Qld eshays and our run-ins with them: History of events
Eshays – the very word strikes fear into many law-abiding citizens across the state. These are some of our terrifying tales.
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Eshays – the very word strikes fear into many law-abiding citizens across Queensland.
News in January 2024 that an Ipswich pub has all but banned eshays after releasing a list of prohibited clothing items added to the state’s growing concerns.
These are some of the brutal truths and terrifying realities of the subculture, and how it is affecting the state.
‘Disgusting eshay’ kicks elderly man with walking stick
Footage emerged in March 2024 of a partying ‘eshay’ on the Sunshine Coast attacking and kicking an elderly man with a walking stick onto the ground outside a popular nightclub.
An iconic Sunshine Coast Instagram account shared a video of a young man partying on Ocean St, labelled as an “eshay” in the comments by locals, attacking an elderly man outside of what appears to be popular nightclub Solbar.
It shows the “eshay” fighting and kicking the elderly man, who was carrying a walking stick.
You can see the elderly man fall to the ground in the “disgusting” act.
The footage was shared with the caption “New UFC rules. Weapons are in.”
TV presenter‘s ‘horrifying’ run-in with ‘eshays’
Gold Coast TV presenter Liz Cantor in July 2023 revealed her run-in with eshays.
“Oi! Oi, you two,” she called to the boys. The older boy is too busy kicking a Telstra box to listen, but the younger butts in: “Yeah eshay!”
This is then followed by some indistinct swearing, before he demands, “Why ya filming us?”
Cantor, whose reply is a study in perfect parenting, answers: “Why do you think?”
The boys mock her before she continues, “Do you think you could have caused a car crash just then?”
She was referring to how the boys carelessly crossed a busy road.
Neither boy seems concerned in the least, with the older offering this pathetic response: “Yeah maybe we coulda bro, but we didn’t, did we?”
Eshay culture in Queensland exposed
In February 2022, we took a deep-dive into Queensland’s eshay culture.
It was revealed many people who have been to a train station, shopping centre or in Queen Street Mall are likely to have come across an eshay.
Often sporting bum bags, polo shirts, mullets, tracksuit pants and sneakers, eshays are often groups of young men associated with drug-dealing, gang violence and harassment.
People belonging to the youth subculture tend to wear sportswear labels including Adidas, Fila, Nike TNs and Lacoste.
The generally male youth subculture is the Australian equivalent of the British “chavs” or “roadmen”. Chavs is a derogatory term for young, yobbish, white people from poor backgrounds who wear real or fake Burberry designer labels and rely on government handouts and crime to pay for their lifestyle.
The term eshay originates from pig Latin for the word “sesh”, while the term “adlay” is pig Latin for lad.
Warning signs parents should look out for
How do you know if your child is an eshay?
It was reported in February 2021 that parents feared an increasing number of teenagers in middle-class areas were dressing and acting like eshays, a term first coined in the 1980s to describe lower-class youths in public housing who intimidated, robbed and boasted about drug use.
The subculture was originally influenced by Britain’s chavs.
Staff told to call triple-0 if they see ‘eshay’ students at school
A Queensland school’s deputy principal in August was asking staff to call police if they see a group of eshay students on grounds.
The group became such a problem that staff at Bundaberg North State High School were hiding from the children called the eshay students.
An email sent to all staff at the school by an acting deputy principal said: “If you see (them) on school grounds, ask them to leave the school immediately. If they refuse to leave, please call 000.”
A staff member, who asked not to be named, said the students were known as the “group of eshays” who were always out of uniform and constantly kicked other boys out of the toilet block so they can vape.
Pub’s dress list bans eshays
An Ipswich pub in January 2024 all but banned eshays after releasing a list of prohibited clothing items which undeniably targeted the youth subculture’s standard uniform.
Falvey’s Hotel Yamanto, which houses both a resturant, beer garden, nighclub and gaming area proudly displays the list of restricted clothing on their website.
In the list hooded jumpers, bum bags, Nike TN’s, solid red shoes and shirts have been prohibited, clothing items all typically associated with the “Aussie eshay”.
The list, which has been posted to Reddit, has received mixed reviews online.
“That’s all of Ipswich who’s going to attend this venue now,” one commenter said.
‘Eshay kids’ tried to sell valuable Frenchy
Gold Coast police in October 2021 were hunting for two men who allegedly tried to sell a valuable dog for cash and alcohol.
Police were called to a BWS bottle shop in Carrara after reports of two men attempting to swap a stolen french bulldog for an expensive bottle of alcohol.
Police patrolled the area but were unable to find either the men or the dog.
News of the missing dog was rapidly shared on social media.
Nathan Baarsoe posted to the Lost and Found Pets in Gold Coast group asking if anyone was missing a french bulldog.
“Would anyone happen to be missing a little dark Frenchy?,” he said.
“Couple of eshay kids are trying to sell one around Carrara.”
Eshays of the Sunshine Coast exposed
Bum bags, sneakers and mullets were just some of the telltale signs of an eshay, who were often seen loitering around train stations and shopping centres on the Sunshine Coast.
It was reported in February 2022 that the young men who chose to travel in groups could be seen wearing clothing labels including Adidas, Fila, Nautica, Tommy Hilfiger, Nike TNs and Lacoste.
Sunshine Coast Criminal Investigation Branch officer-in-charge Craig Mansfield said there had been problems with a “red” gang based in Caloundra known for low-level crime.
How ‘eshay culture’ nearly robbed a teen of her future
Standing in front of more than 100 of the Gold Coast’s most influential women, 17-year-old Jessica Powell in July described how the city’s “eshay culture” nearly robbed her of a bright future.
From hollering at incoming traffic to vandalising public property and even stealing cars, the Gold Coast’s young eshays roam the streets, acting above the law.
For impressionable and vulnerable students, Jessica said, the appeal was not only being part of the “cool kids” but also a sense of belonging.
“I was young and I was stupid and I just wanted to be cool like everybody else – but also personal experiences and family issues,” the Burleigh Waters local said.
Knife crimes, new laws and GPS trackers
“I think it’s a fashion thing, it’s a part of the eshay culture.”
In March 2021, we were welcomed to the chilling reality of youth gangs on the Gold Coast, one that was growing so steeply that even youth worker Leisa J. Logan was alarmed by the new “fashion thing” – knives.
The Gold Coast had previously fought youth crime and youth gangs, linked with bikie clubs, by cracking down on gangs across the city through strict regulation by the Queensland government.
Eshays destroy Gold Coast public parks and toilets
Almost $2m of ratepayer money was being flushed down the drain each year as youth gangs targeted the city’s park toilets, it was reported in February.
In the worst instances, toilet blocks were being burnt down and needed to be rebuilt.
Council lifestyle and community committee chair, Cr Hermann Vorster, said the vandalism was “horrible”, with a toilet block in his division vandalised 34 times in a month.
Council officers were launching an investigation and citywide audit after being urged by concerned councillors fed-up with skyrocketing costs and forced lockdowns of amenities.
Cr Vorster told the meeting: “It’s horrible because these assets often begged for by the community to unlock for recreation.”
Who are the young crims targeting Brisbane shops?
Brazen “eshays’’ were in September 2021 blamed for a spate of thefts and assaults near Indooroopilly Shopping Centre in Brisbane’s inner-west.
In one incident, an elderly woman was robbed of her handbag.
In another, a customer leaving the centre laden with shopping bags was rammed by a woman with a pram – which had a child inside – before the thief ran off.
Gangs were also stripping young customers of their designer shoes and phones.
Shoppers said gangs of eshays – wearing brand name sports clothes, Nike TN shoes and distinctive bumbags – prowled outside the centre, from the bus stop, along Station Rd and down to Indooroopilly train station, as some are known to police and banned from entering the retail hub.
Police attacked at ‘eshay gathering’
Police were attacked as hundreds of people gathered in Logan in March 2024 to see notorious YouTube star Spanian.
Videos shared on Instagram revealed a huge crowd lining Bourke St in Waterford West as multiple burnouts were performed.
But things soon turned ugly at what locals called an “eshay” gathering that police said attracted as many as 350 people.
Describing it as a “hooning event” police say some vehicles were seen committing “traffic-related offences” and “driving in a dangerous manner”.
Video from the scene showed bottles thrown at a marked police car, and young men kicking the vehicle before it is forced to move from the scene.
Multiple crews attended from Logan, Gold Coast and South Brisbane districts, as well as specialist officers.
Three police cars were damaged, police said, as investigations continued.
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