Geelong eshays: mall fights, street brawls and wild parties

Daylight brawls in shopping centres and busy streets, wild parties leaving behind thousands of dollars in damages and more, here’s what Geelong’s ‘eshays’ have been up to.

Eshays – they’re one of the most talked-about parts of Australian life these days.

The term, pig Latin for sesh, was first used to demarcate youths in Sydney’s western suburbs in the late-1980s.

Now, the youth subculture has spread far and wide and eshays pop up across the country, recognisable for their distinctive fashion sense.

Broadly, eshay is the slang term for white males that think they are gangsters.

The Urban Dictionary describes the eshay style as including branded puffer jackets, tracksuit pants and footwear.

Not everyone is a fan of the get-up – in January a Queensland hotel caused a stir online when it introduced a restrictive dress code seen to be targeted at eshays.

Items banned by Falvey’s Hotel Yamanto in Ipswich included hoodies, shoulder and bum bags, Nike TN shoes and solid red or blue clothing.

The hotel’s manager, Michael Falvey, said the style items were the “common denominator” of troublemakers.

In Geelong, some eshays have certainly fit the bill in that regard.

Last October, the Addy lifted the lid on Geelong’s eshays – here’s what they’ve been up to since then.

MALL FIGHT

In January, footage of a wild brawl in the foodcourt of Westfield Shopping Centre emerged.

The brazen daylight punch-on shocked witnesses and was described as “pretty confronting” by staff.

Up to eight youths were believed to be involved in the brawl, with a witness telling the Addy the incident was “pretty confronting”.

The man, who works in the shopping centre, was stacking shelves when he heard “yelling and screaming”.

“This kid was sitting down, and this gang of other young kids decided to come along and start a fight,” he said.

“The other kid who was out numbered was like ‘nah, nah, nah leave me alone, I’m just trying to have lunch here’ … he started getting hammered.”

The man’s boss said packs of disruptive youths were frequent visitors to Westfield.

“They’re throwing food everywhere, they’re shoplifting, they’re going into Coles and stealing whipped cream and throwing it around the place,” he said.

Victoria Police were investigating the incident and it was not believed there were any serious injuries as a result.

Eight teens were arrested over the incident, issued with caution notices and later released.

READ MORE.

KNUCKLEDUSTER ATTACK

In May, horrified witnesses watched as a young boy was set upon by a group of teens brandishing a knuckleduster.

The attack took place in broad daylight on Little Malop St.

CCTV footage showed the boy walking away before one assailant jumps up and punches him in the back of the head.

Others quickly joined in, dealing blows to the boy’s head and neck.

Prior to the attack, the youth and his friends had been stalked by more than 10 other teenagers.

The victim told the Addy he was lucky to have his friends around him when it happened.

“They are the best friends anyone could ever ask for,” he said.

READ MORE

WILD PARTY

Jacob Irwin, whose house was trashed by uninvited guests last week. They left a damage bill into the thousands and property was stolen. Picture: Alan Barber

That same month, a gang of eshays were blamed for thousands of dollars worth of damage at a Point Lonsdale house.

The home was left in ruins after a group “eshays” gatecrashed a party, smashing holes in the walls.

The revellers numbered close to 300, as more and more gatecrashers came as the night went on.

Speaking with the Addy, 17-year-old Jacob Irwin said the party got “out of hand” and some of the damage had been deemed “unfixable”.

He described the home as “looking like a bomb has hit it”,

READ MORE

CBD CRACKDOWN

Two teens being taken away into custody as part of Operation Plymouth.

Geelong’s CBD has been a hotspot for crime, with the suburb of Geelong recording the most offences (2443) within the City of Greater Geelong in the year to March 2024.

Police have launched numerous operations to curb the issue.

Just last week, more than 70 people – including youths – were arrested following a major crackdown by police in Geelong’s city centre.

More than 25 people were charged over a range of offences, including shop theft, drug possession, anti-social behaviour and outstanding warrants, while 47 cautions were also issued.

Officers from Public Transport Victoria were among those to join police in patrolling Westfield and the Moorabool St bus interchange.

The troubled interchange has been the source of much concern, with the elusive owners of Market Square shopping centre stating that they won’t invest in the site unless the buses are moved.

Operations targeting the CBD have become a regularity, with officers scouring Westfield during Operation Bingo in December targeting shoplifting and anti-social behaviour.

The three-day sting just before Christmas was followed by Operation Bingo 2.0 in April, a four-day operation that again saw police swarm the CBD.

More than 50 people were arrested following the sting, while 41 were banned from Westfield Shopping Centre.

PTV officers at the interchange nabbed 245 people without a Myki card.

Originally published as Geelong eshays: mall fights, street brawls and wild parties