The 1920s Convict Photos: Australia’s Justice & Police Museum Reveal a Fascinating Glimpse into the Past

Clad in elegant suits and ties, with their top hats tilted towards the camera, these individuals appear to be posing for high-end portraits. However, beneath their polished exterior lies a sense of guilt reflected in their eyes, concealing the dark and serious crimes that were handled by law enforcement officers during that era. These images capture the mugshots of Australian convicts from the 1920s and 1930s, recently revealed by Australia’s Justice & Police Museum.

The museum has released an extensive collection of 2,500 photographs, offering a window into the dark yet captivating world of early 20th-century crime in Australia. These images, showcasing female criminals including murderers, bigamists, bootleggers, and prostitutes, provide a rich historical narrative and a glimpse into the lives of those who walked the thin line between respectability and infamy.

The “Special Photographs”

Most of these “special photographs” were taken in the cells at the Central Police Station in Sydney. Unlike traditional mugshots that portray a stern and unflattering view, these images possess a unique charm and an almost artistic quality. As curator Peter Doyle explains, these photographs capture “men and women recently plucked from the street, often still animated by the dramas surrounding their apprehension.”

Doyle suggests that the subjects of these photographs were allowed, or perhaps even invited, to position and compose themselves as they liked. This freedom resulted in images where personal style and individuality shine through, providing a potent mix of inborn disposition, personal history, learned habits, and chosen personal style. The photographs capture not just the physical appearance of these individuals, but also a sense of their character and the era they lived in.

A Glimpse into the Past

The meticulous composition and excellent quality of these images make them stand out. They offer more than just a record of criminal activity; they are snapshots of a bygone era, capturing the fashion, attitudes, and social dynamics of the time. Each photograph tells a story, not just of crime and punishment, but also of human complexity and societal norms.

The images of these convicts, dressed impeccably and often looking directly into the camera with a mix of defiance and vulnerability, challenge our perceptions of criminality. They remind us that behind every crime, there is a human story, often as complex and multifaceted as the individuals themselves.

Historical Significance

The release of these photographs by Australia’s Justice & Police Museum is significant not only for their historical value but also for their contribution to our understanding of early 20th-century society in Australia. They provide a rare and intimate look at the lives of people who lived on the fringes of society, offering insights into the conditions that led them to crime.

These images are not just mugshots; they are portraits of an era, reflecting the tumultuous times and the often harsh realities faced by individuals caught in the grip of poverty, desperation, and circumstance. They also highlight the role of law enforcement and the justice system in shaping public perceptions of crime and morality.

Alfred Ladewig, otherwise known as Tiny, was a trickster and pickpocketer who would travel from Brisbane through Sydney and down to Melbourne to make money

Patrick Riley (alias Matthew Edward Riley) was convicted in October 1924 of making counterfeit coins, and of having a coining instrument (ie a mould) in his possession, for which he was sentenced to two years imprisonment with hard labour.

Cross-dressers Neville McQuade, 18 (left) and Lewis Keith, 19, (right) were believed to have been scamming gay American servicemen during WWII

Albert Stewart Warnkin is listed in the NSW Police Gazette of 10 November 1920, as charged with attempting to carnally know a girl eight years old. No entry is found for Beutler, whose picture is inscribed ‘wilful and obscene exposure’.

Thomas Craig, Raymond Neil (aka “Gaffney the Gunman”), William Thompson and FW Wilson. 1928.This photograph was apparently taken in the aftermath of a raid led by Chief Bill Mackay on a house at 74 Riley Street, ‘lower Darlinghurst’. Numerous charges were heard against the 15 men and women arrested. It was a house frequented by ‘reputed thieves’.

Crime: murder. Eugenia Falleni spent most of her life masquerading as a man. In 1913 Falleni married a widow, Annie Birkett, whom she later murdered. The case whipped the public into a frenzy as they clamoured for details of the ‘man-woman’ murderer. Aged approximately 35.

William Stanley Moore was an opium dealer and wharf labourer and was arrested in May 1925

Joseph Messenger and Valerie Lowe were arrested in 1921 for breaking into an army warehouse and stealing boots and overcoats to the value of 29 pounds 3 shillings. The following year, when this photograph was taken, they were charged with breaking and entering a dwelling. Those charges were eventually dropped but they were arrested again later that year for stealing a saddle and bridle from Rosebery Racecourse. As an adult Messenger was active in inner-Sydney underworld through the 1920s, and he appears in the NSW Criminal Register (16 July 1930 entry no 171) as a seasoned criminal and gang affiliate. The description of his modus operandi includes, ‘Violently [resists] arrest…frequents wine saloons, billiard rooms, and racecourses … consorts with prostitutes’. This photograph shows Messenger at age 18.

De Gracy and Edward Dalton, 1920.A cropped print of this photograph appears in a police photo book from the 1920s, annotated in pencil “magsmen”, with no further information offered.

Harry Williams was sentenced to 12 months of hard labour in March 1929 for breaking, entering and stealing. Murray/Williams’ entry in the NSW Criminal Register, April 30 1930 describes him as a housebreaker and thief, whose MO includes ‘[breaking] leadlighted door or windows or [forcing] the fanlights of dwelling houses during the absence of tenants’. He ‘disposes of stolen property to patrons of hotel bars or to persons in the street … professing] to be a second-hand dealer’. Although he ‘consorts with prostitutes’ and ‘frequents hotels and wine bars in the vicinity of the Haymarket’, he is described as being of ‘quiet disposition’.

Gilbert Burleigh on the left is identified as a ‘hotel barber’, and Delaney‘s picture is labelled ‘false pretences & conspiracy’. A companion photograph makes it clear that in fact, Delaney was the hotel barber – meaning one who books into a hotel, boarding house or residential and robs (or ‘snips’) fellow patrons, usually in the dead of night. In this instance, Delaney was charged with stealing a cigarette case, a hairbrush, a clock and a quantity of clothing from a dwelling-house. A month later he was further charged ‘being about to abscond from bail’. He is described as ‘a fireman and a returned soldier’.

Mug shot of William Cahill, 30 July 1923, Central Police Station, Sydney. Details unknown.

An entry in the Supplement to the NSW Police Gazette Sydney for Skukerman, (alias Kukarman, alias Cecil Landan) is captioned ‘obtains goods from warehousemen by falsely representing that he is in business’.

“Silent Tom” Richards and T Ross, alias Walton, 12 April 1920, presumably Central Police Station, Sydney.

George Whitehall, carpenter, handed himself into Newtown police after hacking to death his common-law wife, Ida Parker on Thursday afternoon 21 February 1922, at their home in Pleasant Avenue, Erskineville. This photo was apparently taken the following morning at Newtown Police Station.

No entry for Fiori/Permontto is found in the NSW Police Gazette for 1924, although this photo appears in a later photo supplement, in which Fiori is described as a safebreaker.

Walter Keogh appears in the Photo Supplement to the 1923 NSW Police Gazette (7 February Group 1 p. 4) identified as a pickpocket, and later in 1928 (26 December, Group 4 p. 15) as a ‘suspected person and bogus land salesman’.

Thomas Bede, 22 November 1928. Captioned: ‘This man refused to open his eyes’.

Alfred John (or Francis) West. 1922.West is mentioned in the NSW Criminal Register as a ‘pickpocket and spieler’.

Walter Smith is listed in the NSW Police Gazette, 24 December 1924, as ‘charged with breaking and entering the dwelling-house of Edward Mulligan and stealing blinds with a value 20 pounds (part recovered)’, and with ‘stealing clothing, a value of 26 pounds (recovered) in the dwelling house of Ernest Leslie Mortimer.’ Sentenced to 6 months hard labour.

A picture of Sidney Grant (alias ‘Pretty Sid’) appears in the ‘Criminal Photographs’ section of the New South Wales Police Gazette, 2 May 1923 captioned ‘Confidence man (notes for gold)’.

Hampton Hirscham, Cornellius Joseph Keevil, William Thomas O’Brien & James O’Brien. 1921.The quartet pictured were arrested over a robbery at the home of bookmaker Reginald Catton, of Todman avenue, Kensington, on 21 April 1921. The Crown did not proceed against Thomas O’Brien but the other three were convicted and received sentences of fifteen months each.

Details surrounding this particular photograph are unknown, but Sidney Kelly was arrested many times and much written about in newspapers during the 1920s, 30s and 40s. He was charged with numerous offences including shooting, and assault, and in the 1940s was a pioneer of illegal baccarat gaming in Sydney. This image appears in the Photo Supplement to the NSW Police Gazette, 26 July 1926, p. 6 captioned, “Illicit drug trader. Drives his own motor car, and dresses well. Associates with criminals and prostitutes”.

Harold Price was a thief and gunman. This photograph was taken after he was was arrested and charged with committing robbery under arms at a house in Randwick, Sydney, for which he was sentenced to two years hard labour.

The handwritten inscription on this unnumbered Special Photograph reads ‘Frederick Edward Davies stealing in picture shows and theatres Dets Surridge Clark and Breen Central 14-7-21’. Police held sneak thieves in particularly low regard, which may account for the decision to photograph Davies in front of the police station’s toilet stalls.

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