One of my favourite authors alive today would have to be Dr Mark St Leon. The author of a. MASSIVE collection of works, he was good enough to add a chapter in my recently published book, titled “The Queerest of Crimes”. In the 1850’s a truly unique showman became an equally fantastical showwoman under the name of Ella Zoyara. After performing as a woman in Australia she went to the South Pacific where she was arrested for her impersonations. Dr Mark St Leon talks ya through the amazing story

In this episode I talk about my hunt to biography Claude Taylor, the older brother of legendary gangster and psychopath, Squizzy Taylor.

In this episode I chat with lecturer and historian David Waldron, as he talks us through the phenomenon started by Spring Heeled Jack of England’s 1860’s with a fad of people dressing up as ghosts to assault, offend and commit a number of illegal actions all in the name of being a ghost.

NOTE: there is a moment of silence in the third quarter of this episode. It only lasts a couple of seconds. So bare with. One of the most personally gratifying interviews I’ve undertaken in my life, this is an interview with my own Mother, Jen Darlow, taking us from her own birth to parents who were also Salvation Army Officers, her calling and ministry in The Salvation Army, and her profound time in the Kowloon Walled City in Hong Kong.

One man has the dubious honour of being able to say that he saw the violence and local terrorism of three notorious push gangs, as Thomas Turner would live to experience the goings on of the Flying Angel Push, the White Rose Push and the Taylor Push run by Squizzy Taylor. Born in Ballarat Turner was himself convicted several times at a young age for acts of theft, in order just to survive. Along his journey to becoming a boxer and a successful father and iron monger in Young St Fitzroy, he witnessed three of the most notorious gangs of an era.

In this issue we look at Mary Mason, who set fire to the house of her employer when she was nineteen. The discussion covers the ethics of reaching out to the people who live in addresses where crimes took place and whether it’s ok to let them know about what happened there in the past or not.

In the roaring 20’s there were some seriously tough customers on the streets, with guns, bombs and knives a plenty. So when the suitcase gang strolled down the street in Geelong, the police probably did them a favour by apprehending them in some great police detection. For more information on The Dawn of Crime book series head over to https://www.lulu.com/search/?contributor=Roy+Maloy&adult_audience_rating=00

The idea of being chased by a gang of thugs down a dark alleyway is one thing, but discovering that the entire gang is on crutches, with legs missing on several of them is even more terrifying. The Crutchy Push was a Melbourne fang who terrorised the city at the turn of the 20’th century, and proved themselves a force to be reckoned with. Guest Tansy Bradshaw is a historian and librarian who is researching the Crutchy Push. The Dawn of Crime book series can be found at: https://www.lulu.com/search/?contributor=Roy+Maloy&adult_audience_rating=00

In this episode we look at Alf Barbour, a house breaker who claimed on numerous occasions to be a returned Gallipoli veteran, only to be fined again and again for lying about serving in WWI. This and other cases are included in The Dawn of Crime book series available at https://www.lulu.com/search/?adult_audience_rating=00&contributor=Roy+Maloy&page=1&pageSize=10

In this shorter episode we talk about three different cases of people who were arrested and put in front of a judge on the charge of “Offensive Behaviour”, for each of them dressing in the clothing that was more common for people of the opposite gender. These stories are excerpts from the book, The Queerest of Times, by Roy Maloy, and available at https://www.lulu.com/en/au/shop/roy-maloy-and-tammy-djuric/the-queerest-of-crimes-dawn-of-crime-volume-3/paperback/product-wqrygr.html