Razors Rule Multi-Cache

Razors Rule

A typical street in Darlinghurst

This area is known as Darlinghurst and lies on the traditional lands of the Gadigal people. They continued to visit and use the place into the 1840s.

Although close to the city, rocky ridges and shallow soil made the area less attractive for the early settlers than other more productive, arable sites. Sandstone was quarried here, originally with convict labour, and it continued to be extracted into the second half of the nineteenth century, using prisoners from the nearby Darlinghurst Gaol.

A criminal razor gang – Police photo

In the late 1920s and 1930s, the suburbs of Darlinghurst, Woolloomooloo and Kings Cross were a world in turmoil with vicious ‘razor’ gangs battling for control of the criminal underworld. They were called razor gangs because of the cut-throat razor (a straight shaving blade) that was the weapon of choice, especially after the Pistol Licensing Act of 1927 meant automatic gaol time for anyone caught carrying an unlicensed firearm. Cut-throat razors were cheap and could be purchased from any barber shop. They were also extremely easy to conceal.

The upsurge in organised crime in the late 1920s is usually attributed to several factors:

• the prohibition on prostitution

• the prohibition on selling cocaine through legalised outlets such as chemists, and
• six o’clock closing of public bars and hotels.

Gang Leaders

The razor gangs at the heart of these wars were led by two rival women crime entrepreneurs, Tilly Devine and Kate Leigh.

Tilly Devine, known as the ‘Queen of Woolloomooloo’ ran a string of brothels centred around Darlinghurst and Kings Cross, and in particular, Palmer Street.

Tilly Divine's Police Mugshot

Kate Leigh, known as the ‘Queen of Surry Hills’, was a sly grogger and fence for stolen property.

Kate Leigh's Police Mugshot

Tilly and Kate’s fight for criminal supremacy led to running battles in the streets of Sydney that left many people dead, disfigured or doing gaol time.

Kate and Tilly in later life

Danielle Cormack (Kate Leigh) and Chelsie Preston Crawford (Tilly Divine) portrayed the two notorious vice queens in the Nine Network crime drama anthology series. This series can still be viewed on the Nine catch-up channel and is an excellent examination of the Razor Gang era.

To learn a few more of the quirks of the area, watch this fabulous YouTube video:

Tony Robinson's Time Walks

Sources: Museums of History New South Wales; Wikipedia - Darlinghurst; Wikipedia - Razor Gang; YouTube

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To Find This Cache:

1.  Go to the published coordinates outside 191 Palmer Street. This was the home of notorious madam, Tilly Divine. Out of these premises, Tilly ran a “house of ill-repute” in what was then, a red-light district.

2.  Look for a pole with a parking sign attached.

3.  Discover a code word located on the pole.

4.  Click on the Certitude Icon below and enter the code word to receive the GZ coordinates and hint.

FTF Honours

JG9172 & Googlehihihi

Rapid Razor Rulers

Did you know that NSW has a geocaching association? Geocaching NSW aims to enhance and improve the activity of geocaching and holds regular events where geocachers meet to enjoy their common interests. Visit the association website here.