As per my last post on the Somerton Man, I think it’s time we invested a little effort into understanding Melbourne’s baccarat schools, because two anonymous baccarat players claimed that the Somerton Man was a nitkeeper at an illegal baccarat school in Lonsdale Street in Melbourne.
Recapping, the following appeared in the Adelaide News (26th January 1949) (and Sydney Daily Telegraph and Geraldton Guardian):
Gamblers believe dead man was “nitkeeper”
Melbourne.- Two promininent Melbourne baccarat players who desire to remain anonymous, believe they knew the unknown man in the “Somerton beach body mystery.”
They saw the man’s picture in a Melbourne newspaper and said they thought they recognised him as a “nitkeeper” who worked at a Lonsdale street baccarat school about four years ago. They could not recall his name.
They said the man talked to few people. He was employed at the baccarat school for about 10 weeks, then left without saying why or where he was going.
OK, I’d agree that doesn’t give us a great deal to work with: but at the same time it is specific enough to help us build up a set of research questions.
Lonsdale Street Baccarat Schools
In Australia, baccarat had been made illegal in 1943. Unsurprisingly, Melbourne quickly found hosting a number of baccarat schools. These were typically located in large, upper-floor office spaces (so that lookouts / cockatoos / nitkeepers could quickly pass word up if there was a police raid) and with heavily barricaded doors (so that any evidence of gambling could be removed before the police managed to force their way in).
According to the Argus 1st May 1947, p.2, there had not long before been schools in “Elizabeth st, Lonsdale st, Russell st, and Bourke st”, but they had been closed down – or rather, the gambling bosses had moved their schools to less obvious locations. The glory days of the early 1940s (when the clubs were “luxuriously” kitted out, some even offering “a whole roast pig” supper) were gone.
One of these schools had been the Rendezvous Club, on the fourth floor of Fink’s Building, also known as Fink’s Club. According to the Herald 23rd July 1947, p.3, “Solo stud poker and any card game was played there, but he [John Francis Gilligan] never saw anyone playing baccarat”. Yeah, right… 😉
By August 1947, an expose in the Herald revealed that there were now three big baccarat schools in Melbourne, in Swanton Street, Lonsdale Street, and Punt Road. One of these had a lift, which was organized never to stay on the ground floor: nits checked the punters at the street level and then again at the top before the barricaded door..
In court, it emerged that Gilligan had been associated with a club in Lonsdale Street for several years. There was definitely a baccarat school in Lonsdale Street in mid-1948, according to this report in the Herald 20th July 1948, p.4:
Recently, according to a police report, a “stand-over” man drew a gun in a baccarat school in Lonsdale Street: when he ”came to” a few minutes later he was looking down the barrels of four other pistols.
Sergeant A. Biddington, the gaming police chief who closed down the Lonsdale St baccarat school in December 1948, had had to go to a tribunal the previous month, accused of drinking on the job:
Biddington said in evidence that gaming constables Buggy and Carter, who were on the Shepparton trip under his command and had given evidence against him, were not to be trusted, and in his opinion were dishonest. He had been given information that they had conspired with baccarat bosses while they should have been catching them. He had to take them off baccarat duty because of this, and they were antagonistic toward him.
Sergeant Biddington carried on trying to shut down the baccarat schools, with the next big raid in February 1949. But of course, nothing much changed, with a court case involving a shooting from April 1949, and another shooting in May 1949. More big raids in August 1949 and November 1949 (now courtesy of a “special baccarat squad led by Inspector R. Prinett”) failed to stem the same basic tide: and so it all went on.
The only other name I found associated in the newspapers with Lonsdale Street baccarat schools was Robert Brewster: but that was in 1950.
So… Where Do We Go From Here?
When someone in January 1949 says “about four years ago”, I am sure that they would definitely mean “after baccarat became illegal” (in August 1943) and before the end of the Second World War (2nd September 1945). Those were the ‘glory days’ of the Melbourne baccarat schools, when all the customers seemed rich and beautiful, and their money dropped into the gambling bosses’ hands like so much manna from heaven. So in some ways we have a tolerably narrow date range to work with.
But where might we look for names of people who might be associated with these baccarat schools? The obvious answer would be in Melbourne police records. Even if the baccarat school owners were paying off Percy Plod (and who saw that coming, eh?), plenty of raids on schools did still happen.
The Public Record Office Victoria has the 1945 Police Gazette, and – wonderfully, I think – Photo Supplements to the Police Gazette for 1944 to 1949, and another one for 1939 to 1948. These are all on open access, though some of the other police gazettes are marked as “s11” closed access.
I have read that much of the supplements was taken up with photos of recently released convicts: but might that be not such a bad place to start?
More generally, what other resources are out there? Trove has nothing much on John Francis Gilligan before 1947 (when he was shot), because in July 1936 he had been sent to jail for seven years for receiving stolen goods:
Found guilty of having received stolen goods valued at £800, Leonard Schiffman, aged 50 years, of Rose-Street, West Coburg, grocer, and John Gilligan alias Forbes, aged 29 years, of Malleson Street, Richmond, clerk, were sentenced by Judge Richardson in General Sessions to imprisonment for terms of seven years each.
The defendants’ case probably wasn’t helped much by the “burglary at the Crown Law Office of the safe and the removal of the file of documents dealing with the case“.
I do also wonder whether researchers should be (somehow) asking Victorian retirees for reminiscences on the Lonsdale Street baccarat school. Whatever wall of silence was there in the 1940s and 1950s should have fallen down long ago.
Finally, I do also wonder whether one or more of Melbourne’s baccarat detectives might have recognized the Somerton Man, but then decided not to say a word? Money is money, after all: and silence can be golden.
I was searching in the South Australian Police Gazettes and I noted two Kean/Keane entries of possible interest.
“Thomas John Keane (38). ……breaches of the Licensing Act, Section 150 at the All Night Cafe, Glenelg. … fined two (pounds) and costs one (pound)…. Tried at Glenelg 28/1/1937.”
“Thomas Kean (24) ….. breach of Licensing Act 1919-1928 Section 200 at Great Northern Hotel, Port Augusta … fined five (pounds) costs 15 shillings. Tried at Port Augusta 8/7/1927….”.
I wonder if the All Night Cafe was still in existence in November 1948? I would think that a Glenelg all night cafe would stock pasties in 1948.
Byron Deveson: very interesting, a good find! The All-Night Cafe was in Moseley Square, and Thomas John Kean was a clerk from Forestville:
The same All-Night Cafe was advertising for staff in 30th November 1948, so I think it’s a safe bet it was open. So perhaps this was indeed the most likely place the Somerton Man had his late-night pasty:
Bingo!
John Joseph Keane (40) ……..hindering police (nit keeping) at the Seven Stars Hotel, Adelaide. Tried at Adelaide on 26/1/1939.
John Joseph Keane (34) … breach of the Lottery and Gaming Act …. at Arab Street Hotel, Adelaide. Tried at Adelaide 5/9/1932.
Byron Deveson: WOW! WOW! WOW! 🙂 Let’s see where this leads…
14 Aug 1936
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/48169753
John Joseph Keane, laborer, of Union street. Dulwich, was fined £5, with £1 costs, by Mr. Morgan, S.M., in No. 2 Adelaide Police Court yesterday, on a charge of having on June 17 hindered Constables Mitchell and Lavender while they were endeavoring to detect liquor offences at the Imperial Hotel, city. He pleaded not guilty.
25 Jan 1939
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/49791434
Charged With Hindering Police
The hearing of a charge against John Joseph Kean, bookmaker’s clerk, of Union street, Dulwich, of having, on December 25, unlawfully hindered Constables Shipway and Horsnell while they were endeavoring to detect breaches of the Licensing Act, was adjourned untii tomorrow by Mr. Muirhead, P.M., in the Adelaide Police Court yesterday.
27 Jan 1939
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/74411920
Hindering Charge Dismissed
A charge against John Joseph Kean, bookmaker’s clerk, of Union street. Dulwich. of having, on December 25, unlawfully hindered Constables Shipway and Horsnell while they were endeavoring to detect breaches of the Licensing Act, was dismissed by Mr. Muirhead, P.M., in the Adelaide Police Court yesterday.
14 Apr 1944
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/11825841
THE NATIONAL MUTUAL LIFE ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALASIA LIMITED- It is the intention of the association, after one month from this date, to ISSUE, under Section 566 of the Companies Act 1938, a SPECIAL POLICY in place of Policy No 825,760, on the life of JOHN JOSEPH KEANE, declared to have been lost.
13 Aug 1936
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/131875215
Hindered Police.
John Joseph Keane, laborer, of Dulwich, was fined £5 with £1 costs by Mr. Morgan, S.M., in the Adelaide Police Court today for having hindered two members of the police force in the execution of their duty in King William street on June 17.
30 Aug 1933
FINED FOR UNLICENSED WIRELESS SETS
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/128425875
The following persons were fined in the Adelaide Police Court today for having used unlicensed wireless sets:- Albert William Sutton, of Leader street, Forestville (£5 in all): John Joseph Keane, of Greenhill road, Dulwich (£1 15/); […]
S&M 1948 has:
T KEane – 6 Price Wier Ave Allenby Gardens (Allenby Gardens is a little way North North East of Glenelg (3 Suburbs North West of the city)
JJ Keane – 68 Shierlaw St Richmond (Richmond is North East of Glenelg (about half as far as Allenby Gardens, about 2 suburbs due West of the city). Shierlaw street is a little distance from Anzac Highway, but depending on how other buses route it might almost be possible that you could catch a St Leonards bus to get home (I think it’s a bit of a stretch, because I suspect even back then there would have been routes on Richmond Rd or Don Bradman Dve (it would have been Burbrdge Rd back then, but it’s *possible*)….
Having some trouble accessing S&M (flash issues on the computer and cumbersome interface on the tablet), so can’t confirm whether either of them disappear from the directory later than that, and haven’t found the all night cafe yet either – but it’s address could be a number of things (Jetty Rd, Colley Tce, St John’s Row….)
milongal: all I’ve been able to find is that the All-Night Cafe was in Moseley Square, and it was run by “Misses Robinson”:
https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/215220125
KINDNESS WEEK.
OLD AGE PENSIONERS ENTERTAINED.
Misses Robinson, of the Glenelg All-Night Cafe, Moseley Square, celebrated “Kindness Week” last night (Wednesday) by entertaining a large number of Old Age and Invalid Pensioners to a royal dinner at the Cafe. It was a kindly action, and will be long remembered by the recipients.
using X2182 (19 Adelphi Tce – it says Glenelg, but I thinkit’s actually St Leonards….. and in 1948 S&M occupied by Nugent, J.O.?)
1954 LOST city Wednesday. Drop earing, gold fringed. Reward X2182
1953
LOST, glasses in red case, between Jetty rd.. St. Leonards ???? ring X2182. Reward
1950
BUICK Spcl., 1938, well shod, wireless, autoshedes. tow bar. .spotlless. 12 mths.
regn., insce.; trial; £950. Ring X2182
1947…..
“LOST. small gold oval watch, leatherstrap. Cheltenham racecourse or bus from Glenelg. Phone X2182. Reward”
1946
BUy for cash, house. Glenelg line or district preferred, or rent house or flat required urgently by ex-service officer’ ‘.l Phone X2182.
1945
PIANO. Wertheim. iron frame, action and case in beautiful condition: had very
‘. little playing, one owner, phone X2182. . Saturday before 12, or Meningle 32.
1941
LOST, black and tan Aus. terrier, female, answers Midget.’ Glenelg. Tuesday: reward Phone X2182
Pre 1940 there’s a few ads for an educated lady looking for work….
Car sales, house for ex-servicemen, lost jewelry, horses…..does this describe everyone in Adelaide in the 1940/50s (half expected the dog’s nameto be Danetta :P)?
I found this guy in WikiTree (Norwood is on the east side of Adelaide):
John James Keane
Born about 1909 in Norwood, South Australia
Son of Michael James Keane and Edith (Hooper) Keane
Brother of Reginald Kevin Keane
@NP: Ok, 19 Adelphi in 1938 is:
Robinson, Miss B
Keen E.W.
Pinnington W.
in 1939,1940 it’s only Miss Robinson listed (actually 36,37 is just her too, before that it’s an accountant called L.A Storer)
In 1941,1942 it’s Hick, HB
From 1943 it’s Nugent J.O.
It’s sort of interesting that in 1948 that phone number (from a residence a little way froom Glenelg) is linked to the All-Night Cafe and that a decade earlier the resident there seems to have the same surname as the proprietor of the All Night Cafe – is there a link, or just a coinkydink?.
Still can’t find any trace of the all-night cafe….might try again when I’m in front of a PC that plays nicer….
ok, I know the spy conspiracy theorists are spread thinner (in terms of volume, not necessarily size) here than elsewhere, and I know this is even only very loosely related in that vein, but…..
The NAA currently has an exhibition on Espionage in Australia. Naturally, with everything being shut down you can’t really go there…..
So they’ve put stuff up on flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/national-archives-of-australia/sets/72157713512946526?fbclid=IwAR26vRDt-CfZOaWSqyKa7gAlA1oLVMQidcuj3Y_DJlIjYzqLAZk3GKK8rZU
milongal: thanks for the link! It’s a nice exhibition, one you certainly don’t have to be a spy conspiracy theorist to enjoy. 🙂
I have learnt from an impeccable source that the tools found in the suitcase were not only suitable for popping locked cars and starting them, but we’re also able to crack key-lock safes.
Milongal. .. I know this is the wrong thread, but do you know where the Dugouts used to be located?
Peteb: On 10/7/18 you put almost the same question to Milongal ie….dugouts north or south of the Crippled Children’s Home etc. and you got a good prompt and acceptable answer to the query…Why the need to ask again and why get Rob the cat killer to probe the poor fellow for the very same detail now just a month later. Something’s up and it ain’t to do with BD’s 2013 main thread SM initial post on Gordon Strapps’ striped duds, or Lawson’s part in the old conspiracy plot which thickens by the minute.
Peter Bowes: recommend you scan Nick Pelling’s thread lead for some possibly relevant stuff for your latest diversion. Note that your dead cert Nit picker Carl Webb must have kept a low profile from 1944 when last seen alive and picking by the baccarat club informants right up until good night Charlie it would seem.
Nick Pelling: so how is that you talk of Constable Carter here in Feb 2019, and it is one Constable Carter attending to Bromby Street for a domestic dispute as described in the affidavit? That is so close to the mark it’s not funny. No mention in the affidavit if Carter knew Webb, but the other Constable did.
@ Lurch – there’s a suggestion that Carter may have known or known of Charlie as he agrees with Doff that he can be dangerous and suggests that she applies to have him “bound over”…
Jo: depends on officer Carter’s use of the word dangerous and it’s application. Could he have merely implied that she might take care in light of her own fears and not on his first hand experience of the suspects portent for violent outbursts. Seems that Dorothy didn’t follow with the advice to take out a restraining order in any case, for reasons that she later chose not to share with her attorney or us for that matter.