Chasing the Fox: sly-grog in 1930s Erskineville

City of Sydney Library Lunchtime Conversations is a series of free talks with authors, artists and experts.

The razor gangs of Surry Hills and their female figureheads – Kate Leigh and Tilley Devine – have gained notoriety in 21st century popular culture as the epitome of Sydney’s organised crime. But local crims in Erskineville and Alexandria were equally notorious and violent. City Historian Lisa Murray will share some of her recent research on gambling, sly-grog and crime in the suburbs of Erskineville and Alexandria in the 1930s, drawing up the City’s oral history collection and other historical records.

Dr Lisa Murray

Lisa is a public historian and currently heads up history programs at the City of Sydney Council. Her recent publications include the award-winning Sydney Cemeteries: A Field Guide and Our City: 175 Years in 175 Objects. Lisa is the 2021 Hertzberg Fellow at the State Library of NSW.

This is a free event however bookings are essential. Pease read your booking confirmation carefully for instructions on how to join the event on Zoom. You’ll need to install the free Zoom software on your own or computer or device to participate.

This event will be Auslan interpreted.

Warning: Please be advised that this talk includes audio drawn from oral history interviews that contains culturally insensitive language, which people – particularly Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people - may find distressing

Booking options

Attend the event at Darling Square Library - Covid safety

To join the session in person, choose this option when you book. This is a Covid-safe event. Please read your booking confirmation carefully for instructions on how to join the event according to our Covid-19 safety plan.

Please note that the venue has a reduced capacity and bookings are limited to 30 people. If you book a ticket and can’t attend for any reason, please let us know as soon as possible.

Attend the event online

To join the session live on Zoom, choose this option when you book. Please read your booking confirmation carefully for instructions on how to join the event on Zoom. You’ll need to install the free Zoom software on your own or computer or device to participate.

This event will be Auslan interpreted. To access the Auslan interpreting, you will need to use Zoom on a computer for this event.

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