South African sjamboks Sydney gatecrashers!

My Sunday morning — the highlight of which otherwise was the purchase of a laundry basket — was considerably enlivened by the sight of this story in the Sun-Herald.

I’ll bet that every South African in Sydney is talking about Dion Driman, an electrical contractor who fended off 30 youths who invaded a party at his home with the aid of a decorative (and very effective) sjambok. Driman’s 16-year-old son was having a party at their Wahroonga home when the gang approached.

“I told them it was a private party and to clear off but this big youth put his face right into mine and said, ‘Make me,'” said Mr Driman (46).

When the gang invaded the front and back of the house, kicking a screen door off its hinges in the process, Driman confronted the ringleader.

“As I tackled him, six of them came over the top of me. I received a big hit to the side of my head,” said Mr Driman. “It happened really quickly.”

His son Brennan said: “There were six or seven really big, buff guys on top of my dad, hitting him. I had to try and pull him out.”

Eventually, Driman saw the gang off. The police are now considering whether to charge Driman with using excessive force to defend his home and the party guests. “All I would suggest, if a situation arises again, leave it to the police to handle,” said a spokesperson — although quite what one is supposed to do while a gang of youths trashes one’s home and attacks one’s son and his friends while one waits for the cavalry to arrive is left unsaid.

So it seems that Sydney homes are also subject to invasions, though these ones don’t involve guns and rape. What I found a little disturbing about this incident is that Wahroonga is not in a dodgy part of Sydney; it’s a nice, leafy suburb characterised by big gardens, older homes and good schools. When I visited it earlier this year, it reminded me a lot of Houghton.

So, while crime here is certainly not anything near the scale of what happens in Johannesburg or Pretoria — murders, after all, are relatively rare — crime is certainly not unheard of. Even car hijackings happen every now and then — see this story of a Porsche Boxter taken at gunpoint this weekend in Coogee in Sydney’s affluent east.

Coogee, a beachside suburb typically in the news for whale sightings, was the site of the recent horrific attack on a 28-year-old Irishman. Flooring contractor and permanent resident David Keohane was found in a pool of blood in the middle of the night; his face was so badly disfigured it was impossible to identify him. It is suspected he was slashed with a knife.

His family, who have flown out from Ireland to be with him, have pleaded with the public to come forward with any information on the circumstances of the attack. I saw his father on the news last night. Close to tears, he expressed the hope that he would have the chance to be best mates with his son again.

Next time I visit South Africa, I think I may just bring back a decorative sjambok with me.