group is resolute in our commitment to disrupting and prosecuting members and associates of OMCGS and protecting the community from their criminal activities.”

The spokesman said that the OCGG would continue to work with local police “to prevent and disrupt their actions impacting the safety of our community, including North Queensland.”

Originally published as ‘Rebel-land’ Rebels Motorcycle gang now control almost all of Cairns