2005 Cronulla riots

2005 Cronulla riots
NSW Police observing crowds prior to confrontation.
Date	11–12 December 2005
Location	Cronulla (spreading to Maroubra, Punchbowl, Lakemba, Arncliffe and Brighton-Le-Sands) in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 34°03′06″S 151°09′17″E / 34.05167°S 151.15472°E / -34.05167; 151.15472
Caused by	Racism, Islamophobia, Anti-arabism
Methods	Race riot (pogrom), assault,[1] vandalism, arson,[2] violence
Resulted in	Riots quelled
Parties
White Australians Including:  Australia First Party Patriotic Youth League Arab Australians New South Wales Police Supported by: New South Wales Government
Casualties
Arrested	104 (285 charges laid)

The 2005 Cronulla riots were a series of race riots in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It began in the beachside suburb of Cronulla on 11 December, and spread over to additional suburbs the next few nights.

The riots were triggered by an event the previous Sunday, when an altercation turned physical between a group of youths of Middle Eastern appearance and lifeguards on Cronulla beach. Following the reporting of this event by the tabloid media and "shock jocks" on local radio, a racially motivated gathering was organised via chain texting for the following weekend.

A crowd gathered at Cronulla on the morning of Sunday, 11 December, and, by midday, approximately 5,000 people had gathered near the beach. The gathering turned violent and the police attempted to protect individuals of ethnic minority groups who were attacked by the rioters. Violence spread to other southern suburbs of Sydney, where assaults occurred, including two stabbings and attacks on ambulances and police officers. Travel warnings for Australia were issued by some countries but were later removed.

The riots were widely condemned by local, state, and federal members of parliament, police, local community leaders, and residents of Cronulla and adjacent areas. An abnormally large number of arrests were made over the subsequent months thanks to a giant police effort, from both the initial riot on 11 December and the retaliations over the subsequent nights. Some media were criticised and well-known radio personality Alan Jones was formally censured and fined for his inflammatory broadcasts during that week.