The NRL’s May brothers may have escaped the poverty, violence and crime that grips their childhood suburb of Tragear in Sydney’s outer west, but now they want to share their experiences of terror in a bid to effect change.
Current and former NRL and UK Super League stars Taylan, Tyrone and Terrell May all managed to get of the poverty cycle that keeps so many people down and out in the notorious suburb they grew up in.
All three returned to their childhood home recently to talk about what life was like growing up in Tragear for Terrell’s YouTube vlog.
Tregear has a small population of 3700, with about a third of those living in public housing.
However, the suburb recorded 543 crimes in 2023, equating to 146.76 crimes per 1000 residents.
Violent crimes accounted for 123 incidents [33.24 per 1000 people], while property crimes totaled 161 cases [43.51 per 1,000 people].
Footy stars and brothers Terrell, Taylan and Tyrone May (pictured) have returned to their childhood suburb of Tragear to reveal the shocking conditions they grew up in
A local resident calling himself Caleb shows the brothers around a run-down block of flats
Assault and related offences were the most common, with 99 cases reported, followed by 76 cases of property damage and 75 justice procedures offences.
Stalking, harassment, and threatening behavior were also significant, with 73 incidents, alongside 47 thefts and 31 cases of drug use or possession.
Tregear ranks higher in crime rates compared to most suburbs, with only 4.9 per cent of other localities experiencing more violent crimes.
During the video, the May brothers visit one of the most dilapidated unit complexes in the suburb, which looks like it should be knocked down, not housing hundreds of people.
One of the flats is boarded up after a woman set it on fire and it was never repaired.
Another flat has become a townhouse of sorts after the roof collapsed between a second-floor and first-floor flat.
There is graffiti everywhere and people have hung tattered sheets across their balconies for a hint of privacy.
A resident who goes by the name of Caleb then reveals the burnt-out flat actually has current tenants.
Terrell May created the video as part of his ongoing vlog on YouTube, where he included this information about his childhood suburb
The May brothers are pictured with their father Jay when they were growing up in Tragear
Taylan May was the youngest of the siblings and saw things they don’t think any small child should have to see
‘No c*** should be living in there,’ Caleb says.
‘There’s good people living in here, they just need a chance.
‘More opportunities and services and s**t, instead of just getting dumped in here and left with it.’
Taylan May, the youngest of the siblings, reveals how close his daily life as a child was to this block of flats occupied by convicted criminals, drug users and worse.
‘This is where we lived a minute from, our house,’ he said.
‘Then you’ve got Tragear public school, where I went, that is like a minute [from here].
‘I think walking around here, to be honest, it used to be, like, pretty scary because you never know what you were going to run into.
‘There is a lot of violence around here and this is pretty much where we grew up.’
Terrell May played for the Sydney Roosters before signing a contract with Wests Tigers
Tyrone May was a premiership winner with the Penrith Panthers before he moved to the UK Super League, where he now plays for Catalans Dragons
Terrell paints a shocking picture, saying that he had an adult view of the situation by the time he was just eight years old.
‘If you look around bro, it’s just trash everywhere. Council don’t really care about this place bro,’ he said.
‘You hear stories about the flats and you hear just the worst of the worst come here. They just send whoever here. People who had just come off the streets.
‘It’s probably a good thing for them, but you’ve got little kids just walking around and to see this, it would be terrifying.’
‘When my dad used to send us to the shops, you know, you would see people on the sidewalk asking for money or swearing and being aggressive toward you,’ he continued.
‘When you’re a kid, you don’t know why they’re doing that.
‘A lot of drama happens around here, especially when we were going to Tragear public. Tiny told us pretty much every day there was a fight. One time there was 13 fights.
‘It’s a violent area, but at the end of the day bro, it’s just who you surround yourself with. Who’s your people. That’s going to manifest you into the person you are.’
Terrell said it makes him sad to see the young people of today walking around the suburb, destined to share the same fate as many before them.
‘I look around and I see young people from this generation born into that stuff, and I just think they’re products of their environment,’ he said.
‘They probably can’t help it. They’ve probably got some trauma and stuff going on in their life.
‘These people out here, even for us, probably think it is the worst of the worst. We just thought it was normal.’
Taylan added: ‘One thing about growing up here is it’s always going to be our home,’ he said.
‘For me, this is like normal now. It was normal. What we see is normal.’
Caleb tells the brothers that nothing has changed since they left.
‘They use this place to dump a lot of blokes that are just getting out of jail, the mental health place,’ he said.
Tyrone May issued a passionate call to arms in the clip, calling for government and authorities to make changes in Tragear
‘Then they don’t help anyone. They just kind of get them out of the way. They done that to me after getting out.
‘This place doesn’t sleep bro, I’m up there going off every night because it’s just non-stop.’
And he thanks the footy stars for shining a light in a corner so dark nobody wants to know about it.
‘It’s good that you actually care about the community,’ he said.
‘Most people just want to f*** off and go to a better place.’
The video concludes with a passionate Tyrone May desperately calling for authorities and government to step in and help, to effect change.
‘You see cops come here all the time and nothing changes,’ he said.
‘They just come here and arrest the people and harrass the community and then just leave.
‘Why can’t the council come here and help out the people here?
‘That’s why they are in the same cycle. Drugs, jail, all that kind of stuff.
‘This community, this suburb, it’s the worst for being the poorest, the worst for crime, and there’s no help.’
