One of my posts copied from the Facebook Sharpies group

I have been chatting to some of our lovely members and wanted to pass on some thoughts – In 2005 Jacques and I had an idea about starting a web page where we could find our old friends from the sharpie gangs we had been in, and exchange photos, and then we dreamed a little bigger about potentially connecting with sharpies from other gangs and areas.

This was before Facebook and at the time we didn’t have web building skills, so it was just a dream. Facebook came along, and when I was looking at my high school site, I saw one of my friends had married Paul W. I was then happy to see Pete and Danni had married, but didn’t think they would remember me, and I wondered if they stayed in touch with Deb W. I sent Deb a random message and said,’ I have a pic of you sharpie dancing’. Deb immediately locked her doors and shut her blinds. ‘Who are you, what do you want, how did you find me?’ She didn’t remember me. She asked Pete if he knew who I was and Pete added me and then we set about tracking down old friends, I passed on what details I had, and Pete made the calls (bloke to bloke!) Not that I kept tabs on people, but in 1980 a friend’s father told me how important it would be in later years if I had a ‘last know whereabouts’ type of memory.

We had a few re-unions, and slowly the group got bigger, and even though it may seem to be mainly about the Melbourne Sharps of the mid to late 70s, it is grouse that we now have representatives from the following gangs and areas. (Add your area in the comments if I miss it)

ANA – Glenroy
Anderson Rd – Fawkner
Ascot Vale
Bayside
Blackburn South
Box Hill 60s and 70s
Broadmeadows
Brunswick
BSSS Bourke Street Sheila Sharps
Camberwell Boys
City Sharps
City Square Sharps
Clayton
Croydon/Mooroolbark
Dandenong/Doveton
Degraves Street Sharps 60s
Doncaster
Ferntree Gully/Boronia/The Basin/Mountain Gate
Flinders Street Sharps
Frankston & The Pines
Heidelberg (The Village) 60s 70s
JA (Justin Avenue) Glenroy
JLK
Jordanville
Lyndale
North Side
Oakleigh 60s
Preston 60s and 70s
Preston Gang
Richmond 60s and 70s
Ringwood
Sharps & Co.
South Side
St Albans
Sunshine 60s
Thomastown
Wests Rd
Westside (Old)
Westside (Young)

There are a few core members on the site that keep everything flowing, and while the rapport makes it seem that it is being run by life long friends, that isn’t the case. It seems like we have known our wonderful hard arse admin Lynette for years, but actually we only met her this year. Which is an example of the unexplainable connection that sharpies had in the past and still do today.

The group is only as strong as its members. And all our members are valued and welcome. Even if you never post, but just come on each day for the ‘Sharpie Days of Our Lives’ drama and excitement. It is the same for the get-togethers, all are welcome. In the early days, most of the catch ups were at live music venues, and I know a couple of members turned up, and because of the noise etc, felt we were a bit impenetrable. I prefer the group to be known as a ‘more the merrier’ group, online and in the real world and would be embarrassed if it was seen as otherwise. So if you would like to come along to a future event, but feel a bit weird coming on your own, message the organiser and when you arrive, they can get you a drink and find you someone interesting to talk to.