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Report of Moffitt Royal Commission now available

A new exhibition has just opened at Sydney Crime Museum containing the full report of the ground-breaking 1974 Moffitt Royal Commission, our first public inquiry into organised crime. Media reports by Bob Bottom, Tony Reeves and others had claimed the mafia had penetrated some of NSW’s many registered clubs. A reluctant… Keep Reading

Bushrangers

A new exhibition has been opened in our temporary exhibition space. ‘Bushrangers’ looks at one of the most unusual and notorious groups of criminals ever to have plagued Australia. It debunks some myths – especially the idea any of them were Antipodean Robin Hoods – and investigates why most flourished… Keep Reading

Photos Wanted

Sydney Crime Museum is looking to update its collection of photographs relating to the city’s rich criminal history. If you have anything you’d be prepared to let us copy – pictures of people or places, whether originals or in old publications – please get in touch by commenting on this… Keep Reading

Welcome Bob Bottom

We are happy to announce that Australia’s pre-eminent organised crime expert of the past fifty years, Bob Bottom, has agreed to donate some of his work to the museum collection. His book Connections 1 is now on display in our section devoted to organised crime. Most of what we know about organised crime… Keep Reading

30 years ago: Anita Cobby

2 February 1986: Anita Cobby The rape and murder of Anita Cobby is arguably the best-known murder in Sydney today, on account of the particularly horrific circumstances of the crime. Cobby was a 26-years-old nurse working at Sydney Hospital who was kidnapped by five men in a stolen car on… Keep Reading

50 years ago: two terrible murders

  29 January 1966: In January 1967 the Sydney Morning Herald would recall 1966 as “an almost unprecedented 12 months of violence” and report that police were still hunting for nine killers. One problem was that several of the 1966 murders appeared to have no motive. On this day cleaner… Keep Reading

50 years ago: the Beaumont children

26 January 1966: The 1960s was the decade when crime rates began to climb and people became more concerned about the safety of their city, and in particular the safety of children. One reason for this was a number of murders that achieved great publicity, including Graeme Thorne in 1960… Keep Reading

Police Reports Now Online

In a welcome move, the NSW Police Force has put up all its annual reports on the newish NSW Open Government website. A year ago, most of these reports were unavailable online or in public libraries. The reports are here: https://www.opengov.nsw.gov.au/searches?query=&agencyId=25639&typeId=+&fromDate=&toDate=&size=&page=     Keep Reading

50 years ago: the capture of Ronald Ryan

6 January 1966: 1966 marked the beginning of a flurry of gang-related violence in Sydney. This would be followed by a long period of peace because of the effectiveness with which leading gangsters such as Fred Anderson, Abe Saffron, Lennie McPherson and George Freeman ran the underworld, in close collaboration… Keep Reading

The Big Whatever

Another delightful historical crime novel from Peter Doyle starring his much-loved petty crim Billy Glasheen. Billy’s putting on the years but that doesn’t stop him engaging fully in various crooked romps in the late 1960s and early 1970s Sydney underworld, as illegal drugs take over from more innocent types of crime.… Keep Reading

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