Beards, bellies and bikies: Recreating the Milperra massacre
The next in a string of ‘ripped from the headlines’ drama series, Bikie Wars was shot on location in Sydney’s west in just 42 days. Georgina Pearson is transported back to the ‘80s on the set of Ten’s new crime mini-series.
Behind an unassuming roller door on a quiet street in Sydney’s inner west, director Peter Andrikidis is recreating history. Encore is on the set of Bikie Wars: Brothers in Arms, a period drama of sorts, completed in a six-week shoot plagued by non-stop rain.
Stepping inside the makeshift sound stage transports you back to the 1980s. Six motorbikes guard the entrance while an old Holden sedan, riddled with bullet holes, is out the back. This may not be the original 1984 headquarters of bikie gangs the Bandidos or the Comancheros depicted in the series, but it certainly feels like it could be.
Based on the book Brothers in Arms by Lindsay Simpson and Sandra Harvey, the Network Ten production tells the story of, and the lead up to, the fateful Milperra massacre in which rival gangs clashed on the morning of Fathers Day, September 2, 1984. Seven people were killed during a shoot-out including a 14-year old bystander.
Great series! However, I was disappointed that they didn’t put an update about where some of the characters are today, in particular, Snoddy’s girlfriend, Lee and her son.