Melbourne Historical Crime Tours

17/01/2025

Station Officer Grace Brebner QPM 9690, standing outside Russell Street HQ circa 1963. Ms Brebner joined Victoria Police in 1942 and became the first female detective in 1950 and the first female to be promoted to Inspector in 1971. Inspector Brebner retired in 1974 A real trail blazer. Photo Victoria Police Museum.

12/01/2025

Thanks The Bendigo Hotel New tour, Collingwood Crime Crawl. Sundays 2pm. Bookings via www.melbournehistoricalcrimetours.com

🍺📜 NEW! A COLLINGWOOD PUB CRAWL THROUGH TIME by 👀

🕰️ c.1860s to 1920s: When Collingwood’s streets were run by youth gangs known as larrikin pushes. A time when Collingwood was considered by police to be ‘the home of Melbourne’s criminals’.

Tour Highlights include stops at 4 historic pubs - Birmingham Hotel, Albion Hotel, Bendigo Hotel, Yarra Hotel 🍻

📜 Stories shared by true crime author Michael Shelford.
📜 Includes tour booklet featuring photos of key characters, historic Collingwood streetscapes, police-drawn crime maps.

Food & drinks to be purchased at the pubs along the way.

📅 Tours run on Sunday arvos, must be booked in advance.
🎟️ Details & ticket link in our bio!

24/12/2024

My new tour, Collingwood Crime Crawl, is now up and available for bookings. It will run every Sunday starting at 2pm at the Birmingham Hotel (featured in the photo attached). The tours go for 3 hours and stop at 4 pubs: The Birmingham Hotel, Albion Hotel (recently Punters palace), the Bendigo Hotel, and the Yarra Hotel.
Other places visited along the way include John Wren's Collingwood Tote and Victoria Park, the home of the Collingwood Magpies.
We'll stop at each of the pubs for 30 minutes, giving attendees the chance to purchase a drink if they so desire.
At the pubs and the stops in between you'll hear stories of the street gangs from the 1870s to 1920s, and also stories about John Wren's illegal gambling venture, the Collingwood Tote.
Prices are $40 for Adults, $35 for Seniors and Concession. Children can attend but need to be accompanied by a responsible adult. Children can be booked by selecting the Concession option.
Tours commence Sunday 12th January and bookings can be made via www.melbournehistoricalcrimetours.com

MELBOURNE HISTORICAL CRIME TOURS

21/12/2024

1920 was the year Christmas was sent to prison.

Christmas Roddy was not the brightest candle in the chandelier.

In 1918 he got married for a second time without getting divorced first.
If that wasn’t complicated enough, he continued living with his first wife without informing her of the change in circumstances.
His second wife didn’t know about his first wife either. She thought she’d married a bachelor named John Rodgers.
Things began to unravel when his first wife turned up to visit him in hospital and found his second wife sitting by his bed.
In the presence of them both, he told his first wife that the woman sitting by his bed was a volunteer who delivered fruit and magazines to hospital patients.
It’s not hard to imagine how the rest of the visit turned out.

Christmas was convicted of bigamy in 1920 and sent to prison for 6 months.
He was released just in time for Christmas.

If you’re looking for a gift idea for Christmas (not Christmas Roddy, the other one), look no further than Gift Cards from Melbourne Historical Crime Tours. Purchasing them is fast and easy, all you need to do is go to https://www.melbournehistoricalcrimetours.com/book-now.html , The cards are delivered immediately via email. They can be used to book any of our tours throughout the year.

Wishing you a very Merry Christmas from Melbourne Historical Crime Tours

(Story © Michael Shelford)

09/12/2024

Coming soon, a Collingwood Crime Crawl. John Wren, larrikin gangs, pubs.

08/12/2024

Some amazing 1920's Melbourne footage courtesy of NFSA - National Film and Sound Archive of Australia

05/12/2024

I only realised yesterday that my website had been incorrectly flagged by Norton's automated system as unsafe.

I lodged an appeal and they fixed their error overnight.

I have no idea how long it had been that way but I thought I'd post this in case anyone had encountered the unsafe message.

My website is a safe website run through Weebly/Squarespace.

It was an automated computer error on the part of Norton.

02/12/2024

Just a reminder that this Friday night the 6th December, being the first Friday of the month, the Gangsters, Brothels & Lolly Shops tour will be running in the former Little Lon precinct of Melbourne CBD.
The tour commences at 8pm, (rather than the usual 7pm), outside the historic Coopers Inn, (282 Exhibition St), and finishes at 10pm near Madame Brussels Lane.
The night tours feature a handheld projector which is used to project photos of the characters discussed onto the buildings and streetscapes they once frequented. Another bonus of the night tours is that I get to share some of my research by projecting original police documents about, and even handwritten letters from, the old inhabitants of this part of town.
Day tours, with free tour booklets, are currently running 6 days per week, Tuesday to Sunday.
Melbourne Historical Crime Tours have recently been awarded the TripAdvisor Travellers Choice Award for 2024, placing us in the top 10% of attractions worldwide.

$50 Adults $45 Seniors, Concession and Children 16+
8pm outside Coopers Inn, 282 Exhibition St
(Daytime tours are currently available 6 days per week, Tuesday until Sunday)

Gift Cards also available for Christmas or any celebration.
Bookings via www.melbournehistoricalcrimetours.com

Photos by Tristan Pemberton of Flywire Films

Melbourne True Crime walking tours, hosted and created by writer and historian Michael Shelford. Take a trip back to the early 1900s when Melbourne was run by armed gangsters and corrupt politicians.