Crime
![Two half pig carcasses placed on a wooden chair with tags reading, EXHIBITS - To be kept for evidence.](https://images.mhnsw.au/fotoweb/embed/2023/12/de187d83de0e481da32fad254b21deee.jpg)
A Christmas crime
As Christmas approached, the Magistrates at the Water Police Court, now the Justice & Police Museum, were often faced with a very seasonal crime – the theft of Christmas hams
![Dark haired woman wearing a red dress and black blazer leaning on a wooden door frame](https://images.slm.com.au/fotoweb/embed/2022/12/ce27df3e9a0045e0896f1c3acba5fe60.jpg)
A life in crime
Curator Nerida Campbell has got the dream job – rummaging through the grit and grime of Sydney’s criminal past to help us to come to terms with the city’s dark side
![](https://images.slm.com.au/fotoweb/embed/2023/01/8b9de1c7c2c34108b1353f323abace82.jpg)
Archives behind the scenes - gaol photos
In this episode we show you the very popular Gaol Photo Description Books. The photos (or mugshots) of prisoners are from gaols right across NSW and date from 1870-1930
![Two photos of the one man, one front facing and one in side profile](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/zl9du87e/production/04af60b95c4c7beef67bc97f489452d96c168f6a-2789x2061.jpg?fit=max&auto=format)
Attempted murder and conspiracy: the Lemon Syrup Case
Ferry captain George Dean was found guilty of "administering poison with the intent to murder" his wife in April 1895
![DES17_FP07_0026_004detail.jpg](https://images.slm.com.au/fotoweb/embed/2022/12/cdad812fcb264f66a02ef2666dfca1c1.jpg)
Underworld
Behind the scenes: How to read a ‘special’
Around the world, police forces followed established conventions when taking mugshots. But Sydney police in the 1920s did things differently
![Gold painted plaster bust of William John Mackay, Commissioner of Police](https://images.slm.com.au/fotoweb/embed/2023/07/df4c38d79be147d7a29fe645d44d57b1.jpg)
Underworld
Big Bill MacKay
William John MacKay (1885–1948), known as Bill, was a Scottish-born police officer who played a major role in policing Sydney’s underworld during the 1920s
![Black and white image from the 1920s of a man who looks to be in his 50s.](https://images.slm.com.au/fotoweb/embed/2022/12/db958c9f9c1d42d4930ad876815747c8.jpg)
Underworld
Bosses
Sydney’s underworld bosses were tough, resolute and violent – mess with one and you would know you had been in a fight
![Portrait of a man glued to a description sheet](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/zl9du87e/production/ef6539f0cd5d461d3cd3e81c2fa6b2beb2fa7abf-1192x807.jpg?fit=max&auto=format)
Captain Moonlight, bushranger
One of the more famous gaol photographs in the State Archives Collection is that of A.G. Scott, otherwise known as Captain Moonlight, which was taken on 26 November 1879
![Gaol photo Cecil Pierpont](https://cdn.sanity.io/images/zl9du87e/production/152960e4a152f42d5ff42f3c5fa8731d6f48749b-4370x3152.jpg?fit=max&auto=format)
Captured: Portraits of Crime 1870-1930, Cecil Pierpont
Cecil Pierpont, a 37 year old musician from England, was photographed at Parramatta Gaol on 20 October 1903 while serving a twelve month sentence for false pretences