Any one out there who was or whose parents were bodgies or widgies. My grandchildren are bugging me about when I played rock and roll with the Sapphires in the late 1950's. Anyone who is willing to chat about that era will get a good listener. In particular does anyone remember Rosie, Queen of the Widgies.. Hope your memories are still in good shape.
My explanation of a bodgie would be a person similar to The Fonzie character in a TV series Happy Days,The swish back hairdo with plenty of Brylcream or Californian poppy hair oil & Leather jacket, with key chain and studded belt. the Widgies are the girls that hang around with Bodgies.
I think the kids of today call them both Boggans.
Just an addition From the Dictionary:-
In Australia bogans were a bona fide youth culture embracing heavy metal music and Aussie muscle cars. Bogan took over from the old 'Rocker' term that had been around since the 50's and 60's. In fact the word Bogan is a variant of the word Bodgie, an old Australian word for Rocker.
A typical school in WA in the eighties would be divided into Surfies, Bogans and Mods(who also included skinheads, punks, goths and other anglophiles).
We did have a uniform as bogans, black jeans, black ripple sole desert boots,(Brothel sneakers) flannelette shirt and blue singlet or black t-shirt with your favourite metal band print(mine was AC/DC). Yes there were mullets but we generally shaved our heads.
We drove any H series Holdens and motorbikes were also popular, nowadays a true bogan is hard to distinguish from a Bikie and many of us got involved with Bikie Clubs. But a true bogan is a Rev-head with a love of Metal. Eastern States people have expanded the term to include just any white trash.
now this is more to the point. What do you think?
yes i remember them . I think the guys wore pinkor purple socks
Purple socks were the go. And could they dance. I remember the fights between the gangs from the northern and western suburbs. The Arcadia was a great fighting venue. So thanks for the reply, Charlie
My explanation of a bodgie would be a person similar to The Fonzie character in a TV series Happy Days,The swish back hairdo with plenty of Brylcream or Californian poppy hair oil & Leather jacket, with key chain and studded belt. the Widgies are the girls that hang around with Bodgies.
I think the kids of today call them both Boggans. How does this sound?
Thanks for your obs. They were more like the bikies of Marlon Brando's "THe Wild one". But I'm trying to get a granddad or grandma. who is disguised as a kindly spirit, but in reality is a wild and carefree as the current rebels, with or without a cause. So I hope I can tease someone out of their disguise. It's fun to be pretending to be young again.
Charlie
hi . or did they ware presley purple socks or pink ,and slick crew cut hair styles
you are going back to the late 50s
That the group I'm interested in. I am old (sigh) and was part of that scene. Big problem is that I went on to uni. and lost contact with my Carlton, Brunswick bodgies and widgies. Grooming was ultra important as were the milkbars in the suburbs and in the City. The girls were much better dancers than the guys and when the big E appeared in Love me Tender the theates were packed with the bodgies and the widgies. There must be some grandparents out there that are wanting to admit they were wild and proud. Thanks for keepiing the thread going.
Charlie
I learnt to dance from my eldest sister who was a widgie in 1956, her bodgie boy friend was a bouncer at Preston rock and the Heidelberg town hall,
I still dance the same R&Roll I did then, Its called pub rock now, but it was the in thing then, Elvis had two songs and was banned worldwide, swivel hips,
That was disgusting for the prudes, hahahaha
They did get married, They bodgies used to drive around in custom lines as they could get most of their mates in the one car for brawls in the neighboring suburbs,
As I grew older, I was Rocker and a Bikie, a 1%er, I havent changed, I am still the same, My mother hated my electric pink and green socks, Brilliant red shirt and pegged jeans, Black or white T shirts, Brushed back hair and spadula in front, duck tail at the back,half a jar of vaseline to keep my hair in place, Extended pointy toed shoes, (winkle pickers) With two inch cuban heels, Studded belts that I wore were illegal, Lethal weapons,they were classed as then,
Rockers were always impecably dressed, Very Thin tie, white green or pink, Very loud colours were the go, Ripple soled shoes were also the go,
Rock and roll music was the only music we listened too, Eddie Cochrane, Gene Vincent, Elvis, Big Boppa, Crash Craddock, Etc,
There were Rockers and Jazzers, They liked jazz and wore duffel coats and desert boots, Early 60's the advent of the sharpies, and the Beatles, then the Mods were prevalent,
If ya not boppin, ya in ya coffin.
Rock and Roll will soothe your soul.
Originally Posted by beverleye
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