Inside the ultra-secret ‘Club 37’ cabal of pubs that gave cops free beer in exchange for late-night lock-ins, instant backup for bar fights and no parking tickets
- Police and publicans allegedly signed up for Club 37 to give ‘mutual benefits’
- Cops would turn a blind eye to late lock-ins and get cut-price booze at the bars
- Landlords would get quick response to barroom brawls and dodge parking fines
- Members would get round sticker with the number 37 they could discreetly show
A secret cabal of pubs allegedly traded free beer for a swift police response to barroom brawls, late opening, and a free pass on parking tickets.
Club 37 was said to be a select group of bars in the trendy, hard-drinking Fitzroy police precinct in Melbourne that did a deal with local cops for special attention and protection.
The 37 referred to the total number of licensed premises in the hipster suburb – and officers had an open bar at any one of them, with discounts of up to 100 per cent.
In return, local beat cops would instantly respond to the first sign of trouble at any of the bars and ignore late lock-ins, in a deal believed to date back to the ’70s and ’80s.
A secret cabal of Melbourne pubs allegedly traded free beer for a swift police response to barroom brawls, late opening, and a free pass on parking tickets
Club 37 was said to be a select group of bars in the trendy, hard-drinking Fitzroy police precinct in Melbourne that did a deal with local cops for special attention and protection
As an added bonus, ‘grey ghost’ parking rangers would also turn a blind eye to illegally parked vehicles belonging to the publicans and landlords.
Members of the secret club were given a discreet round sticker with a 37 in the middle which they could show to get the ‘mutual benefits’, the Herald Sun revealed.
That would serve as a warning to parking rangers to leave the vehicle alone, without alerting the rest of the public, the publication’s Deadline column claimed.
Similar clubs existed reportedly in the nearby Collingwood and Richmond police areas too, using cards with even more discreet AFL-style Magpie and Tiger logos as the secret code.
As an added bonus, ‘grey ghost’ parking rangers would also turn a blind eye to illegally parked vehicles belonging to the publicans and landlords
‘Clubs don’t need a clubhouse, just members with similar interests,’ the column adds.
‘Welcome to Club 37, for a long time one of the most exclusive in the land — and so secretive the general public has never heard of it.’
It also recalled how one Melbourne cop would give favoured contacts a Get Out Of Jail Free business card, personally signed and to be used only once.
Another Melbourne cop’s patience ran out with a parking ranger who was booking police officers’ private cars – and got stung with a pellet from an air rifle to remind him not to do it anymore.
Victoria Police declined to comment.
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