Wadeye in Northern Territory burns as 22 clans war in brutal tribal rivalry ...

Wadeye in Northern Territory burns as 22 clans war in brutal tribal rivalry ...
Wadeye in Northern Territory burns as 22 clans war in brutal tribal rivalry ...

There was never much in Wadeye, a remote township 420 km south-west of Darwin. It only got its first coffee shop a few years ago. It still doesn't have a public toilet.

But after days of brutal clan warfare, there's even less there now. 

About 500 people have fled the township of 4,000 to hide out in surrounding bush after the savage violence erupted and left them homeless.

Famous for its gangs named after heavy metal groups or performers - like the Slayer Mob, Judas Priest Boys, Metallica Mob and, for female locals, the Celine Dion gang, the Kylie Girls and the Madonna Mob -  Wadeye has been riven by violence for decades.

But in the latest eruption, one man, 32, is dead, allegedly speared through the head, and another is seriously injured after being shot by a bow and arrow.

Frightening photographs from the township - which is the Northern Territory’s biggest Aboriginal community - have revealed the extent of the war between the tribal rivals. 

Likened by some to 'the Wild West', Wadeye has seen pitched battles after dark between rival gang members wheeling around the streets and setting houses and vehicles alight. 

Gangs of locals armed with axes, hammers and machetes roam the streets of Wadeye, searching for victims with authorities apparently powerless to stop them

Gangs of locals armed with axes, hammers and machetes roam the streets of Wadeye, searching for victims with authorities apparently powerless to stop them

Gangs of locals armed with axes, hammers, iron bars and machetes have roamed the streets searching for victims, with authorities apparently powerless to stop them.

About 40 houses have been torched and abandoned, with some armed thugs posing for pictures in front of the burning properties.

Shocking video footage showed locals looting buildings, snatching expensive computer equipment and then jubilantly destroying it.

An attack on the local school also saw 25 teachers being evacuated to safety.

About 40 houses in Wadeye have been torched and abandoned, with some armed thugs posing for pictures in front of the burning properties

About 40 houses in Wadeye have been torched and abandoned, with some armed thugs posing for pictures in front of the burning properties

The Northern Territory government has now sent a taskforce into the area to offer food, shelter and support to the hundreds of desperate locals surviving on their wits in makeshift bush camps.

But back in Wadeye, formerly known as Port Keats, tensions remain high.

Wadeye's rival 'heavy metal' gangs named after 'Slayer', 'Megadeth' and 'Judas Priest'  

Wadeye has a history of being ruled by rival heavy metal gangs devoted to different bands whose pitched battles make the Northern Territory’s biggest Aboriginal community like the Wild West. 

Armed with metal rods, machetes and bottles, members of the 'Slayer' and 'Megadeath' mobs or the Evil Warriors or Judas Priest Boys hunted down their 'enemy' gang.

Nights in Wadeye were filled with screaming, the clanging of metal and rocks being hurled at dwellings and vehicles, which were then set alight.

Being out on the streets of Wadeye after dark meant risking an encounter with a Troopy (a Landcruiser which seats eight people) full of boys and men armed with iron bars and axes.

One local gang known as the German Boys used to daub walls and corrugated iron fences with swastikas.

Even women had their own musically-themes gangs, including the Madonna Mob, Kylie Girls and the Celine Dion Gang. 

Armed with metal rods, machetes and bottles, members of the 'Slayer' and 'Megadeath' mobs or the Evil Warriors or Judas Priest Boys hunted down their 'enemy' gang

Armed with metal rods, machetes and bottles, members of the 'Slayer' and 'Megadeath' mobs or the Evil Warriors or Judas Priest Boys hunted down their 'enemy' gang

Members of the Madonna Mob out at night in Wadeye, where female gangs include the Celine Dion Gang and Kylie Girls, thought to have been inspired by watching the ABC's Rage

Members of the Madonna Mob out at night in Wadeye, where female gangs include the Celine Dion Gang and Kylie Girls, thought to have been inspired by watching the ABC's Rage

 Inspired by watching the night time ABC music program, Rage, at a time when half of Wadeye's population was aged under 20, up to 14 gangs operated in the early 2000s.

By 2015, this had dwindled to eight, who on certain nights would team up into two fiercely rival supergangs.

At that time, the Northern Territory AFL appointed a regional manager to Wadeye, who revived a football competition in the footy mad town which, for a while, helped keep rivalries on the oval.

AFL Wadeye still operates, but the town's latest outburst of violence may have put that along with everything else in the volatile community in jeopardy.   

 

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'This has been happening for the past six weeks,' one worker in the town revealed. 

'We are okay and we are safe. These fights are not directed at us non-locals. 

'However it does impact on our way of life but nowhere near the extent it is impacting on the local women and children.'

There was never much in Wadeye, a remote township 420 km south-west of Darwin. It only got its first coffee shop a few years ago and still doesn't have a public toilet Now there's even less

There was never much in Wadeye,

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