Francis Donald (Frank) Green (1905–1956)
Francis (Frank) Green, about 55, was stabbed to death shortly before midnight last night in his home in Cooper Street, Paddington.
Police found him sitting slumped over a table with a knife driven into his chest near the collar-bone.
They said he was once one of Sydney's best known "standover" men but had lived quietly in recent years.
They said that over the years he had been knifed and shot several times.
He was a leader of the razor gangs and was once charged with murder.
Green occupied a comfortable ground floor flat with his wife in Cooper Street.
Police said he was stabbed while sitting down. He slumped forward over the table with his head on his arms.
A carving knife with a blade nearly a foot long had been plunged into his heart.
The table was set with glasses and bottled beer and biscuits.
A man and a woman were in the flat.
Detective-Sergeant J. Bateman ordered that no one should touch the body until scientific experts from the C.I.B. and a police doctor arrived.
Green, in the late twenties and early thirties, was the leader of Sydney's underworld.
He was a gunman who was feared even by desperate criminals.
One of his main activities was leadership of razor gangs which were broken up by the late Commissioner of Police (Mr. J. MacKay).
Police said he had extorted money by "standover" methods from racketeers, gambling houses and houses of ill-fame.
He had been shot several times, and there were two or three bullets in his body which doctors left there because they feared their removal could cause his death.
Original publication
Additional Resources and Scholarship
- Green refuses to tell police who shot him in the shoulder, Advertiser (Adelaide), 18 July 1929, p 15
- report on trial of Frank Green who is charged with murdering Bernard Dalton, Sydney Morning Herald, 21 March 1930, p 7
- jurors fail to reach an agreement, Sydney Morning Herald, 24 March 1930, p 7
- report on Green's retrial on charge of murdering Bernard Dalton, Sydney Morning Herald, 11 June 1930, p 10
- Green is in hospital with a fractured skull; claims he fell down some stairs, Sydney Morning Herald, 7 November 1930, p 12
- is charged with robbing James Devine while carrying a gun, Sydney Morning Herald, 17 July 1931, p 11
- report on his trial, Sydney Morning Herald, 16 September 1931, p 8
- Frank Green is seriously ill in St Vincent's Hospital after being shot; refuses to tell police who shot him, Sydney Morning Herald, 26 October 1931, p 9
- is not expected to recover from his wounds, Sydney Morning Herald, 27 October 1931, p 9
- a police officer has been stationed at St Vincent's Hospital to ensure that there is no trouble between Green's visitors and those of his 'enemy', Sidney Devine, who is in the same ward after being shot last month, Sydney Morning Herald, 29 October 1931, p 10
- a man, who is said to have come from Victoria, is charged with shooting Frank Green, Argus (Melbourne), 31 October 1931, p 21
- Charles Brame, a musician, is charged with wounding Frank Green, with the intention of murdering him; Brame claims he's not part of the underworld and was 'put on the spot' when he shot Green, Sydney Morning Herald, 11 November 1931, p 7
- Green is still in hospital with a bullet lodged close to his spine, Sydney Morning Herald, 19 January 1932, p 4
- Charles Brame's bail is continued, Sydney Morning Herald, 16 February 1932, p 6
- Green is charged with stealing 25 pds, Sydney Morning Herald, 27 February 1932, p 10
- is sentenced to three months' gaol for consorting with known criminals, Sydney Morning Herald, 18 March 1932, p 6
- is arrested after breaking his bail conditions, Sydney Morning Herald, 3 August 1932, p 2
- is found not guilty of stealing a tie pin from James Devine, while holding a gun, Sydney Morning Herald, 16 August 1932, p 8
- is sentenced to six months' gaol for consorting, Sydney Morning Herald, 4 May 1933, p 8
- is again committed for trial on charge of stealing a 50 pd tie pin from James Devine, while armed with a gun, Sydney Morning Herald, 17 September 1931, p 6
- after pleading guilty to consorting with known criminals Green agrees to leave New South Wales for two years, Sydney Morning Herald, 23 January 1933, p 5
- is injured in a Brisbane brawl, Sydney Morning Herald, 3 August 1936, p 10
- is charged with attempting to shoot a police officer, Sydney Morning Herald, 18 September 1937, p 12
- is acquitted, Sydney Morning Herald, 21 October 1937, p 4
- is fined 20 pds for carrying a pistol without a licence, Sydney Morning Herald, 23 November 1937, p 7
Related Entries in NCB Sites
- Cameron, Ellen Katherine (lover)
- Leigh, Kathleen Mary (criminal associate)
- Devine, James Edward (criminal associate)
- Bruhn, Norman (criminal associate)
- Jeffs, Phillip (criminal associate)
- Kelly, Sydney Patrick (criminal associate)
- Devine, Matilda Mary (criminal associate)
- Calletti, Guido (criminal associate)
- Gaffney, George Leonard (criminal associate)
- Gardner, Edwin Mollison (criminal associate)
- Prendergast, John William (criminal associate)
- Pulley, Edward (criminal associate)
- Moffitt, Frederick Herbert (crime victim)
- Dalton, Bernard Hugh (crime victim)
Citation details
'Green, Francis Donald (Frank) (1905–1956)', Obituaries Australia, National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, https://oa.anu.edu.au/obituary/green-francis-donald-frank-13647/text24414, accessed 14 March 2025.
Life Summary [details]
Birth
Death
26 April,
1956
(aged ~ 51)
Paddington, Sydney,
New South Wales,
Australia