The Rock Push was a notorious gang that haunted The Rocks during the late 1800s. During this time The Rocks area of Sydney was more like a slum than a suburb. Bad folk including sailors, prostitutes, and gangs roamed the poorly lit streets in search of trouble. It wasn’t surprising that the area would be struck down with the plague.
History of The Rock Push
During the 1870s to the 1890s, a notorious gang of thugs, known as The Push, ruled The Rocks area. The gang was widely feared. Rival gangs such as the Glebe Push, Argyle Cut Push, Green Push, Orange Push, and the Forty thieves (from Surry Hills) would often pick territorial fights with The Rocks Push.
The Rocks Push made life more unpleasant by stealing from and beating up pedestrians. It wasn’t just excluded to the men either, female members of the gang would often prey on the drunk seamen luring them into the dark alleys to be met by members of the gang.
The leader of the Rocks Push was decided through bare-knuckle boxing matches.
The most famous haunt of the gang was Harrington Street aka Suez canal. The Suez Canal was the most feared area of The Rocks.
Convicts which were released from Hyde Park Barracks would eventually find themselves at The Rocks where mayhem ruled. The Rocks was virtually the commercial hub of the city. Merchants built their Bond Stores, respectable families lived there and even Mother Mary MacKillop and her nuns ran a providence on Cumberland Street in the 1800s. So where did it all go wrong?
Being a thriving port area it attracted many sailors and undesirables into the area. Pubs sprang up to meet the sailor’s demands. Noise and pollution from the industrial activity lead many of the well-to-do to move out of the area seeking quieter refuges.
Mr Arthur Paine. a wharf worker at The Rocks was the first to be struck down by the dreaded plaque. The response by the government was to quarantine the area. In 1902 a report stated there were over 2,500 rats and 1000 cats in The Rocks area.
Larry Foley
One of the most formidable gangs was the Catholic Greens led by Larry Foley. He was known as the best head puncher in Sydney. Foley was originally destined for a career as a priest but by eighteen he had second thoughts. He ran off to Sydney to find work in construction. It was during this time he met a former bare-knuckle boxing champion John “Black” Perry. Perry, a black Canadian, gave the teen boxing lessons and I would assume some street smarts advice.
One of the most infamous Foley fights was between the leader of the Orange Push (Protestant gang), Sandy Ross in 1871. As legend has it the fight went for 71 rounds before the police intervened.