Nellie Cameron
Encyclopedia
Nellie Cameron known as "The Kiss of Death Girl", was a notorious Sydney
prostitute in the 1920s and 1930s, who was featured extensively in the 2011 Australian television mini-series Underbelly: Razor
. Cameron was associated with the cocaine
-fuelled ravages of the razor gang
violence of that era, commonly associated with her contemporaries, Tilly Devine
and Kate Leigh
, both criminal entrepreneurs who controlled much of Sydney's illegal sex industry and Sly-grog
distribution during that period. Nellie Cameron received 73 criminal convictions during her life of crime, mainly for soliciting
and vagrancy, and had the distinction of becoming the first woman in Australia to be convicted of consorting with criminals.
in 1910, the youngest child of Colin Kelly, who later served in the AIF
in World War I
, and Lillian Kelly (née Ruddock), and the sister of Lionel, who was born in 1907, but died soon after, and William Colin, who was born in 1908, but who died of cerebral meningitis
on 5 December 1910 in Bulli Cottage Hospital, NSW. Colin Kelly was later divorced by his wife, Lillian Kelly, on the grounds of desertion.
After Nellie's mother married Robert George Cameron in 1922, Nellie took her stepfather's surname for most of her adult life. Cameron was a Roman Catholic and was educated at an exclusive girls' school on the North Shore
.
In 1926 Cameron ran away from home, caught a train to the city, seduced a married tram driver, and began living with him in Woolloomooloo.
Early in 1927 when Cameron met Norman Bruhn (1894-1927), a Melbourne
-born dockworker and gunman, thief, standover man and pimp feared for his garroting skills, who was forced to leave Melbourne by rival gunman Squizzy Taylor
in November 1926, she was described as "a redhead with a ripe figure and provocative china blue eyes". At that time Cameron was a street prostitute on William and Palmer Streets with no connection to Tilly Devine
or any other madam
. Despite having a wife and children, Bruhn soon became Cameron's lover and pimp, although she also worked as a dance instructor at Professor Bolot's Academy in Sydney's Oxford Street
, commuting between Sydney and Queensland
on a regular basis. According to Larry Writer, Cameron "perfected the age-old game called 'gingering' in Australia. During sex with one of her clients, an accomplice would emerge from beneath the bed and take the client's wallet from his pants or jacket. At that point, coitus would be interrupted by angry banging on the door by another involved in the scam, Cameron, feigning panic, would exclaim it was the police or her irate husband, and urge the client to dress and depart by the back door. Keen to avoid the embarrassment of public prosecution or a beating, the customer would flee and usually not notice until later that his wallet was missing." Cameron also was a cocaine runner and a fence
for stolen property. Bruhn, who attempted to dominate the duopolised gangland milieu, was shot twice in the stomach outside the Courthouse Hotel in Charlotte Lane, Darlinghurst on 22 June 1927 by a hit squad sent by either Devine or Kate Leigh
. and subsequently died in the early hours of 23 June, 1927.
Within weeks of Bruhn's death, Cameron began a series of relationships with a successive string of other Sydney criminals: Ernest Lyle Connelly (also known as Hardy), shot in Womerah Avenue, Kings Cross
by rival gunman and future husband, Guido Caletti (or Calletti) in February 1929; New Zealand-born housebreaker and standover man
Alan Edward (Ted) Pulley, later shot dead by illegal bookmaker Florrie Riley at Wentworth Street, Glebe
on 6 March 1937; and Donald Francis (Frank) Green, (1902–1966), Caletti's rival for Cameron's affections.
On 16 June 1931 Cameron, Green, and William Hourigan visited the Maroubra home of James Edward "Big Jim" Devine that he shared with his wife, Tillie. After an altercation, Devine shot at the fleeing Cameron, Green, and Hourigan, and accidentally killed a taxi driver. Subsequently, on 11 July 1931 Green, Horigan and Cameron were charged with "robbery under arms", being accused of having assaulted Devine, whilst armed with a revolver, and robbing him of a diamond tiepin valued at £50. On 16 September the charges against Cameron and Hourigan were dismissed due to lack of evidence.
On 16 November 1931, after visiting her then de-facto husband Frank Green at St. Vincent's Hospital
where he was in a serious condition after being shot in the stomach, Nellie Cameron was herself shot in the shoulder in Burton Street, East Sydney whilst walking home from the hospital. Later, she refused to cooperate with police.
Cameron's first marriage was to the feared Sydney gangland figure Guido Caletti (1900–1939), who was the leader of a vicious Sydney gang known as the "Darlinghurst Push". The couple had fled New South Wales to Victoria due to outstanding arrest warrants. They married at the local registry office at Fitzroy, Victoria
on the 20 February 1934 with Nellie using her birth name, Ellen Kelly. In November 1934 Caletti was imprisoned for two years, and Cameron renewed her relationship with Frank Green.
In July 1937 Cameron was charged with maliciously shooting at Harry Roper the previous month.
While Cameron was working as a prostitute in Queensland, Cameron's husband Guido Caletti was shot dead allegedly by two rival gunmen, Robert Branch and George Allan, at a party in Brougham Street, East Sydney on 6 August 1939.
In 1940 Cameron married Charles Francis "Greyhound" Bourke (1909–1964) (also known as Edward Brown and MacRogers), another notorious Sydney criminal and gunman, at Sydney, using her then married name of Ellen Catherine Caletti. The couple separated a few years later, although she retained the surname of Bourke until her death in 1953.
About 1947 Cameron adopted Janice, the infant daughter of a neighbour, and raised her conscientiously.
. On 31 March 1952, Cameron was attacked at her flat by Donohue, who shot her in the stomach. Cameron was admitted to St Vincent's Hospital in a critical condition with a bullet lodged in her liver. Despite Bourke surrendering himself to police and informing them of the shooting, at trial Nellie would not give evidence against him and the case collapsed. Upon surgery to remove the bullets, it was found that Cameron had several healed bullet wounds in her body, possibly sustained from the attack in 1931. Unfortunately, however, some of them had become sites for cancerous growths and they had become inoperable.
After severe illness and suffering from depression, Nellie Cameron committed suicide through gas asphyxiation at her Taylor Square flat on 8 November 1953.
Nellie was buried as Ellen Katherine Bourke on 10 November 1953 in the Botany Roman Catholic Cemetery, now known as Eastern Suburbs Memorial Park
. Over 700 mourners attended her funeral including Kate Leigh
, Tilly Devine
and ex lover Frank Green. She was survived by her estranged husband Charlie Bourke, her mother, Mrs Lillian Cameron;. and her adopted daughter, Janice.
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
prostitute in the 1920s and 1930s, who was featured extensively in the 2011 Australian television mini-series Underbelly: Razor
Underbelly: Razor
Underbelly: Razor is a 13-part Australian television mini-series detailing real events that occurred in Sydney between 1927 and 1936. The series depicts the "razor gangs" who controlled the city's underworld during the era and the violent war between the two "vice queen" powers, Tilly Devine and...
. Cameron was associated with the cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
-fuelled ravages of the razor gang
Razor gang
Razor gangs were criminal gangs that dominated the Sydney crime scene in the 1920s. With the passage of the Pistol Licensing Act 1927, the New South Wales State Parliament imposed severe penalties for carrying concealed firearms and handguns...
violence of that era, commonly associated with her contemporaries, Tilly Devine
Tilly Devine
Matilda 'Tilly' Devine was an English-born prominent Sydney crime syndicate gangs member figure, involved in a wide range of activities, including sly-grog and razor gangs, but most notable as a madam.-Early life:...
and Kate Leigh
Kate Leigh
Catherine Mary Josephine Leigh was an underworld figure who rose to prominence as an illegal trader of alcohol and cocaine dealer in Surry Hills, Sydney, Australia during the first half of the twentieth century...
, both criminal entrepreneurs who controlled much of Sydney's illegal sex industry and Sly-grog
Sly-grog shop
A sly grog shop is an Australian term for an unlicensed hotel or liquor-store, often with the added suggestion of selling poor-quality liquor; a place where alcoholic beverages are sold by an unlicensed vendor....
distribution during that period. Nellie Cameron received 73 criminal convictions during her life of crime, mainly for soliciting
Solicitation
Literally, solicitation means: 'urgently asking'. It is the action or instance of soliciting; petition; proposal. In criminal law, it most commonly refers to either the act of offering goods or services, or the act of attempting to purchase such goods or services...
and vagrancy, and had the distinction of becoming the first woman in Australia to be convicted of consorting with criminals.
Early life
Ellen (Nellie) Katherine Kelly was born in the inner city Sydney suburb of WaterlooWaterloo, New South Wales
Waterloo is an inner-city suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Waterloo is located 4 kilometres south of the Sydney central business district and is part of the local government area of the City of Sydney.-History:...
in 1910, the youngest child of Colin Kelly, who later served in the AIF
Australian Imperial Force
The Australian Imperial Force was the name given to all-volunteer Australian Army forces dispatched to fight overseas during World War I and World War II.* First Australian Imperial Force * Second Australian Imperial Force...
in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, and Lillian Kelly (née Ruddock), and the sister of Lionel, who was born in 1907, but died soon after, and William Colin, who was born in 1908, but who died of cerebral meningitis
Meningitis
Meningitis is inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, known collectively as the meninges. The inflammation may be caused by infection with viruses, bacteria, or other microorganisms, and less commonly by certain drugs...
on 5 December 1910 in Bulli Cottage Hospital, NSW. Colin Kelly was later divorced by his wife, Lillian Kelly, on the grounds of desertion.
After Nellie's mother married Robert George Cameron in 1922, Nellie took her stepfather's surname for most of her adult life. Cameron was a Roman Catholic and was educated at an exclusive girls' school on the North Shore
North Shore (Sydney)
The North Shore is an informal term used to describe the primarily residential area of northern metropolitan Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The term usually refers to the suburbs located on the north shore of Sydney Harbour between Middle Harbour and the Lane Cove River, up to...
.
In 1926 Cameron ran away from home, caught a train to the city, seduced a married tram driver, and began living with him in Woolloomooloo.
"The Kiss of Death Girl"
When Cameron began her career in prostitution in 1926 in Sydney's Surry Hills and Woolloomoolloo districts at the age of fifteen, she was a blue-eyed blonde. Soon Cameron became Sydney's most popular and most expensive prostitute and was known as Sydney's Underworld Beauty Queen and also as the "Kiss Of Death Girl" or "The Angel Of Death", as most of her boyfriends or husbands were subsequently murdered. During her years in crime, Cameron was kidnapped, beaten, stabbed, razor slashed, and shot on numerous occasions.Early in 1927 when Cameron met Norman Bruhn (1894-1927), a Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
-born dockworker and gunman, thief, standover man and pimp feared for his garroting skills, who was forced to leave Melbourne by rival gunman Squizzy Taylor
Squizzy Taylor
Joseph Leslie Theodore "Squizzy" Taylor was an Australian Melbourne-based gangster. He rose to notoriety by leading a violent gang war against a rival criminal faction in 1919, absconding from bail and successfully hiding from the police for over a year in 1921-22, and the Glenferrie robbery in...
in November 1926, she was described as "a redhead with a ripe figure and provocative china blue eyes". At that time Cameron was a street prostitute on William and Palmer Streets with no connection to Tilly Devine
Tilly Devine
Matilda 'Tilly' Devine was an English-born prominent Sydney crime syndicate gangs member figure, involved in a wide range of activities, including sly-grog and razor gangs, but most notable as a madam.-Early life:...
or any other madam
Madam
Madam, or madame, is a polite title used for women which, in English, is the equivalent of Mrs. or Ms., and is often found abbreviated as "ma'am", and less frequently as "ma'm". It is derived from the French madame, which means "my lady", the feminine form of lord; the plural of ma dame in this...
. Despite having a wife and children, Bruhn soon became Cameron's lover and pimp, although she also worked as a dance instructor at Professor Bolot's Academy in Sydney's Oxford Street
Oxford Street, Sydney
Oxford Street is a major thoroughfare in Sydney, Australia running from Whitlam Square on the south-east corner of Hyde Park in the central business district of Sydney to Bondi Junction in the Eastern Suburbs. Close to the CBD in particular, the street is lined with numerous shops, bars and...
, commuting between Sydney and Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
on a regular basis. According to Larry Writer, Cameron "perfected the age-old game called 'gingering' in Australia. During sex with one of her clients, an accomplice would emerge from beneath the bed and take the client's wallet from his pants or jacket. At that point, coitus would be interrupted by angry banging on the door by another involved in the scam, Cameron, feigning panic, would exclaim it was the police or her irate husband, and urge the client to dress and depart by the back door. Keen to avoid the embarrassment of public prosecution or a beating, the customer would flee and usually not notice until later that his wallet was missing." Cameron also was a cocaine runner and a fence
Fence (criminal)
A fence is an individual who knowingly buys stolen property for later resale, sometimes in a legitimate market. The fence thus acts as a middleman between thieves and the eventual buyers of stolen goods who may or may not be aware that the goods are stolen. As a verb, the word describes the...
for stolen property. Bruhn, who attempted to dominate the duopolised gangland milieu, was shot twice in the stomach outside the Courthouse Hotel in Charlotte Lane, Darlinghurst on 22 June 1927 by a hit squad sent by either Devine or Kate Leigh
Kate Leigh
Catherine Mary Josephine Leigh was an underworld figure who rose to prominence as an illegal trader of alcohol and cocaine dealer in Surry Hills, Sydney, Australia during the first half of the twentieth century...
. and subsequently died in the early hours of 23 June, 1927.
Within weeks of Bruhn's death, Cameron began a series of relationships with a successive string of other Sydney criminals: Ernest Lyle Connelly (also known as Hardy), shot in Womerah Avenue, Kings Cross
Kings Cross, New South Wales
Kings Cross is an inner-city locality of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately 2 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Sydney...
by rival gunman and future husband, Guido Caletti (or Calletti) in February 1929; New Zealand-born housebreaker and standover man
Extortion
Extortion is a criminal offence which occurs when a person unlawfully obtains either money, property or services from a person, entity, or institution, through coercion. Refraining from doing harm is sometimes euphemistically called protection. Extortion is commonly practiced by organized crime...
Alan Edward (Ted) Pulley, later shot dead by illegal bookmaker Florrie Riley at Wentworth Street, Glebe
Glebe
Glebe Glebe Glebe (also known as Church furlong or parson's closes is an area of land within a manor and parish used to support a parish priest.-Medieval origins:...
on 6 March 1937; and Donald Francis (Frank) Green, (1902–1966), Caletti's rival for Cameron's affections.
On 16 June 1931 Cameron, Green, and William Hourigan visited the Maroubra home of James Edward "Big Jim" Devine that he shared with his wife, Tillie. After an altercation, Devine shot at the fleeing Cameron, Green, and Hourigan, and accidentally killed a taxi driver. Subsequently, on 11 July 1931 Green, Horigan and Cameron were charged with "robbery under arms", being accused of having assaulted Devine, whilst armed with a revolver, and robbing him of a diamond tiepin valued at £50. On 16 September the charges against Cameron and Hourigan were dismissed due to lack of evidence.
On 16 November 1931, after visiting her then de-facto husband Frank Green at St. Vincent's Hospital
St Vincent's Hospital, Sydney
St Vincent's Public Hospital, Sydney is located in the inner city suburb of Darlinghurst. Though part of the New South Wales state public health system it remains under the auspices of the Sisters of Charity.-History:...
where he was in a serious condition after being shot in the stomach, Nellie Cameron was herself shot in the shoulder in Burton Street, East Sydney whilst walking home from the hospital. Later, she refused to cooperate with police.
Cameron's first marriage was to the feared Sydney gangland figure Guido Caletti (1900–1939), who was the leader of a vicious Sydney gang known as the "Darlinghurst Push". The couple had fled New South Wales to Victoria due to outstanding arrest warrants. They married at the local registry office at Fitzroy, Victoria
Fitzroy, Victoria
Fitzroy is an inner city suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 2 km north-east from Melbourne's central business district. Its Local Government Area is the City of Yarra. Its borders are Alexandra Parade , Victoria Parade , Smith Street and Nicholson Street. Fitzroy is Melbourne's...
on the 20 February 1934 with Nellie using her birth name, Ellen Kelly. In November 1934 Caletti was imprisoned for two years, and Cameron renewed her relationship with Frank Green.
In July 1937 Cameron was charged with maliciously shooting at Harry Roper the previous month.
While Cameron was working as a prostitute in Queensland, Cameron's husband Guido Caletti was shot dead allegedly by two rival gunmen, Robert Branch and George Allan, at a party in Brougham Street, East Sydney on 6 August 1939.
In 1940 Cameron married Charles Francis "Greyhound" Bourke (1909–1964) (also known as Edward Brown and MacRogers), another notorious Sydney criminal and gunman, at Sydney, using her then married name of Ellen Catherine Caletti. The couple separated a few years later, although she retained the surname of Bourke until her death in 1953.
About 1947 Cameron adopted Janice, the infant daughter of a neighbour, and raised her conscientiously.
Later years and death
During 1951 Cameron began living with William Francis Donohue (born about 1922), a wharflabourer, at 17 Denham Street, Taylor SquareTaylor Square, Sydney
right|250px|thumb|Taylor Square, DarlinghurstTaylor Square is a locality in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Taylor Square is located beside a major road junction, where Oxford Street meets Flinders Street and Bourke Street. Taylor Square is also on the border of the suburbs of Darlinghurst and...
. On 31 March 1952, Cameron was attacked at her flat by Donohue, who shot her in the stomach. Cameron was admitted to St Vincent's Hospital in a critical condition with a bullet lodged in her liver. Despite Bourke surrendering himself to police and informing them of the shooting, at trial Nellie would not give evidence against him and the case collapsed. Upon surgery to remove the bullets, it was found that Cameron had several healed bullet wounds in her body, possibly sustained from the attack in 1931. Unfortunately, however, some of them had become sites for cancerous growths and they had become inoperable.
After severe illness and suffering from depression, Nellie Cameron committed suicide through gas asphyxiation at her Taylor Square flat on 8 November 1953.
Nellie was buried as Ellen Katherine Bourke on 10 November 1953 in the Botany Roman Catholic Cemetery, now known as Eastern Suburbs Memorial Park
Eastern Suburbs Memorial Park
Eastern Suburbs Memorial Park is a cemetery and crematorium at Matraville, in the eastern suburbs of Sydney, Australia. Land was dedicated as a cemetery site in 1888, with the first interment recorded on 21 August 1893. Since then, more than 65,000 people have been buried there...
. Over 700 mourners attended her funeral including Kate Leigh
Kate Leigh
Catherine Mary Josephine Leigh was an underworld figure who rose to prominence as an illegal trader of alcohol and cocaine dealer in Surry Hills, Sydney, Australia during the first half of the twentieth century...
, Tilly Devine
Tilly Devine
Matilda 'Tilly' Devine was an English-born prominent Sydney crime syndicate gangs member figure, involved in a wide range of activities, including sly-grog and razor gangs, but most notable as a madam.-Early life:...
and ex lover Frank Green. She was survived by her estranged husband Charlie Bourke, her mother, Mrs Lillian Cameron;. and her adopted daughter, Janice.
Further reading
- Blaikie, George. Wild Women Of Sydney. Rigby, 1980. (ISBN 0 7270 1394 7)
- Hickie, David. Chow Hayes – Gunman. Harper Collins, 2001. (ISBN 0 207 16012 0)
- Kelly, Vince. Rugged Angel. Angus & Robertson, 1961.
- Lipson, Norm & Tony Barnao. As Crime Goes By. Ironbark Press, 1992. (ISBN 1 875471 14 6)
- Morton, James and Susanna Lobez. Gangland Australia. Victory Books, 2007. (ISBN 9780522857375)
- Writer, Larry. Razor: Tilly Devine, Kate Leigh and the Razor Gangs. Macmillan Publishers Aus., 2011. ISBN 1742610706, 9781742610702
