The Dark Prince Of Melbourne: from the top crime author of The Golden Gang and On Radji Beach

The short flashy life of Squizzy Taylor and the birth of organised crime in Australia

By: Ian W. Shaw

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Paperback | 25 November 2025

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Bad boys, bright lights and sorry ends: the story of our most infamous gangster.

Joseph Leslie 'Squizzy' Taylor was many things to many people: a kind and caring husband, father and stepfather, a reliable son and brother, a generous and considerate neighbour and patron. He was also a criminal willing to consider any type of crime, provided it supported his lifestyle and his ego.

Squizzy graduated from teenage pickpocket to adult murderer, from organising smash-and-grab raids on jewellers to corrupting juries and suborning witnesses. And he was nothing if not newsworthy, whether appearing at the opening night of a new show at the top end of Bourke Street or climbing the steps en route to an appearance in the Supreme Court.

For more than a decade, Victoria's best detectives were unable to pin any one of a dozen major crimes on him. Yet Squizzy ultimately met his match in street-punk-turned-gunman Snowy Cutmore in a darkened bedroom in a boarding house in Carlton.

In this first detailed biography of arguably Australia's best-known standover man, Ian W. Shaw traces the life of the criminal who set the trend in city gangster life, not only in Melbourne but Australia-wide.

About the Author

Ian W. Shaw is an acclaimed writer of narrative nonfiction who has made an important contribution to Australian history and to the understanding of our nation. Ian has published 12 works of Australian and military history, all of which are characterised by his ability to locate and access hidden tales from our past, and for his meticulous and far-reaching research. His intention is to make our collective past accessible and relatable.

His book The Golden Gang, a biography of Australian bushranger Frank Gardiner, was published in 2024 by Simon & Schuster. Other books include Into the Sunset, exploring the story of the Dalton gang (University of Kansas Press, 2023), which was named a Kansas Notable Book, and On Radji Beach, which was optioned for film in 2024. Ian lives in Isaacs in the ACT.

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