Chaos as Anzac Day revellers swarm pubs in shocking footage
Punters have hit Sydney pubs in droves, with queues snaking for 300 metres.
Anzac Day revellers have hit pubs across Sydney in droves, playing two-up and drinking, while commemorating Australia’s fallen soldiers.
Mind-blowing footage shows massive crowds of punters queuing outside of venues across the city, waiting for reportedly up to an hour in the hot sun.
By 9am, the line at The Royal Hotel Paddington in city’s eastern suburbs had reached several blocks long, with the heritage pub widely advertising their two-up event on social media. Popularised by Australian troops during WWI, the gambling game is banned year-round with the exception of April 25 – Anzac Day – and other special occasions.
Videos shared by Instagram account Bondi Lines captured hundreds of people gearing up to play. As of 12pm, The Royal had implemented a “one-in-one-out” policy, with Bondi Lines warning punters that wait times would only balloon into the afternoon.
One of the users behind the popular Instagram account told NCA NewsWire that the pub had “people flocking to the venue as early as 9am, which saw an 80 person line build up before 9.30am,” he said.
Queues stretch for 300 metres
As one of Sydney’s most sought-after venues on Tuesday, punters were eager to get into The Clovelly Hotel on Sydney’s eastern beaches, which was nearing capacity by 11am.
Queues of revellers were videoed snaking 300m down the street by 10am. “It stretched from the venue entrance almost down to the Clovelly beach car park,” Bondi Lines said.
Famed for having the “largest outdoor two-up arena” in Sydney’s east, the pub opened at 9am on Tuesday. A young woman told NCA NewsWire she had waited about 45 minutes to get into the pub and believed they had roughly another 20 minute way before they would be let in.
At just after 2pm, the Instagram account warned there was a “massive line” and more than 30 minute wait outside the Coogee Bay hotel, which it claims “is full of hot English men learning how to play 2-up”.
Punters turned away from pubs
In Sydney’s inner west suburb of Rozelle, punters flooded the carpark of The Sackville Hotel. In the 25 minutes after the game began at noon, the venue was shoulder-to-shoulder and at capacity, with guests turned away from midday. Nearby, the DiCK’s Hotel in Balmain faced similar issues.
While Victorian law states two-up can be played during commemorative events in the seven days leading up to Anzac Day, other states and territories only allow the game to be played on April 25.
Another special reservation is made for the NSW town of Broken Hill where two-up can legally played all year-round, due to a special licence issued by the state government.
How to play two-up
The game supervisor, or ‘ringie’, puts two coins tail-side up on a paddle, or ‘kip’.
Participants gather round the ‘spinner’ (the person who tosses the coins), and make their bets for heads or tails.
The game-runner or ‘boxer’ calls “come in spinner”, and the coins are tossed at least three metres up into the air.
If one or both coins falls outside of the crown’s circle then they must be tossed again, but if not then the spinner must keep tossing the coins until two of the same side appear.
Then you win or lose! — but remember to gamble responsibly.
NSW Police praise crowds
The NSW Police Force said on Tuesday it was pleased with the behaviour of crowds attending the Anzac Day march and commemoration ceremonies across Sydney.
“More than 7,000 attended the Dawn Service and over 11,500 marched,” Assistant Commissioner Scott Whyte said. “It was great to see the Anzac spirit on display with crowds cheering on veterans, their families and members of the community in marches, which have been both safe and successful.
“While police responded to a few isolated incidents, we were pleased to see crowds paying their respects appropriately on one of the country’s most important national days.”
A man, 21, was arrested after allegedly assaulting two officers in Surry Hills just after 4am, while in a separate incident, a 41-year-old man was arrested for allegedly failing to comply with a move on direction.
NCA NewsWire
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