Posh Sydney suburb Northbridge rocked by eshay brawl at beloved annual fireworks fundraiser

A beloved annual family fundraiser in an exclusive Sydney enclave erupted in chaos after an ugly brawl involving a mob of foul-mouthed “eshays”.

A beloved annual family event held in an exclusive Sydney enclave was marred by a violent brawl involving dozens of “eshays” that saw two teenagers arrested.

The Northbridge Community Fireworks celebration on Saturday night largely went off without a hitch – until just moments after the glittering display concluded.

Vision posted to social media shows a large number of youths involved in an ugly and foul-mouthed melee at Northbridge Oval at about 7.30pm, forcing police to be called to the scene.

Parents were forced to intervene to pull teenagers off one another to break up the altercation, while dozens of mostly young people gathered around.

“Officers were told a 17-year-old boy had been assaulted and following a foot pursuit, two males aged 15 and 16 were arrested,” a New South Wales Police spokesperson said.

“The older boy is alleged to have resisted arrest, assaulting officers.”

The pair was taken to Chatswood Police Station for questioning, where the older teen was charged with a string of offences including common assault, affray, armed with intent to commit an indictable offence, and behaving in an offensive manner in or near a public place or school.

He was also charged with two counts of hindering or resisting a police officer in the execution of duty and assaulting police during public disorder.

He was granted conditional bail and will appear in the Children’s Court on June 3. The younger youth was released pending further investigations.

Adults were forced to intervene in a bid to break-up the brawl.

The youth who was allegedly attacked was taken to Royal North Shore Hospital with facial injuries.

The annual event, held now for 38 years, is a vital fundraiser for the local Rotary Club, with tickets costing from $10 for a single child to $50 for families.

As well as the fireworks, the celebration includes rides, entertainment, live music, food and activities for littlies like face painting.

Dozens of youths gathered around as the ugly brawl erupted.

The club addressed the incident on its Facebook page, thanking police and security staff who “promptly dealt with the situation”.

While it said “reports of the circumstances are not accurate”, it didn’t elaborate. News.com.au has contacted the club for comment.

“This incident is nevertheless tremendously disappointing to all of us, as it taints a great family event,” the post read.

“As we do every year, we will be reviewing this year’s event to do what we can to avoid a repeat of these circumstances.”

Northbridge is one of Sydney’s most exclusive suburbs.

The annual event is a beloved fixture on the local calendar.

The ugly incident has sparked fury among locals, with one saying “the whole community is very upset” in reply to the club’s statement.

“You all volunteer your time to put on a much-loved event and it’s marred by idiocy and brings you upset instead of the sense of accomplishment you deserve for putting on another great event,” she wrote.

Comments on vision of the brawl, shared by Mosman Collective on Instagram, were equally scathing.

“When one of the kids is heard saying ‘look at all the eshays, this is so cool’, you know they were there for the fight to happen,” one wrote.

Another agreed: “This is nothing short of disgraceful.”

“Nice way to wreck a beautiful family event,” one added.

And in reference to the suburb’s status as one of Sydney’s most prestigious, one noted: “Why are there so many eshays there if it’s a Northbridge event?”

‘Eshay’ is a term describing a young person known for wearing ‘designer’ sportswear, speaking in distinctive slang and engaging in anti-social and intimidating behaviour.

“As investigations continue, police are urging anyone with information about the matter – or who was in the area at the time with any available mobile phone or dashcam footage – to contact Chatswood Police Station or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000,” the police spokesperson said.