Who are the Gladiators? The story behind NSW’s oldest bikie gang

A dramatic standoff in Maitland has sent shockwaves through the bikie underworld, with fears of a fresh gang war erupting across NSW. Here’s everything you need to know about the Gladiators.

The Gladiators clubhouse at Horseshoe Bend, Maitland, during a Raptor raid in 2022. (File picture)

The Gladiators are one of Australia’s oldest and most low-profile outlaw motorcycle gangs. Founded more than 60 years ago, the club has long maintained a reputation for keeping to itself and avoiding the violence often associated with larger outlaw groups.

Despite their quieter profile, the Gladiators are known in underworld circles as a proud and deeply territorial club with strong historical roots, particularly in regional NSW.

WHERE ARE THEY FROM?

The Gladiators’ spiritual home is in Maitland, in the NSW Hunter Valley, where they have operated their longstanding clubhouse on Portland St at Horseshoe Bend — a riverside patch of land they’ve owned for more than three decades.

The site has now become ground zero in what sources say is a hostile “takeover” by the Hells Angels.

The club has traditionally had a strong presence in regional towns, particularly around the Hunter, north coast and northwest NSW, including Grafton and Gunnedah.

The Gladiators were established in 1960 and their main headquarters had remained in Maitland.

WHEN WERE THEY ESTABLISHED?

They are believed to have been established in the early 1960s, giving them more than six decades of presence in the Australian bikie scene.

WHERE ARE THEIR TERRITORIES?

While their heartland remains in Maitland, the Gladiators also maintain — or historically held — influence in Newcastle, Grafton, Gunnedah and other rural and regional centres.

Their main clubhouse in Horseshoe Bend has stood as a symbol of their dominance in Maitland, which makes the recent incursion by the Hells Angels particularly significant.

WHO HAVE THEY CLASHED WITH?

Until now, the Gladiators were not considered one of the more openly combative gangs.

In contrast to groups such as the Hells Angels, Comanchero or Rebels, the Gladiators have typically avoided the major turf wars that have spilled onto city streets.

That said, in 2012 a former Gladiators president was shot multiple times in the back while riding a motorbike at North Rothbury, just outside Maitland.

The Raptor Squad raided the clubhouse in 2022.

PAST POLICE RAIDS

Over the years, the Gladiators have not escaped police attention.

Their Maitland clubhouse has been raided several times, most notably in 2014, when police stripped the premises bare as part of a statewide crackdown on outlaw motorcycle gang infrastructure.

WHAT ARE THE CURRENT TENSIONS ABOUT?

On Thursday last week, up to 50 members of the Hells Angels descended on the Gladiators’ clubhouse in what underworld sources have described as a “soft” hostile takeover.

Many of the Hells Angels were reportedly wearing balaclavas and armed, and by the end of the confrontation, they claimed the site was under their complete control.

Some Gladiators have since “patched over” to join the Hells Angels, while others have been expelled.

The situation escalated further on Wednesday, when a burning car was driven into the clubhouse gates, an act police are investigating as a possible retaliation.

The Gladiators clubhouse was visited by members of the Hells Angels last Thursday.

WHAT NEXT?

Underworld sources say the Hells Angels, who have long had a presence in Newcastle via their “Steel City” chapter, are now planning to establish a “Hunter Crew” based out of Maitland, marking a major territorial expansion.

The move has shocked much of the regional bikie scene.

Other gangs are believed to have offered support to the Gladiators.

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