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Australian Desperadoes: The Incredible Story of How Australian Gangsters Terrorised California by Terry Smyth (Paperback, 2017)

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Australian Desperadoes. Author : Terry Smyth. When the smoke cleared, the Coves' reign of terror was over. The incredible story of how Australian gangsters terrorised California.

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Product Information

They were the Australians who made American history. In the roaring days of the 1850s California gold rush, San Francisco was the most dangerous town in America, made so by a notorious criminal gang known as the Sydney Coves. The Coves - San Francisco's first organised-crime gang - were Australians- men and women with criminal careers in Australia who had come to the US, mostly illegally, during the gold rush. The Coves had come not to dig for gold but to unleash a crime wave the likes of which America had never seen. Robbery, murder, arson and extortion were the Coves' stock-in-trade, and it was said that the leader of the gang, Jim Stuart, had killed more men than any man in California. The gang's base, in the waterfront district, came to be known as Sydney Town. The area was a no-go zone for police - many of whom were in Stuart's pocket anyway - so, just as Capone would one day rule Chicago, the Coves ruled San Francisco. And more than once, just to make sure there was no doubt that Frisco was their town, they burnt it down. The Coves were hated and feared by the respectable citizens of San Francisco - who derisively called them 'Sydney Ducks' but never to their faces - and, realising that the forces of the law could not, or would not, take them on, decided lynch law was the only solution, and formed a vigilante group. The streets of San Francisco became a battlefield as the Coves and the vigilantes fought for control of the city, with gunfights and lynchings almost daily spectacles as the police stood idly by. Jim Stewart was arrested in Sacramento for killing a sheriff, but escaped to be involved in one the most celebrated cases of mistaken identity in the annals of American crime. When the smoke cleared, the Coves' reign of terror was over. Some were strung up from storefronts in the street, some fell in a deadly gunfight with Jonathan R. Davis, one of the fastest guns in the west, others escaped capture and returned to Australia. The story of the Sydney Coves is little-known, fascinating and well worth telling.

Product Identifiers

Publisher
Random House Australia
ISBN-13
9780143782377
eBay Product ID (ePID)
17046382628

Product Key Features

Book Title
Australian Desperadoes: the Incredible Story of How Australian Gangsters Terrorised California
Author
Terry Smyth
Format
Paperback
Language
English
Topic
True Crime
Publication Year
2017
Number of Pages
352 Pages

Dimensions

Item Height
235mm
Item Width
155mm
Item Weight
448g

Additional Product Features

Title_Author
Terry Smyth
Country/Region of Manufacture
Australia

All listings for this product

item 1 Australian Desperadoes: The Incredible Story of How Australian Gangsters...
AU $15.00
item 2 Australian Desperadoes. Story of Australian Gangsters in California. Terry Smyth
AU $20.00
Free postage
item 3 Australian Desperadoes by Terry Smyth (Paperback 2017)
AU $14.95
+AU $9.95 postage
item 4 Australian Desperadoes by Terry Smyth Australian Gangsters Terrorised California
AU $24.95
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item 5 Australian Desperadoes : Terry Smyth ( Australian True Crime )
AU $15.16
+AU $10.50 postage
item 6 Australian Desperadoes: The Incredible ..., Terry Smyth
AU $35.55
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item 7 Australian Desperadoes By Terry Smyth | V/G PB, 2018
AU $35.95
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Most relevant reviews

5 out of 5 stars
by jackmaster5527 Jan, 2021
This book is dynamite!
Great part of Australia's history that is not widely known. Our early convicts had a great influence in the evolution of early San Francisco. This book is dynamite!
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned

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