Melbourne Dark History Walking Tour: Explore Crime, Gangsters and 'Little Lon' Era

Uncover the dark and intriguing history of Melbourne on a walking tour led by writer and historian Michael Shelford. Explore the crime, gangsters, and ‘Little Lon’ era of the city, filled with shootings, bombings, brothels, and more.

Duration: 2 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Little Lon Distilling Co. - Little Lon Distilling Co is a Gin Distillery which operates from Melbourne CBD’s only surviving single story cottage. It also happens to be a former house of ill repute. You will hear stories of the cottage’s former inhabitants, sourced from original police files.
What's Included
  • Tour booklet with character photos
What's Not Included
  • Please bring along your own food and drinks.
Additional Information

Join us as we delve into Melbourne’s history, navigating through the years when a corner shop offered much more than just candies and fizzy drinks. Discover the city’s shadowy past from the 1870s to the 1930s, a time when Melbourne’s downtown poorer quarters, known as ‘Little Lon’, were majorly controlled by women. Understand the struggle for power, the…

Location
282 Exhibition St
Exhibition Street
We meet at the Coopers Inn Hotel, 282 Exhibition St, Melbourne CBD. The Coopers has great food, drink, and a friendly Australian pub atmosphere.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
5.0
(91 Ratings)
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Mariesusanne_k
Sep 23, 2024
Michaels knowledge and... - Michaels knowledge and enthusiast for guiding us and story tell was captivating. I will remember this tour, I can only highly recommend this tour.
Review provided by Viator
Michael_h
Sep 22, 2024
Recommend! - Great Tour! Michael was elaborate and had great detail & knowledge for all involved. Couldn’t ask for a better guide/tour. Exceptional enthralling story telling, kind and more than willing to answering any questions guests had throughout.
Review provided by Viator
Lindafl8206xr
Aug 20, 2024
Fantastic, Fun, Learning Experience. - A fantastic tour with a fun, knowledgeable tour guide. Not only did I love hearing about the characters of early 1900's gangsters, but I also loved hearing about Michael's research. As a researcher myself, hearing him talk about the processes he goes through was really interesting. I found the walk easy to do, as someone with dodgy knees and bad hearing, I wondered whether I would be able to keep up with everything, but it was great. Michael did a great job of making everyone feel included. Thoroughly recommend this tour, and I will be booking into another one soon.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Andrewdx8937vs
Aug 18, 2024
Enjoyable couple of hours - A really interesting and enjoyable couple of hours. Michael's passion, amazing depth of knowledge and relaxed style were a pleasure. Definitely recommend this tour.
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Maggotguts
Jul 14, 2024
Brilliant Tour about the history of Melbourne most people don't know about. - Our business had an activity day as a reward for a years hard work and included a private tour from Michael. It's always hard to to cater for a wide range of ages, individuals preferences, physical abilities and interests - but this tour was brilliant. Michael knows his stuff and weaves it into a compelling and engaging commentary. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the tour and I couldn't recommend it, and Michael, highly enough. I plan to bring family and friends back.
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Tanya_o
Jun 23, 2024
Awesome!!!!!! - Discovered so much about Melbournes history in the Little Lon district, especially at the final stop it was so great to discover what is hidden amongst the modern city Highly recommend Thanks Michael
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Steph_c
Jun 16, 2024
Madams, Sly Grog and Speak Easy's. The gossip of Little Lon. - Well paced tour, inredibly well researched and spoken by Michael Shelford. Can't wait to read his books. Who new "Little Lon" existed. We have lived in Melbourne for 22 years now, and it was lovely to hear about the history of this great city.
Review provided by Viator
Susanmorgan
Jun 2, 2024
Very interesting and enjoyable - Loved hearing things that I did not know about Melbourne's history. So interesting to see old buildings, some I didn't know existed, and what tgey were in the past.
Review provided by Viator
Jet26273595752
Jun 1, 2024
A great tour! - I had a wonderful time doing this tour. Michael is just so knowledgeable and I love that he shared some great finds from his own research. The tour is an easy walk and we'll paced.
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967dales
May 5, 2024
The dark side of marvellous Melbourne - A highly entertaining (and informative) guided tour of a small area of Melbourne city. The walk was easy and there were plenty of stops to look at a variety of buildings. Michael was an excellent tour guide with a relaxed manner. Nothing about the tour was rushed (or dull) and Michael was obviously knowledgeable with a real love of the material which came through in the mix of colourful characters he told us about.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
From $33
up to 15 guests
1 Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).