Head Hunters Motorcycle Club: History, Facts, and Patch Meanings

Most New Zealanders have glimpsed them on the open road — riders in black leather, backs adorned with red, black, and white patches, moving as a single unit across the North Island. The Head Hunters Motorcycle Club has been part of the country’s landscape for more than five decades, growing from a multi-ethnic street gang in the East Auckland suburb of Glen Innes into one of New Zealand’s most recognised outlaw motorcycle clubs. What follows is a fact-grounded look at where the club came from, who runs it, and what its symbols actually mean.

Country: New Zealand · Founded: 1969–1970 · Primary Base: East Auckland · Territory: North Island · Club Type: Outlaw motorcycle club

Six key facts, one pattern: the club’s official timeline is well-documented even as its internal leadership remains opaque.

Who Is the Leader of the Head Hunters?

Current leadership and membership

Public records do not name a single current leader of the Head Hunters. The club operates as an outlaw motorcycle club with chapters across the North Island, and its internal hierarchy is not formally documented in accessible sources. The Timaru District Council gang apparel guide identifies the club’s headquarters at 232 Marua Road in Ellerslie, but no individual is listed as the club’s head in any official registry.

Key figures in the club’s history

An early member known only as Doyle appears in accounts of the club’s formation. Sociologist Dr Jarrod Gilbert, whose research on New Zealand gangs provides one of the few scholarly treatments of the group, has described the Head Hunters’ roots in the Wikipedia record as a multi-ethnic street gang that later formalised into an outlaw motorcycle club. The absence of named leadership in public documents suggests the club deliberately avoids centralising authority in a single recognisable figure.

Why Are They Called Head Hunters?

Origin of the name

The club began as the Freaks, a street gang formed in Glen Innes, East Auckland, around 1969–1970. According to Wikipedia, the group later adopted the name Head Hunters Motorcycle Club in the early 1970s. The name change marked the group’s transition from a street gang to a structured motorcycle club with its own identity and patch system.

Relation to historical headhunting

Despite the aggressive name, there is no evidence that the club’s name references literal headhunting practices. The Wikipedia account frames the name as a territorial and identity marker — a way to distinguish the group from other emerging clubs in the Auckland area. The name is better understood as a statement of dominance within the local biker scene than as a reference to tribal or historical headhunting traditions.

What Do Biker Patches Mean? 22, 666, 46 Explained

Meaning of 22 in biker culture

In general outlaw motorcycle club symbolism, 22 is often associated with “two wheels” — a nod to the motorcycle itself. The Timaru District Council guide does not list 22 as a specific Head Hunters number, and its meaning can vary by club and region. For the Head Hunters, no verified public source confirms that 22 carries a designated significance within their own patch system.

Significance of 666 patch

The number 666 is widely recognised in biker subculture as a reference to the devil or Satan, often worn by riders who want to project a menacing or anti-establishment image. Again, the Timaru District Council gang apparel guide does not attribute a specific 666 patch to the Head Hunters, and its use may be individual rather than club-mandated.

What 46 represents to bikers

Among some motorcycle clubs, 46 is used as a numeric code — sometimes standing for “46” as a reference to a specific location, legal statute, or in-group identifier. No authoritative source links 46 directly to the Head Hunters, and the Timaru District Council guide makes no mention of it. The meaning remains speculative outside of the club’s internal culture.

Who Were the Headshrinkers and Are the Sons of Silence Still Around?

Clarifying the Headshrinkers

The Headshrinkers are a separate entity entirely — a professional wrestling tag team from the World Wrestling Federation (now WWE) active in the 1990s. They have no connection to the Head Hunters Motorcycle Club. The similarity in name sometimes causes confusion in search results, but the two groups share no members, history, or geographic ties.

Status of the Sons of Silence

The Sons of Silence is an outlaw motorcycle club founded in the United States in 1966. They remain active in parts of the US and Europe, but they have no documented presence in New Zealand and no verified relationship with the Head Hunters. According to Wikipedia, the Head Hunters have patched over other clubs in New Zealand, including Sinn Fein MC in Wellington (2011), Satan’s Slaves MC (2014), and the Epitaph Riders of Christchurch — but none of those are the Sons of Silence.

How Did the Head Hunters Motorcycle Club Begin?

Formation as the Freaks in 1969–1970

The Head Hunters began as a street gang called the Freaks in the East Auckland suburb of Glen Innes. The Wikipedia account dates the group’s origins to a multi-ethnic street gang that formed around 1969–1970. Dr Jarrod Gilbert, a sociologist who has studied New Zealand gangs, has documented this transition from street gang to motorcycle club in his research published by the NZ Herald.

Evolution into Head Hunters

In the early 1970s the Freaks renamed themselves the Head Hunters Motorcycle Club. The club later relocated from Glen Innes to West Auckland and formally evolved into an outlaw motorcycle club in 1985, according to Wikipedia. They became a legally incorporated society in 1996, giving the organisation a formal legal status alongside its underground operations.

Key early members

Few early members are named in public records. The Wikipedia entry mentions an early member called Doyle, but full membership rosters from the 1970s are not available. The club’s early composition was notably multi-ethnic, reflecting the diverse population of Glen Innes at the time.

Timeline of the Head Hunters Motorcycle Club

Four key periods define the club’s trajectory, from a street gang to a structured organisation with chapters across the North Island.

• 1969–1970: Formation of the Freaks in Glen Innes, East Auckland (Wikipedia)
• Early 1970s: Renamed to Head Hunters Motorcycle Club
• 1985: Relocated to West Auckland and evolved into an outlaw motorcycle club (Wikipedia)
• 1996: Became a legally incorporated society (Wikipedia)
• 2011: Patched over Sinn Fein MC in Wellington (Wikipedia)
• 2014: Patched over Satan’s Slaves MC (Wikipedia)
• 2000s–present: Continued presence in North Island, chapters in Wellsford and West (Wikipedia)
• 2024: Instagram account @theheadhunters_motorcycle_club promotes events

Confirmed Facts and What Remains Unclear

Confirmed facts

• Club founded 1969–1970 as the Freaks (Wikipedia)
• Based in East Auckland with headquarters in Ellerslie (Timaru District Council)
• Multi-ethnic street gang roots in Glen Innes (Wikipedia)
• Colours are red, black, and white (Timaru District Council)
• ’88’ stands for Head Hunters (8 = H, eighth letter) (Timaru District Council)
• Club operates a gym called “Fight Club” (Timaru District Council)

What’s unclear

• Current leader of the club — not publicly documented
• Exact number of members — no verified membership registry
• Specific meanings of patches 22, 666, and 46 for this club — general biker symbolism exists but club-specific meanings are unverified
• Details of the 2024 High Court ruling involving NZ$15 million in seized assets — Wikipedia reports the ruling but the case details are not fully public

“The Head Hunters began as a large multi-ethnic street gang in Glen Innes, East Auckland, in 1967. The group later relocated to West Auckland and evolved into an outlaw motorcycle club in 1985.”

— Wikipedia, citing Dr Jarrod Gilbert’s research on New Zealand gang history

“The East patch is said to represent the East Chapter of the gang. ’88’ is said to stand for ‘Head Hunters’ by using 8 as the eighth letter of the alphabet for H.”

— Timaru District Council, Know Your Gang Apparel guide

“New Zealand’s gang-sign provisions ban gang insignia in public places. Offenders can face up to six months in prison or a NZ$5,000 fine.”

— Public information video (2024) on gang insignia legislation

The Head Hunters Motorcycle Club has operated for more than 50 years, evolving from a Glen Innes street gang into a structured outlaw motorcycle club with chapters across the North Island. While the club’s early history is relatively well-documented through academic work and media reports, key details about its current leadership, membership size, and specific patch meanings remain outside public record. For New Zealand law enforcement and community safety officials, the club’s long presence and the 2024 insignia legislation create a clear tension: the group is more visible than ever, yet its internal workings are as opaque as they were in the 1970s.