Special Photograph no. 745. Joseph Messenger and Valerie Lowe were arrested in 1921 for breaking into an army warehouse and stealing boots and overcoats to the value of 29 pounds 3 shillings. The following year, when this photograph wastaken, they were charged with breaking and entering a dwelling. Those charges were eventually dropped but they were arrested again later that year for stealing a saddle and bridle from Rosebery Racecourse. As an adult Messenger was active in inner-Sydney underworldthrough the 1920s, and he appears in the NSW Criminal Register (16 July 1930 entry no 171) as a seasoned criminal and gang affiliate. The description of his modus operandi includes, 'Violently [resists] arrest ... frequents wine saloons, billiard rooms, andracecourses ... consorts with prostitutes.' This photograph shows Messenger at age 18. See also 'Mug shot of Valerie Lowe'.
Titled "Mug shot of Joseph Messenger 15 February 1922, Central police Station, Sydney."
Source: Sydney Living Museum (Justice & Police Museum).
