A young man speared through the back. Dozens of people armed with bows and metal weapons. Cars torched. A vehicle stolen from an army base.
And that was just 24 hours in Wadeye this month.
The remote Aboriginal community in the Northern Territory’s West Daly region, 395km south-west of Darwin, has repeatedly made national headlines over outbreaks of clan violence that have plagued the town for decades.
At times likened to the ‘Wild West’, Wadeye has endured battles after dark between rival groups roaming the streets armed with spears, machetes and metal bars, while homes and cars have been set alight and buildings looted.
The violence reached a devastating peak in April 2022, when about 150 men and women converged near the town’s main oval during a riot that left a father of three dead after he was struck in the head with a metal weapon.
Hundreds of terrified residents fled into the bush as the unrest spiralled out of control.
In the years since, community leaders and authorities have tried to move Wadeye beyond the bloodshed and support residents exhausted by repeated outbreaks of violence.
But a fresh wave of unrest has thrust the community back into the spotlight.
Earlier this month, up to 100 people armed with bows and spears clashed in the streets during what police said was a dispute between two families.
Wadeye and its neighbouring community of Peppimenarti, further inland, are often lawless townships but police are now cracking down after rioting gangs trashed houses and vehicles
Gangs of locals armed with axes, hammers and machetes roam the streets of Wadeye, searching for victims with authorities apparently powerless to stop them
A 22-year-old man was struck in the back with a three-pronged spear, leaving him seriously injured, while a nearby car was set alight.
The wounded man was dragged to a nearby home before police transported him to Wadeye Health Clinic for treatment.
The confrontation came just hours after a separate incident hundreds of kilometres away, when a man allegedly unlawfully entered RAAF Base Darwin, assaulted a security officer and stole a security vehicle.
The vehicle was later linked to a series of alleged thefts across the region before travelling to Wadeye, where three men believed to have been travelling in the vehicle were arrested.
Just days earlier, police arrested 13 people over alleged street fighting, arson, burglaries and property damage.
Officers themselves have also come under attack.
In August, police alleged a group of men pelted officers with rocks, window louvres and metal bars.
Then on Monday, police were forced into another volatile confrontation after a 33-year-old man sought refuge inside a Wadeye home while a disturbance involving up to 150 people raged outside.
Wadeye descended into violence this week after a young man was stabbed through his back with a spear (pictured is a previous incident in the remote community)
Police allege a small group of people are continuing to ‘inflict fear and disruption’ in the town
NT Police said the man faced a ‘significant risk of harm’ before officers entered the property about 6pm and safely removed him.
No one was injured during the rescue, but two police vehicles were damaged, with windscreens and windows smashed.
NT Police Superintendent Virginia Read said residents had grown tired of the repeated unrest.
‘A small group of individuals continues to inflict fear and disruption across the community, placing innocent residents, families and responding police officers at risk,’ Supt Read said earlier this month.
‘Those who choose to engage in violence, damage property or endanger others should expect police at their door.’
The surge in violence has prompted armed officers to carry out a series of targeted deployments aimed at disrupting offending and restricting the flow of illicit substances into Wadeye, which is a legally dry community.
Earlier this month, officers from the NT Police Territory Safety Division seized more than $90,000 worth of alcohol, drugs and weapons during a three-day operation.
The haul included 26 litres of wine, 41 litres of beer, 40 litres of spirits and 513 grams of cannabis, resulting in six arrests and more than a dozen infringement notices.
But as authorities scramble to prevent tensions escalating further, some residents and community leaders argue policing alone cannot solve Wadeye’s deeper problems.
Three men allegedly stole a security vehicle from the RAAF base in Darwin on Monday before driving the car to Wadeye, where they were arrested
A man (on right) is seen wielding a cross bow and others axes in this picture from Wadeye
Police seized over $90,000 worth of alcohol, drugs and weapons from Wadeye in just a month
Founded in 1935, Wadeye quickly became a township for Aboriginal people from the surrounding region to gather in one place, giving residents greater access to services and facilities.
Its population has since grown to about 2,000, placing increasing pressure on housing and infrastructure.
The township is home to 22 different clans, several languages are spoken and overcrowding remains a major problem, with 10 or more people sometimes living under one roof.
Some of the clans had longstanding disputes, and groups that had previously been geographically dispersed were suddenly living in close proximity.
Some residents have called for land outside Wadeye to be opened up so families can establish separate communities on their traditional homelands.
The community’s violent history is also entwined with a bizarre gang culture that emerged among young people decades ago.
In the early 2000s, when about half Wadeye’s population was aged under 20, as many as 14 gangs operated in the town.
Many took their names from heavy metal bands watched on the ABC’s late-night music program Rage.
The ‘Slayer’ and ‘Megadeath’ mobs, Evil Warriors and Judas Priest Boys became locked in bitter rivalries, with members at times hunting down opponents armed with metal rods, machetes and bottles.
The township was developed to bring local Aboriginals together so they could get access to modern facilities, but the population has doubled over the last 10 years
One group, known as the German Boys, daubed walls and corrugated iron fences with swastikas.
There were also female groups with music-inspired names, including the Madonna Mob, Kylie Girls and Celine Dion Gang.
By 2015, the number of gangs had dropped to eight, which would sometimes join forces to form two rival groups.
Football was also used to try to ease tensions.
The Northern Territory AFL appointed a regional manager to Wadeye and revived the local competition, which for a time helped move some of the rivalry from the streets onto the footy field.
But Wadeye continues to face deep social problems.
The community is in one of Australia’s most disadvantaged regions, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, and has long struggled with overcrowding and high incarceration rates.
The Daily Mail has contacted NT Police for further comment.
