Last man executed in NSW
John Kelly was sent to the gallows in 1939 for murder, a decision his father labelled as “class justice”, claiming his son would have lived if the murder victim wasn’t from a prominent family.
Our Criminal History
How Sydney model was acquitted of lover’s murder
It had sex and crime … little wonder 1950s Sydney was fascinated by the trial of model Shirley Beiger, accused of shooting dead her lover outside a popular Sydney nightclub.
Traumatised kids left ‘to rot’
Almost five-years on from the Royal Commission, Don Dale Youth Detention Centre is locking-up kids for 23 hours a day.
Sisters murdered in Dulwich Hill lolly shop
A much-loved confectionary store was the scene of one of the most sensational murder mysteries of 1920s Sydney.
More Stories
‘I couldn’t believe it was happening’: Cadell kidnapping, 50 years on
She was enjoying a cold beer with her family when three prisoners walked through the kitchen door and violently abducted her. Five decades on, the Sunday Mail revisits Monica Smith’s incredible tale of survival and its extraordinary intersection with one Adelaide photographer.
How shonky evidence hanged innocent man
After a hefty reward was offered to solve Melbourne’s Gun Alley murder, a parade of shonky witnesses with outlandish claims sent an innocent man to his death.
Lawless Collingwood street ruled by one clan
It was the street to blame for Collingwood’s bad rap, and there was one notorious family that made Perry St such a dangerous place to go that the council had to tear down their houses just to get rid of them.
How conman duped Aussies with 26 fake identities
From a bogus doctor to counterfeit clergyman to US consul-general, Australian con artist Anthony Duerdin adopted at least 26 fake identities. But it was more about chasing thrills than the cash. LISTEN TO THE PODCAST.
How Truganini became an outlaw after double murder
Truganini has often been called the last Aboriginal Tasmanian, but a new book details her little-known life on the run as an outlaw in Victoria after her husband shot and killed two men.
The bushranger who came back from the dead
It was always believed bushranger Dan Kelly died in the 1880 police shootout at Glenrowan. That was until an ageing bushman turned up in Brisbane 53 years later with an incredible story.
The party boy who became Victoria’s police chief
His party boy lifestyle and taste for gambling, grog and brothels didn’t stop Charles Standish becoming one of the most powerful men in Victoria as chief of police and head of the Freemasons.
Big Squizzy’s colourful life of crime
Older sibling to underworld king Leslie “Squizzy” Taylor, Claude “Big Squizzy” Taylor lived a colourful life of crime, was shot in the groin by his estranged wife and helped kick off a razor gang war. LISTEN TO THE PODCAST.
Australia’s most feared criminal in 1916
Long Harry Slater was a gang leader, standover man, cop-shooter, house bomber, suspected murderer and gang war adversary to Squizzy Taylor, making him Australia’s most feared criminal until the early 1920s.
The violent veteran who made an enemy of Squizzy Taylor
He preyed on prostitutes, tourists and even refugees from Nazi Germany, but William Edward Prentice also had a habit of serving his country. LISTEN TO THE PODCAST
Original URL: https://www.thechronicle.com.au/truecrimeaustralia/ourcriminalhistory/page/2