Two local women went out for a quiet after-work round at The Cut Golf Course and instead found themselves surrounded by a group of around fifteen boys on e-bikes, scooters and motorbikes. The kids were hooning across the driving range and 9th hole, ignoring course rules and basic safety.

When the women asked them to stop, the group mobilised and turned on them: verbal abuse, filming and taunting, drive-bys close to their golf cart, attempts to grab their phones, and one boy exposing himself while shouting obscenities. The women were too frightened to leave the cart or finish their game.

The harassment didn’t end on the course. As the women tried to leave, the group regrouped and pursued their cars along Country Club Drive and onto Old Coast Road, riding unlicensed vehicles on public roads and forcing one driver to turn the wrong way onto the highway out of fear. The incident has been reported to the club, the school and police, with photos and video handed over.

A pattern, not a one-off

This isn’t an isolated event. Residents describe the same group or similar packs of boys:

• Harassing shoppers at local centres
• Intimidating families around ovals, lakes and the skate park
• Hooning and abusing people near the Dawesville Cut bridge
• Assaults and threats reported in nearby suburbs

The mood is consistent: people feel unsafe, fed up and unheard. Many say they no longer walk, ride or let kids roam freely because they expect to be abused or intimidated by “little gangs” on bikes.

Community exhaustion and the rise of vigilante talk

The comments quickly move beyond shock and concern into raw anger. Kids are called “rats”, “scumbags” and “maggots”. Parents are blamed for giving kids everything, setting no boundaries and defending them when they’re caught out. There are strong calls for police and schools to act, for bikes to be confiscated and charges laid.

More worrying is the growing vigilante sentiment. Several people openly say they “can’t wait” for these kids to pick on the wrong person and “cop a flogging”. Others refer to a previous incident where a local allegedly dragged a boy into the bush and threatened him. Some commenters state they don’t care if adults get charged for hitting back; they feel it’s the only language these kids understand.

This is what community exhaustion looks like: when people stop believing formal systems will protect them and start talking about taking matters into their own hands.

Parents in the firing line

A father steps forward and acknowledges his son was present. He rejects the idea that he’s a “bad parent”, says he will deal with his child and offers to speak privately rather than in a public pile-on. Another mother says her child was assaulted by an adult male and that police are now involved, with the adult facing charges.

These responses highlight a tension: on one side, a community demanding accountability and stronger parenting; on the other, parents who feel attacked and insist they are trying to manage complex behaviour in a world where kids have more freedom, more tech and more ways to get into trouble than ever.

Should an adult be charged for swinging a bat?

This is the uncomfortable question sitting under the whole thread. When kids cross the line into criminal behaviour - harassment, intimidation, pursuit on public roads - what happens when an adult finally snaps?

Legally, an adult who swings a bat at a child is likely to face serious charges, regardless of how provocative the behaviour was. Morally, many locals feel torn: they don’t want violence, but they also don’t want to keep watching women, kids and older residents being terrorised while nothing seems to change.

The “pack” mentality these boys are showing is dangerous. It only takes one to escalate, one to pick up a rock, one to push someone into traffic, one to decide that chasing a car is a game. And it only takes one adult, pushed past breaking point, to turn a frightening situation into a tragedy.

Where is this taking our community?

Dawesville, Falcon and Halls Head have always been places where people could walk, fish, play golf, ride bikes and let kids explore near the estuary and ocean. The stories in this thread show a shift: more people staying home, more fear after dark, more residents quietly saying “I don’t go there anymore”.

If nothing changes, we risk normalising two things:

• Kids treating intimidation as entertainment, with no real consequences
• Adults treating vigilante action as acceptable, because they feel abandoned by systems meant to protect them

That combination doesn’t build a stronger community; it fractures it.

What needs to happen next

It’s about recognising a pattern and asking for a circuit-breaker before someone is seriously hurt or killed.

We need:

• Consistent police follow-up when incidents are reported
• Schools actively involved in identifying and addressing repeat behaviour
• Parents engaged, not defensive, willing to set boundaries and consequences
• Community spaces designed and managed with youth behaviour in mind, not as an afterthought

Dawesy Hub exists so we can talk honestly about what’s happening here, not pretend it’s all fine. This incident at The Cut is a warning sign. Whether we respond with stronger community, better systems and real consequences ... or with more fear and more vigilante talk ... is up to all of us.