Roaring 20s
![Gold painted plaster bust of William John Mackay, Commissioner of Police](https://images.slm.com.au/fotoweb/embed/2023/07/df4c38d79be147d7a29fe645d44d57b1.jpg)
Underworld
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
![Stanley James Hay, Special Photograph number 167, c 1920, Central Police Station, Sydney](https://images.slm.com.au/fotoweb/embed/2022/12/69f11e3b02ff4314871ebea112404b30.jpg)
Underworld
Fallen soldiers
After the universal upheaval of World War I, many soldiers found it difficult to take up their former occupations and adjust to civilian life
![Black and white image of a woman looking pensive to the side of the viewer. The words](https://images.slm.com.au/fotoweb/embed/2022/12/e40048d8cccb4e27866151a79fbb6a72.jpg)
Underworld
Flappers
The flapper was an alluring vision of sophistication and freedom for young women globally
![Black and white image of a man in a suit. The words](https://images.slm.com.au/fotoweb/embed/2023/01/264b7faa4da94455a0d9a11d68af72f5.jpg)
Underworld
Gangs
The lure of easy money from the illicit alcohol, drug and gambling trades encouraged the formation of new crime gangs
![](https://images.mhnsw.au/fotoweb/embed/2024/03/162daf53f9a54d3190f29384e3f3d64f.jpg)
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
![George Phillips, Special Photograph number 1645, 25 February 1928, probably Central Police Station, Sydney](https://images.slm.com.au/fotoweb/embed/2022/12/66bad972e22c4a33aa59f4f8f168a8e7.jpg)
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.
![Howard Family photographs](https://images.slm.com.au/fotoweb/embed/2022/12/d50060d50fba4b438b532c6f0a726f7f.jpg)
Police photographer George Howard
George B Howard was a prominent police photographer in Sydney during the 1920s
![Dual mugshot in black and white; man seated and then man standing, with hat on.](https://images.slm.com.au/fotoweb/embed/2023/01/1271e075935f44038f31331007ee32ca.jpg)
Underworld
The Black Hand in Sydney
Restrictions on the sale of alcohol offered tantalising opportunities for organised crime groups around the world