Obituaries Australia

Sydney Kelly, 1924

NSW Justice & Police Museum, 31183

Sydney Patrick (Sid) Kelly, 48, notorious baccarat gambler and former razor gangster, died today at his £8,500 luxury home at Centennial Park.

Kelly had had dealings over a long period with police in Sydney, Melbourne, and other parts of Australia.

He is believed to have died from heart disease.

Kelly was an associate of famous criminals in the razor-gang era of the 1930's. These included "Snowy" Cutmore, "Squizzy" Taylor, and Norman Bruhn, who were all murdered in gang fights.

In Melbourne in 1930 Kelly was sentenced to five years' imprisonment and 15 lashes of the cat o' nine tails for razor slashing. Later he began a gambling career in Sydney, and is reputed to have made thousands of pounds a week during the war years' gambling boom.

In the last 10 years Kelly kept out of serious trouble. His baccarat schools were run on elaborate lines, but his system of scouts and "cockatoos" prevented successful police raids.