50 Australian Crimes of the 20th Century

by Paul B. Kidd

Australia’s pre-eminent Crime Historian, Paul B. Kidd, presents his choice of the unique crimes that defined this country in the bloodthirsty 20th century: from the first kidnapping in Australia’s history to the Truro serial murders, the Shark Arm and Pyjama Girl murder mysteries, Port Arthur, Snowtown, Ivan Milat - the Beast of Belanglo, and the deadly Hilton bombing. (borrowed from http://www.fivemile.com.au/catalog/ne...)

Genres: True Crime, Nonfiction, Crime

449 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Paul Benjamin Kidd (1945) was an Australian author, journalist, and radio show host. From 2001 until 2020, Kidd was the co-host of the 2UE George and Paul weekend show with George Moore; since 2020, he has co-hosted Weekends with John and Paul with John Stanley on 2GB. - Wikipedia

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Paul B. Kidd has selected the 50 Australian crimes which, to his mind, are the "worst" of the century preceding the publication of this book. As Kidd reflects in his introduction, it's impossible to definitively "rank" crimes in order of severity, as so many different parameters might concievably apply. To my mind, the adjective description "most notorious" might best apply to his selection. The majority of these crimes were very well publicised in the media at the time, and several seem almost to have become lodged in the Australian national psyche.
As a subscriber to the excellent Australian Casefile podcast, I was reasonably familiar with the details of around two-thirds of the featured cases. I mostly concur with Kidd's choices, although there are notable exclusions (eg. the Walsh Street police shootings in 1988) and a few curious inclusions.
While the content is reasonably comprehensive, the prose style is inconsistent between chapters. For example, the chapter on Eric Edgar Cooke is jarringly tabloid style and cliche-ridden. Some crimes are covered in 3-4 pages of basic objective information, while others are allocated four times that and delve more deeply into the criminal's background or the court process involved. I found Kidd's occasional value-statements on sentencing detracted from the book's gravitas, and found his comment that child killer Michael Laurance "did the world a favour" by committing suicide in jail downright distasteful. (I do have a public sector justice background, and admit that perhaps these issues would not rankle as much with "lay" readers). In addition, the book has not been well copy-edited and there are numerous errors in wording (eg. "corroborated" used in place of "collaborated") and dates.
While the title refers to the 20th century, over half the included crimes occurred during the 1990s and early 2000s. Only two occurred prior to 1960. With the exception of the 1960 Graeme Thorne kidnapping and murder, which Kidd designates the "crime of the century", the chapters are arranged roughly chronologically (the inclusion of several lengthy crime series make this a complex proposition).
In the seven years since the book was first published, there have been developments in several of the cases discussed, mostly the parole or death in custody of the perpetrator(s). One important detail, however, is that the conviction of David Eastman for the 1989 murder of Federal Police Assistant Colin Winchester has since been quashed and Eastman acquitted at re-trial. The prevalent theory now is that Winchester was actually killed as a result of corrupt NSW police collaboration with Mafia interests. Eastman was the perfect "fall guy".
Many of the crimes relate to sexual assault and violence against children, and many include quite disturbing detail. This won't be a book that's suitable for all readers. That said, it's a reasonably comprehensive discussion of several of the most notorious crimes to have occurred in Australia in living memory. Recommended for true crime enthusiasts.

For potential readers who are interested, the cases covered in 50 Australian Crimes of the 20th Century are:
1. The Kidnapping of Graeme Thorne (1960)
2. The "Pyjama Girl" Murder (1934)
3. The "Shark Arm" Murder (1935)
4. The crimes of Lennie Lawson (Rape/Murder) (1954-61)
5. The "Mutilator Murders" (William McDonald) (1960-62)
6. The Eric Edgar Cooke Serial Murders (1959-1963)
7. Derek Percy (focussing on Wanda Beach Murders (1965) and Beaumont Children Mystery (1966))
8. The "Kill Seven" murders (Archie McCafferty) (1973)
9. The Rape-Murder of Virginia Morse (1973)
10. The Arsonists (focussing on Brendan Sokaluk (2009), the "Smiling Arsonist" (1968), the Whiskey Au Go Go Fire Bombing (1973) and the Savoy Hotel Arson Murders (1975)
11. The Truro Serial Murders (1976-77)
12. The Murder of Donald Mackay (1977)
13. The Sydney Hilton Bombing (1978)
14. The Paul Haigh Murders (1974-79)
15. The "Adelaide Family Murders" (1979-83)
16. The Reid/Luckman Murder (1982)
17. The "Mr Stinky" Rape-Murders (1966-77)
18. The Michael Laurance Murders (1973-86)
19. The Murder of Anita Cobby (1986)
20. The Birnie Murders (1986)
21. The Josef Schwab Murders (1987)
22. The Hoddle Street Massacre (1987)
23. The Sian Kingi Murder (1987)
24. The Murder of Janine Balding (1988)
25. The Murder of Colin Winchester (1989)
26. The Granny Killer Murders (1989-90)
27. The Barry Hadlow Child Murders (1962-90)
28. The Backpacker Murders (1989-92)
29. The Murder of Sheree Beasley (1991)
30. The Balaclava Rapist Murders (Ashley Coulson) (1979-92)
31. The Murder of Ebony Simpson (1992)
32. The Central Coast Massacre (Malcolm Baker) (1992)
33. The Frankston Serial Killer (Paul Denyer) (1993)
34. The "St. Valentine's Day Murderer" (Lindsay Rose) (1984-94)
35. The Murder of John Newman (1994)
36. The Murder of Sandra Hoare (1994)
37. The Port Arthur Massacre (1996)
38. The Crimes of Bruce Burrell (Kerry Whelan) (1995-7)
39. The Bega Schoolgirl Murders (1997)
40. The Peter Dupas Murders (1968-99)
41. The Snowtown Serial Murders (1992-99)
42. The Butcher of Wollongong (Mark Valera) (1998)
43. The Bandali Debs Murders (Miller-Silk) (1998)
44. The Kathleen Folbigg Maternal Filicides (1989-99)
45. The "Mr Sqeaky" Rape-Murders (Leonard Fraser) (1974-99)
46. The Atrocities of Katherine Knight (2000)
47. The Bilal Skaf Gang-Rapes (2000)
48. The Gonzales Family Murders (2001)
49. The Peter Falconio Murder Mystery (2001)
50. The Wales-King "Society" Murders (2002)

[Angelo Mifsud · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second Paul B. Kidd's books I've read. I'm surprised that I couldn't remember 80% of the crimes he writes about, and am amazed at the violence and horrors committed by these criminals. An interesting history of Australia.

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kidd shows a side of Australia that isn't really known. There were a lot of Crimes in here that I have never even heard of. All of these offences really act as a microcosm and show that you're not always as safe as you think you are. Horrid crimes are committed in most if not all countries and this book really opened my eyes to the dark side of Australia.

[Jas Hyde · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting. But a bit much to read all at once. Shows just how messed up people can be.

[Aussie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Crime historian Paul B. Kidd, who has spent a lifetime researching and writing about Australia's most terrible crimes , has taken on the unenvible task of chronicling the 50 stories he belives are the worst of the worst of the major cases in Australia's murderous history of the 20th century

[Catherine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too graphic.