







199 Russell Street
Melbourne Victoria 3000

Take a walk through downtown Melbourne and learn of an era in which there was much more on offer at the local confectionery store than just lollies and soft drinks. Explore Melbourne’s underworld c.1870’s to 1930’s, an era in which Melbourne’s downtown slum district, ‘Little Lon’, was mostly run by women. Learn about the battle for supremacy, madams who stood their ground against well-known gangsters such as Squizzy Taylor, and an all-female crime syndicate known as ‘The Combine’. Stop outside buildings which were once brothels and sly grog shops, and hear the stories of what occurred within their walls and on the streets and laneways around them. Shootings, bombings, bashings, brothels, robberies, opium, cocaine and sly grog (speakeasies). The tour is designed and delivered by writer and historian, Michael Shelford.

Explore Melbourne's oldest suburb, a place where the city's most notorious criminals lived 100 years ago. Along the way you will stop outside buildings which were once brothels, sly grog shops (speakeasies) and dens of thieves. The narrative follows Fitzroy's journey from a wealthy and fashionable suburb through to the post World War I era when the district erupted into Australia's greatest ever gang war. The tours are designed and delivered by writer and historian, Michael Shelford, and based on original source material from the old police files. You will receive a free booklet with photos of the criminals featured on the tour.