EXCLUSIVE
Rebel has resumed selling Kangaroos T-shirts like the one worn by deranged knifeman Joel Cauchi during his fatal shopping center stabbing in April, but will not sell the T-shirt at its Westfield Bondi Junction store.
Disturbing images of Cauchi stalking Sydney shoppers while wearing the green and gold colors of the Australian rugby league team have become symbolic of the attack and have been published around the world.
Rebel has a store on the fifth floor of the Bondi Junction complex, on the same side of the shopping center where Cauchi stabbed five women and a man to death.
The retailer halted sales of Kangaroos clothing in the wake of the massacre, but t-shirts and other merchandise are now available online and in all stores except Bondi Junction.
Rebel declined to comment on the decision, but Daily Mail Australia understands that Bondi Junction staff strongly advised head office against resuming sales of the jerseys in their store.
“They tested the team’s temperature and were very firm: Don’t do it,” said a source familiar with the discussions.
The source said wearing a kangaroo jumper in the eastern suburbs shopping center was “still seen as quite provocative”.
No call had been made on if or when Rebel would have the jersey back at Westfield Bondi Junction.
Rebel has resumed selling Kangaroos t-shirts like the one worn by Joel Cauchi during the shopping center stabbing in April, but will not sell the t-shirt at its Westfield Bondi Junction store.
Sales at other Rebel outlets and online resumed in time for the code’s Pacific Championships contested by teams from Australia, New Zealand, Samoa, Tonga, Papua New Guinea, Fiji and the Cook Islands.
The Kangaroos play New Zealand at Christchurch’s Apollo Projects Stadium on Sunday afternoon, having lost last year’s championship final to the Kiwis in a 30-0 drubbing.
The new jersey differs from the one worn by Cauchi in that car manufacturer Kia has replaced Gallagher in commercial insurance, risk management and consulting as the title sponsor.
Cauchi, originally from Queensland, had been diagnosed with schizophrenia when he was 17 and before the massacre had been sleeping on the street since moving to Sydney.
He was shot dead by the first police officer on the scene, Inspector Amy Scott, after heroic members of the public tried to restrain him and retail staff locked customers in their stores.
Westfield Bondi Junction reopened its doors to shoppers on April 19, after management offered those affected by the atrocity the opportunity to walk through the complex a day early.
The dead were: new mother Ashlee Good, 28, bride-to-be Dawn Singleton, 25, architect Jade Young, 47, security guard Faraz Tahir, 30, artist Pikria Darchia, 55 years old and economics student Yixuan Cheng, 27 years old.
A dozen others were seriously injured in the attack, including Good’s nine-month-old daughter.
An image taken after the massacre showed Inspector Scott crouching over Cauchi and calling for help as he lay dead on the ground.
Westfield Bondi Junction reopened its doors to shoppers on April 19, after management offered those affected by the atrocity the opportunity to walk through the complex a day early.
It is understood that it would not have been practical to remove all Kangaroos clothing from all Rebel stores nationwide, but many outlets outside Bondi Junction were not selling the shirts at the time.
Before Rebel confirmed it had stopped sales, the general manager of Classic Sportswear, which makes the Kangaroos uniform, said he was not aware of any distributors removing jerseys from their shelves.
“No retailer has informed us that they have stopped sales of the Kangaroos range,” Michael McDonald told Daily Mail Australia in early May.
Classic Sportswear has an exclusive partnership with the NRL to supply clothing for the Kangaroos, Jillaroos, Premiers XIII, Indigenous All Stars, Maori All Stars and Junior Kangaroos.
Daily Mail Australia understands the decision to withdraw the shirts was made shortly after the Bondi Junction attack in recognition of what had happened. The sweatshirt worn by Joel Cauchi (left) differs slightly from the last Kangaroos jersey (right)
McDonald said the company’s last major supply of Kangaroos products to retailers was before international matches in October.
“The new Kangaroos 2024 range won’t hit retailers until later this year, around September,” he said.
“When there are retailers who do not display Kangaroos products for sale, it is likely that they are out of stock at the moment.”
NRL sources were also unaware of any retailers suspending sales of Kangaroos equipment.
The shirts were still available at nrlshop.com and other retailers, including Peter Wynn’s Score in Parramatta, while Rebel stopped sales.
Rebel was founded in 1985 in Bankstown, south-west Sydney, and describes itself as “Australia’s leading sports retailer offering the widest variety and best-in-class global brands”.
It is owned by Super Retail Group, which also includes BCF, Macpac and Supercheap Auto.
