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Suburban Noir: Crime and mishap in 1950s and 1960s Sydney
Nothing in the post-war decades reveals the underbelly of Australian life the way police records do.
Small time heists. Failed robberies. Runs of bad luck. Payback. Love gone wrong. Drink, drugs and late-night assignations. Cops doing their job well. And badly. Plausible lies, unlikely truths. Murder and misadventure. In Suburban Noir Peter Doyle – author of City of Shadows and Crooks Like Us – explores the everyday crime and catastrophe that went on in the fibro and brick veneers, the backyards, bedrooms, vacant lots and pokie palaces of 1950s and 1960s Sydney suburbia.
Extensive research into forensic archives, public records and the private papers of the late Brian Doyle (1960s detective, later assistant commissioner of police, and Peter Doyle’s uncle) also reveals important new information about two of the most famous crimes in Australian history – the Kingsgrove Slasher case and the Graeme Thorne kidnap-murder.
'A fabulous insight into violent crimes of the 1950s and 1960s through the eyes of one of Australia's then top cops, Brian Doyle, as interpreted and related by his nephew, true-crime writer, curator and crime aficionado, Peter Doyle. Often accompanied by great photos and drawings, each story is a gem that highlights the differences in criminal activity and police investigations in those days. Well researched and eminently readable.' — Mark Tedeschi
'A beautifully written and illustrated book about crime and crime scenes in Sydney during the 1950s and ’60s, some of them involving the author’s famous uncle, the detective Brian Doyle. It is a fascinating snapshot of the culture of Australia in those years, describing in words and images the cars, clothes, architecture, music, drugs, language and prejudice of the period. At times engrossing, macabre, absurdly funny and sadly shabby. The pictures are a mixture of crime scene photographs and Peter Doyle’s finely rendered pencil and ink versions of some of these photographs.' — Reg Mombasa
'With these shocking, at times heartbreaking, stories of very bad things happening to ordinary people, our foremost crime chronicler Peter Doyle shines his forensic spotlight on the schemers, slashers, killers and cops who have always lurked in the shadows of sunny Sydney suburbia.' — Larry Writer, author of Underbelly Tilly Devine, Kate Leigh and The Razor Gangs
'Suburban Noir brings a hidden Sydney to vivid life, deep-diving into the forensic record to reveal a mid-century suburbia of undercurrents, secrets and lives gone astray. Meticulously attentive, compassionate and no one writes crime like Peter Doyle.' — Vanessa Berry
‘I devoured this book, which will appeal to lovers of Sydney’s history and to fans of Teju Cole’s Small Fates. Doyle writes about the way small flashes of violence reveal the id beneath the city’s ordinary places. Most excitingly, he insists that crime scene photography has its own moral aesthetic, bearing witness to sites where darkness has already won.’ — Delia Falconer
'In lucid, inventive yet artless prose, Doyle reveals Australian mid-century suburbia — specifically Sydney’s south-west — in a whole new light. Suburban Noir is a grainy, lyrical excavation of a landscape that might appear familiar to those who lived through it, or who have seen its myriad mostly idealised representations on screen.' — Fiona Kelly McGregor
Small time heists. Failed robberies. Runs of bad luck. Payback. Love gone wrong. Drink, drugs and late-night assignations. Cops doing their job well. And badly. Plausible lies, unlikely truths. Murder and misadventure. In Suburban Noir Peter Doyle – author of City of Shadows and Crooks Like Us – explores the everyday crime and catastrophe that went on in the fibro and brick veneers, the backyards, bedrooms, vacant lots and pokie palaces of 1950s and 1960s Sydney suburbia.
Extensive research into forensic archives, public records and the private papers of the late Brian Doyle (1960s detective, later assistant commissioner of police, and Peter Doyle’s uncle) also reveals important new information about two of the most famous crimes in Australian history – the Kingsgrove Slasher case and the Graeme Thorne kidnap-murder.
'A fabulous insight into violent crimes of the 1950s and 1960s through the eyes of one of Australia's then top cops, Brian Doyle, as interpreted and related by his nephew, true-crime writer, curator and crime aficionado, Peter Doyle. Often accompanied by great photos and drawings, each story is a gem that highlights the differences in criminal activity and police investigations in those days. Well researched and eminently readable.' — Mark Tedeschi
'A beautifully written and illustrated book about crime and crime scenes in Sydney during the 1950s and ’60s, some of them involving the author’s famous uncle, the detective Brian Doyle. It is a fascinating snapshot of the culture of Australia in those years, describing in words and images the cars, clothes, architecture, music, drugs, language and prejudice of the period. At times engrossing, macabre, absurdly funny and sadly shabby. The pictures are a mixture of crime scene photographs and Peter Doyle’s finely rendered pencil and ink versions of some of these photographs.' — Reg Mombasa
'With these shocking, at times heartbreaking, stories of very bad things happening to ordinary people, our foremost crime chronicler Peter Doyle shines his forensic spotlight on the schemers, slashers, killers and cops who have always lurked in the shadows of sunny Sydney suburbia.' — Larry Writer, author of Underbelly Tilly Devine, Kate Leigh and The Razor Gangs
'Suburban Noir brings a hidden Sydney to vivid life, deep-diving into the forensic record to reveal a mid-century suburbia of undercurrents, secrets and lives gone astray. Meticulously attentive, compassionate and no one writes crime like Peter Doyle.' — Vanessa Berry
‘I devoured this book, which will appeal to lovers of Sydney’s history and to fans of Teju Cole’s Small Fates. Doyle writes about the way small flashes of violence reveal the id beneath the city’s ordinary places. Most excitingly, he insists that crime scene photography has its own moral aesthetic, bearing witness to sites where darkness has already won.’ — Delia Falconer
'In lucid, inventive yet artless prose, Doyle reveals Australian mid-century suburbia — specifically Sydney’s south-west — in a whole new light. Suburban Noir is a grainy, lyrical excavation of a landscape that might appear familiar to those who lived through it, or who have seen its myriad mostly idealised representations on screen.' — Fiona Kelly McGregor
352 pages, Kindle Edition
Published October 1, 2022
13 people are currently reading
77 people want to read
About the author
Peter Doyle
71 books23 followersPeter Doyle was born in Maroubra, in Sydney’s eastern suburbs. He worked as a taxi driver, musician, and teacher before writing his first book, "Get Rich Quick", which won the Ned Kelly Award for Best First Crime Novel. He has published two further books featuring protagonist Billy Glasheen, "Amaze Your Friends" and "The Devil’s Jump", and a fourth, "The Big Whatever", is slated for publication in October 2014. He is also the author of the acclaimed "City of Shadows: Sydney Police Photographs 1912–1948" and "Crooks Like Us". In 2010 Doyle received the Ned Kelly Lifetime Achievement Award.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
February 1, 2023
A very interesting read - I grew up in a beach suburb, didn't realise it was such a cauldron
of criminality although I can remember the Graeme Thorne murder and kidnapping being
front page news for a while. Parts that caught my eye were the author's take on what he
found to be the sexism of the time - the way the police seemed to give male criminals the
benefit of the doubt and even kept in contact when they went to prison often for lengthy
stretches and to be honest most didn't deserve the faith in them if their later "careers"
were to be believed. Also his uncle's police recruit talks - the fact that in 1960 there were
5,500 police but only 70-80 were women. And that there was no such thing as merit based
promotion, it was all to do with seniority. Makes you realise why there was so much dead
wood and disfunction at the top.
Terrifically written - the chapter "Siege Mentality" first chronicles the Glenfield siege whose
daily reporting and police mishaps (as well as having the principals named Wally Mellish
and Beryl Muddle) turned it into a comic opera as well as required daily reading - then the
chapter slips into grimness as it tells of another siege only weeks later - a real crazed
gunman who had no one laughing at him.
Written in a real noir style and the artwork by Doyle is a superb accompaniment to the text
- a very ordinary suburban feel, could be next door neighbours, the family across the road
with kids, one who was liable to "do his lolly" - but not every timid and quiet lady carries a
shotgun home on a bus and not every lad who lives in a fantasy land can magically produce
a gun when he decides he wants some of the world's riches.
of criminality although I can remember the Graeme Thorne murder and kidnapping being
front page news for a while. Parts that caught my eye were the author's take on what he
found to be the sexism of the time - the way the police seemed to give male criminals the
benefit of the doubt and even kept in contact when they went to prison often for lengthy
stretches and to be honest most didn't deserve the faith in them if their later "careers"
were to be believed. Also his uncle's police recruit talks - the fact that in 1960 there were
5,500 police but only 70-80 were women. And that there was no such thing as merit based
promotion, it was all to do with seniority. Makes you realise why there was so much dead
wood and disfunction at the top.
Terrifically written - the chapter "Siege Mentality" first chronicles the Glenfield siege whose
daily reporting and police mishaps (as well as having the principals named Wally Mellish
and Beryl Muddle) turned it into a comic opera as well as required daily reading - then the
chapter slips into grimness as it tells of another siege only weeks later - a real crazed
gunman who had no one laughing at him.
Written in a real noir style and the artwork by Doyle is a superb accompaniment to the text
- a very ordinary suburban feel, could be next door neighbours, the family across the road
with kids, one who was liable to "do his lolly" - but not every timid and quiet lady carries a
shotgun home on a bus and not every lad who lives in a fantasy land can magically produce
a gun when he decides he wants some of the world's riches.
December 27, 2022
‘It is about crime, but not port and cigars crime, hatched at the big end of town. Most of the matters here are obscure and small time …’
In this book, Peter Doyle explores the dark side of suburban Sydney in the 1950s and 1960s. Mr Doyle does so by drawing partly on the private papers of his late uncle, Assistant Police Commissioner Brian Doyle, in combination with his own research. The result is a vivid picture of everyday life and crime during this period. It’s a different social landscape. Those of us aged over sixty may remember when money was left out for the milkman, when men routinely wore suits, hats, and ties, and when fewer people owned cars.
Many of the crimes are relatively small (including thefts of milk money), some are tragic such as the strangling of a baby by his young mother, and the arsenic poisoning of a young man by a thirteen-year-old girl. Some are bizarre: a 1968 siege prolonged when the police gave the gunman a loaded rifle. Two of the cases, in which (then) Detective Brian Doyle played a role, were much larger. Firstly, the Kingsgrove slasher who was arrested in 1959 after terrorising women in their homes over a three-year period. Secondly, the kidnapping for ransom and later murder of schoolboy Graeme Thorne in 1960 after his parents won the Opera House Lottery (£100,000).
In addition to the stories, there are a selection of crime scene photographs, some drawings by Mr Doyle as well as his personal memories. From being in the wrong place at the wrong time to planned cases, Mr Doyle shows us the less savory side of suburban life in Sydney during the 1950s and 1960s.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
In this book, Peter Doyle explores the dark side of suburban Sydney in the 1950s and 1960s. Mr Doyle does so by drawing partly on the private papers of his late uncle, Assistant Police Commissioner Brian Doyle, in combination with his own research. The result is a vivid picture of everyday life and crime during this period. It’s a different social landscape. Those of us aged over sixty may remember when money was left out for the milkman, when men routinely wore suits, hats, and ties, and when fewer people owned cars.
Many of the crimes are relatively small (including thefts of milk money), some are tragic such as the strangling of a baby by his young mother, and the arsenic poisoning of a young man by a thirteen-year-old girl. Some are bizarre: a 1968 siege prolonged when the police gave the gunman a loaded rifle. Two of the cases, in which (then) Detective Brian Doyle played a role, were much larger. Firstly, the Kingsgrove slasher who was arrested in 1959 after terrorising women in their homes over a three-year period. Secondly, the kidnapping for ransom and later murder of schoolboy Graeme Thorne in 1960 after his parents won the Opera House Lottery (£100,000).
In addition to the stories, there are a selection of crime scene photographs, some drawings by Mr Doyle as well as his personal memories. From being in the wrong place at the wrong time to planned cases, Mr Doyle shows us the less savory side of suburban life in Sydney during the 1950s and 1960s.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
December 26, 2022
Suburban Noir by Peter Doyle. A superbly revealing collection of police records from Sydney in the post-war years. Not much glamour here, just everyday crime described in all its sad, dreary reality. And workmanlike photographs, which are only meant to provide evidence of the crime scene, unveil, and veil, so much more. A must read for any fan of true crime.
February 12, 2023
An interesting and insightful look at crime in 1950s and 60s Sydney. It’s was shocking to me how often murders were reduced to manslaughter, manslaughter to no charge at all. Doyle’s style comes across very dry. The dramatic becomes banal, the horrific, mundane. This is the view of crime from a seasoned detective, Doyle’s own uncle. It shows how often crime occurred without us even knowing. We tend to only hear of the big stories, and while this has a couple of big ones, the more interesting are the little ones. The ones without a big headline, the ones that go mostly unnoticed, but put them altogether and you get a picture of nitty gritty suburban life 60 odd years ago.
April 4, 2023
The book opens with the author examining boxes of documents, press cuttings and photographs that had been owned by his uncle, Detective Brian Doyle. The early introduction of Detective Doyle and the description of him as an old man interested me. He was born and died within a few years of my own father and from what Doyle has written he was a man of the same values and beliefs of my own father. It was a simpler time; things were not as complex and these men did not have the range of views that exist today.
I have had a passing interest in real crime. Graeme Thorne was of a similar age, and I can still remember reading my father’s copy of the Daily Mirror and the articles on his kidnapping. The Wanda Beach, the Beaumont children, stupid Wally Merrish. Ronald Ryan, and how he was captured across the Parramatta River from where I lived. More modern crimes such as Anita Coby,“Someone Else’s Daughter” Ivan Milat (Sins of the Brother) Daniel Morecomb “Where’s Daniel?” Have been on my reading list.
My brush with the Thorne kidnapping was a weekly interlude with Detective Inspector Ray “Gunner” Kelly who had overseen the investigation. In 1975 I worked in the Grace Bros liquor shop at Top Ryde and Kelly was one of our regular customers. He always had a joke to tell the staff while he paid for his purchases. He died in 1977. Sadly, accusations were made of his deep involvement in corruption.
A criminal lawyer Tony Bellanto is mentioned occasionally. I met him when he was the Labor candidate in a state election. Quite a character.
It appears that the more “innocent” the victim the more the crime got media coverage and greater public interest. The innocent white, virgin, church goer attracted greater media attention than the drug addicted Aboriginal prostitute. Or maybe the more gruesome the crime and the more evil the perpetrator, the more the media and public became interested.
What always amazed me was when “normal”, “average”, “suburban” people who committed crimes of violence against those who they previously loved. I find the idea of inflicting murderous or sexual violence on someone beyond my capabilities.
Some of the crime stories are filled with pathos. People of limited intelligence, appalling personal stories and an inability to control their own lives.
Doyle spends many pages on a horrendous crime that I have followed, I was the same age as Graeme Thorne and his kidnapping and murder is still part of the real Australian crime noir.
The author occasionally touches on the impact of the murder victim’s family. It was in the 80s, but I always think of Anita Cobby’s parents. Her husband recently wrote a book about the effect her murder had on him.
None of the crimes in the book were Sherlock Holmes look-a-likes, but some did involve investigative police work, and this is where Detective Brian Doyle shines.
While reading this book I reflected on the values and beliefs of the time with those held today. Be careful of singing the praises of this bygone era for corruption was ripe and flourishing. The police force was divided along religious lines, Catholic and Protestant.
In the last pages Doyle is reflective on his own time as a young person in the 1960s. He mentions Frenchs, a wine bar in Oxford street where I would park my 750 Honda and enjoy cider and Stones Green Ginger, not having to worry about breath tests.
If you are an aficionado of real crime stories than this collection of short stories will be a rewarding read. I guess baby boomers would appreciate and identify with this text more than later generations, nevertheless it is a vivid account of life in Suburban Sydney in the 1950s and 1960s. Finally, with the surname “Doyle”, what else but crime could he write about?
Some quality true crime books:
• Sins of the Brother: The Definitive Story of Ivan Milat and the Backpacker Murders. Mark Whittaker, Les Kennedy
• Someone Else’s Daughter. The Life and Death of Anita Cobby. Julia Sheppard
• Wicked Beyond Belief. The Hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper Michael Bilton
I have had a passing interest in real crime. Graeme Thorne was of a similar age, and I can still remember reading my father’s copy of the Daily Mirror and the articles on his kidnapping. The Wanda Beach, the Beaumont children, stupid Wally Merrish. Ronald Ryan, and how he was captured across the Parramatta River from where I lived. More modern crimes such as Anita Coby,“Someone Else’s Daughter” Ivan Milat (Sins of the Brother) Daniel Morecomb “Where’s Daniel?” Have been on my reading list.
My brush with the Thorne kidnapping was a weekly interlude with Detective Inspector Ray “Gunner” Kelly who had overseen the investigation. In 1975 I worked in the Grace Bros liquor shop at Top Ryde and Kelly was one of our regular customers. He always had a joke to tell the staff while he paid for his purchases. He died in 1977. Sadly, accusations were made of his deep involvement in corruption.
A criminal lawyer Tony Bellanto is mentioned occasionally. I met him when he was the Labor candidate in a state election. Quite a character.
It appears that the more “innocent” the victim the more the crime got media coverage and greater public interest. The innocent white, virgin, church goer attracted greater media attention than the drug addicted Aboriginal prostitute. Or maybe the more gruesome the crime and the more evil the perpetrator, the more the media and public became interested.
What always amazed me was when “normal”, “average”, “suburban” people who committed crimes of violence against those who they previously loved. I find the idea of inflicting murderous or sexual violence on someone beyond my capabilities.
Some of the crime stories are filled with pathos. People of limited intelligence, appalling personal stories and an inability to control their own lives.
Doyle spends many pages on a horrendous crime that I have followed, I was the same age as Graeme Thorne and his kidnapping and murder is still part of the real Australian crime noir.
The author occasionally touches on the impact of the murder victim’s family. It was in the 80s, but I always think of Anita Cobby’s parents. Her husband recently wrote a book about the effect her murder had on him.
None of the crimes in the book were Sherlock Holmes look-a-likes, but some did involve investigative police work, and this is where Detective Brian Doyle shines.
While reading this book I reflected on the values and beliefs of the time with those held today. Be careful of singing the praises of this bygone era for corruption was ripe and flourishing. The police force was divided along religious lines, Catholic and Protestant.
In the last pages Doyle is reflective on his own time as a young person in the 1960s. He mentions Frenchs, a wine bar in Oxford street where I would park my 750 Honda and enjoy cider and Stones Green Ginger, not having to worry about breath tests.
If you are an aficionado of real crime stories than this collection of short stories will be a rewarding read. I guess baby boomers would appreciate and identify with this text more than later generations, nevertheless it is a vivid account of life in Suburban Sydney in the 1950s and 1960s. Finally, with the surname “Doyle”, what else but crime could he write about?
Some quality true crime books:
• Sins of the Brother: The Definitive Story of Ivan Milat and the Backpacker Murders. Mark Whittaker, Les Kennedy
• Someone Else’s Daughter. The Life and Death of Anita Cobby. Julia Sheppard
• Wicked Beyond Belief. The Hunt for the Yorkshire Ripper Michael Bilton
March 4, 2023
An interesting look back at crime in Sydney in the mid 20th century. The mores, the cops, the attitudes, types of crimes, and crims. Doyle takes you through the paperwork he found (I'm still amazed that cops could keep this, probably not these days I expect). A look at forensic photos and how they've changed. How stark the photos are. Doyle even references philosopher Gaston Bachelard (who I'd never heard of) in a treatise about everyday domestic space (that was unexpected, but I've put a reserve on the book in the library!).
Some cases I'd heard of, many lost in the mists of time. Some, that were surely high profile at the time, he only uses first names, not sure why, (I can understand the 'smaller' cases where he may have wanted to give any living relatives privacy) I could find details easily enough on google for the larger case.
Some wistful reminiscences about life 'back in the day' however he does counteract that with what was laying just under the surface, calls it out.
Some cases I'd heard of, many lost in the mists of time. Some, that were surely high profile at the time, he only uses first names, not sure why, (I can understand the 'smaller' cases where he may have wanted to give any living relatives privacy) I could find details easily enough on google for the larger case.
Some wistful reminiscences about life 'back in the day' however he does counteract that with what was laying just under the surface, calls it out.
February 14, 2023
This true crime book really proves that fact is stranger than fiction. Sydney in the 1950s and 60s was a time of firsts - kidnapping, forensic investigations, crime scene photography - all of which feature extensively here as new policing techniques were being developed. Most of this book revolves around the career of the author’s uncle - a seemingly straight detective during a time of corruption, assumption and abuse of authority on the part of some members of the force. Backed up by interesting archival material this book provides a real insight into Sydney society at the time. However I found the last few pages detracted from the rest of the book as it went from factual information to opinionated commentary and reflection which seemed unnecessary. Other than that the content is unique and historically relevant.
March 31, 2023
This is what true crime really is. Not the documentarian or author making themselves a part of the story and/or overly dramatizing it. The details of the crimes are dry, the prose lets it all hang out. The analysis of cop photos was fascinating. You never quite know what's supposed to be at the center of the frame until you know the details of the crime. The setting is fantastic, reminiscent of Edward Hopper, David Lynch, that sort of thing. Good stuff, a real treasure trove for fiction writers.
March 19, 2025
Doyle's trip through the case files and photos of a random selection of 50s and 60s Sydney is enjoyable and well-placed by the author, but is very much like a gentle amble through the stacks; interesting anecdotes, a swell sense of the vibes (of at what is captured, since as Doyle is at pains to point out the focus is overwhelmingly on middle-class white Australia) and not too much of a compelling throughline or singular narrative to bite into.
More enjoyable, as these location-based books tend to be, for Sydneysiders.
More enjoyable, as these location-based books tend to be, for Sydneysiders.
December 13, 2025
Having read several of this author's crime novels I was keen to dip into his non-fiction. Delving into a wide array of major, & minor, crimes of the 50s & 60s the mood pitches between curiosity, tenderness & utter bleakness. As a contemporary of the author I had travelled some of the same streets, at the same time, which made it even more accessible. Relying partly on the records of his esteemed uncle, Detective Brian Doyle, he also includes many crime scene photos from the period, which is where much of the bleakness originates. But still fascinating.
December 4, 2022
This is a very readable look at crime and policing in Sydney in the 1950s and 60s. There are some really interesting cases and it is mostly well written and thoughtfully handled. The last chapter or two lets the rest down though with them being a bit self indulgent on the authors part and doesn't draw the book together as a whole particularly well because of this.
May 11, 2023
An interesting insight into the city's less than desirable side during the 50's and 60's. What stood out to me was this sentence at the end of the book. " Indeed, housing was in such short supply in the war years and immediately afterwards that numbers of returned soldiers and their families were squatting in Sydney's public parks". Seems the current housing issues for Sydney are nothing new.
July 13, 2025
Borrowed on impulse from the True Crime shelf of local library.
Cases covered are based on those of the author's policeman uncle, who left behind a stash of crime files and newspaper clippings ripe to explore. Some interesting, some not.
Cases covered are based on those of the author's policeman uncle, who left behind a stash of crime files and newspaper clippings ripe to explore. Some interesting, some not.
March 8, 2023
What a great glimpse into the underbelly of Sydney life 60 and 70 years ago, using documents assembled by the author's uncle, former NSW assistant police commissioner Brian Doyle.
June 3, 2023
Interesting but a bit disjointed. The longer, more detailed stories are more interesting. Many of the stories demonstrate that views of 'justice' have changed significantly over time.
June 19, 2024
they cant make me hate you potts point
October 16, 2025
The vignettes of crime, particularly in the domestic sphere, were fascinating but the book meandered towards the end and I lost interest.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews