Roaring 20s

Howard Family photographs

Police photographer George Howard

George B Howard was a prominent police photographer in Sydney during the 1920s

George Phillips, Special Photograph number 1645, 25 February 1928, probably Central Police Station, Sydney
Underworld

Police

Sydney’s police force had lost many men on the battlefields of France during World War I and it took some time to rebuild. With resources stretched, police struggled to maintain law and order in an environment where criminal behaviour was evolving.

Gold painted plaster bust of William John Mackay, Commissioner of Police
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Big Bill MacKay

William John MacKay (1885–1948), known as Bill, was a Scottish-born police officer who played a major role in policing Sydney’s underworld during the 1920s

Jean Robertson and Kathleen Howell

In the 1920s, female motorists were a rarity, but this didn’t stop friends Jean and Kathleen from setting off on four-wheeled adventures across Australia and the world

Black and white image of a woman looking pensive to the side of the viewer. The words
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Flappers

The flapper was an alluring vision of sophistication and freedom for young women globally

Black and white photograph of a man wearing glasses. Words Alex W. Robertson, Mountbatton  18.1.23 are written by hand on the image
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Plotters

Parting fools from their money was the plotter’s goal, and took careful planning and superior powers of persuasion

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The Roaring Twenties

The 1920s heralded the brave new world that emerged from the devastation of World War I

Cameron McIntosh Bean (alias Clifford Bennett), Special photograph number 781, 24 March 1922, possibly Central Police Station, Sydney
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Crime

The Roaring Twenties was a golden era for criminals

Black and white photo looking across intersection at corner pub.
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Following in the footsteps of the Razor Gangs

Step into Sydney’s seedy underworld with Larry Writer, author of Razor: Tilly Devine and the razor gangs as he explores the mean streets of Kings Cross, Woolloomooloo, East Sydney and Darlinghurst as featured on his Razorhurst walking tours