Ugly scenes at Australia Day beach brawl
Australia Day celebrations turned ugly in Perth when dozens of people became involved in a violent brawl that was captured on video.
A large group of revellers had gathered at Swan River to “raft up” by anchoring their boats together when an argument broke out among a group of young men.
More than 20 boats were parked at a sandbank at Rocky Bay near Mosman Park to enjoy the warm temperatures on Friday when the fight erupted.
A video shared to social media shows a man being pushed down into the water as the partygoers scramble towards each other.
The shocking footage shows a large group of shirtless men kicking, punching, shoving and hitting each other during the violent melee.
Some of the participants even appear to stomp on others as they’re submerged in the water.
The video has amassed thousands of views on social media, but commenters appear to have taken a lighthearted view of the fight.
Several social media users took the opportunity to poke fun at the brawlers, blaming alcohol and celebrations for the bad behaviour.
“Can’t handle a couple of beers,” one social media user said.
“It ain’t Australia Day without a bit of a bust up,” another said.
“Where are the bull sharks when you need ‘em,” a third user wrote.
Western Australia Police have been contacted for comment.
Wild teenage fight in Sydney
It comes as a chaotic incident involving as many as fifty teenagers at Manly Wharf in Sydney ended with multiple arrests on Australia Day.
A large group of teenagers, many of them clad in bikinis, were involved in an intense argument on Friday afternoon.
The incident began about 4pm, with footage showing police chasing after the teens.
Pepper spray was reportedly deployed by officers as they tried to contain the situation at one of Australia’s most iconic beaches.
Nine reporter Madison Scott described it as an “intense, chaotic afternoon”.
“There was a lot of pushing and shoving between authorities and some of those individuals in that group,” she said.
“Eventually two young teens were arrested, one of them pinned down on the concrete before being taken away by police.”
Ms Scott added there were also several more arrests and police were alert for more trouble.
A video of the brawl was posted on the @creaturesofManly social media page with the caption “Ratbags take Manly”, sparking a lot of reaction online.
One person wrote: “They need to shut Manly down for anyone under the age of 18 for [Australia Day] excluding babies/toddlers or kids accompanied by their parents. This is disgusting, poor cops.”
Another argued it was “reason to change the date.”
“This s*** has been happening for years!”.
A brawl has broken out on Australia Day at Manly.
A third person compared it to the Cronulla riots, a major incident involving thousands of people in 2005.
The riots began as a dispute between a group of Middle Eastern youths and lifeguards at Cronulla beach, before spreading to southwest Sydney.
A spokesperson for NSW Police said they attended the forecourt area of Manly Wharf in response to reports of a brawl.
Police arrested three male teenagers who were taken to Manly Police station and are assisting with inquiries.
