A History of Crime in Australia: Australian Underworlds Paperback – 30 December 2022

This book provides a full of life and accessible account of Australia’s most prominent crimes and criminals of the nineteenth and twentieth century and offers an informative background for those in the hunt for to bear in mind crimes committed lately.

A History of Crime in Australia examines the imposition of English law on this ancient continent, and how its operation affected both transported offenders from Great Britain and Ireland, and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples whose own systems of Law were overlaid. Drawing upon state of the art research in the field, original work by the creator, and essays from leading crime history researchers, it addresses the question of whether there used to be an Australian underworld. In doing so, it provides background for well known offenders including bushranger Ned Kelly and the razor gangs of the 1920s and for sensational crimes like the Mount Rennie Outrage, the Pyjama Girl Mystery and the Shark Arm Murder and the miscarriage of justice following the disappearance of Azaria Chamberlain at Uluru in 1980. Through these case studies, the book draws out points of tension and cohesion within Australian society, exposing the enduring anxiety around those who were thought to be to be outsiders, and how the criminal justice system used to be used to manage these concerns. This book includes a guide to conducting research in the field of Australian crime history and sources for further study.

Designed as an introductory text for students, this book will be of interest to those studying criminology and crime history, and any person who want to deepen their understanding of crime’s place in Australia’s social and cultural history.