I’m sure most of you have heard of The Great Train Robbery of 1963 when the Roy Mail train from Glasgow to London was brought to a halt and robbed. Some of you may even be familiar with The Great Bookie Robbery of 1976 when six men stole between fourteen and sixteen million from bookmakers at the Victoria Club in Queen Street Melbourne. I would suggest however, many of you may not be aware of The Great Mouth Organ Heist of 1930.
In February 1930, twenty one year old August Prosper Fraillon brazenly entered the store of W H Glen Pty Ltd of Collins Street multiple times over several days (in broad daylight), by climbing through a window to the storeroom. Each time he descended an interior ladder and lifted scores of mouth organs by stowing them in a suitcase. In total he stole three hundred and fifty two mouth organs.
August resided in Gurner Street St Kilda and was a musician by trade. He supplemented his limited income by heading north and doing seasonal work on farms in New South Wales and Queensland. While doing it tough, as so many were at this time, August hatched a scheme of boosting his livelihood. August knew the layout and security of the City music store having been a regular visitor for Cello lessons when aged eighteen. Cellos are a little large to traffic, but that instrument that fits in your pocket, was a more likely item to lift and hawk.
August’s plan was implemented without a hitch. That was until W H Glen’s accountant, quite sometime after the robberies, identified a number of mouth organs valued at £143/14 were missing. With that knowledge, he immediately notified the authorities. Detectives were quickly onto the case combing both city and inner suburban music stores. The thief had been selling his wares, a few at a time, to various shops. With a good description of the thief provided by shopkeepers, they scoured St Kilda after being tipped off that a young man had sold several in the area to railway men. The suspect was located and apprehended in Fitzroy Street in the proximity of the St Kilda railway station.
A hairdresser and tobacconist of Chapel Street, Richard Browne, was the recipient of the bulk of August’s stolen property. August allegedly advised the proprietor his merchandise had been indented to him from his father in Sydney and that he was selling them for a living. A Flinders Street dealer, Victor Visbord, noticed mouth organs displayed in Browne’s store. On entering the premises, he purchased sixty two Chromonica mouth organs at £2/6 each, one hundred and seventy Auto Valve harps at 8d, and three dozen odd lines at 2/ each. I believe the Auto Valves sold for 4/6 in emporiums in 1930. If my maths is any good, that would be a sizeable profit for Victor.
Richard Browne would be charged with having receiving stolen goods, but would acquitted in May.
On the 13th March, August was charged at the City watch-house and five days later he pleaded guilty in court adding there was nothing to say. August broke down sobbing uncontrollably on the floor of the dock. A sentence of three months jail was imposed, but was suspended on Fraillon entering a good behaviour bond for two years. August was placed in the care of Colonel Bray of the Salvation Army. Thank God for the Salvos.
That was the Great Mouth Organ Heist of 1930. Perhaps not of the same scale or associated drama as the Great Train or Bookie robberies, but nonetheless, a well planned and a sizeable take for the times. Colonel Bray and the Salvos helped the young lad on a straighter path as he stayed out of trouble procuring more meaningful sources of earnings (I think).
Monkey Business
The only mention I could find of August since the court case was eighteen years later. It appears he had employment at Luna Park as an animal trainer. A somewhat strange account was reported in The Age newspaper, of August being bitten on a finger by a monkey he was putting through his tricks. August headed off on his treadley to the Alfred hospital for treatment with the monkey seated on the handlebars.
I couldn’t make it up.
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Harmonica Riff Raff 
Loved this. Talk about selling your stolen loot on your own doorstep. That’s what I think did didn’t he? Out in the open too. My harmonica playing Nan was in the Salvation Army. She ride a sit up and beg bicycle and visited hospitals playing tunes to patients on it. That or her squeezebox. Cycled into her late 70s. Dressed up as Father Christmas too. Not all year Shep! Harmonica players hey! 😉 That community Sally Army sentence though. Good he got to change his life. The monkey was sent by Karma probably. Cheers for a really lovely read again Shep. Read it a few days ago and came back to comment. Looking after my grandson yesterday putting together a stamped out paper cardboard Model T Ford car. Followed by a big plastic pirate ship game that spun in circles. The captain with the skull head gets put in different places that sends the ship into spin mode. You try to throw each other into the sea from different points around the ship. My grandson doesn’t like losing apparently! I laugh too much he tells me. Still no drummer though! 🙄
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Thanks Gray. Selling at the railway station was very close to home! Pirate ship game sounds like a bit of fun. Very gracious winner I’d suspect. What’s Griff Griffen’s availability these days? Can you get by without one? I’m exhausted overnight visitors, a Daniel Champagne gig and a wedding three days in a row. Cheers for your input as always. S
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I bought a car in my village ‘doorstep’ and found the head gasket gone. He knew too when he sold it to me. Did get a refund. Sally Army went round his house and played Christmas Carols non stop ‘til he relented. Griff is playing in a Jazz band and happy. He did listen to our stuff and said we’d never achieve Utopia level. I got Elf to have a word too. Elf lives in our village. Still tickles the ivories from time to time. I can hear her if I have my window in the Den open. I try to play bass from distance alongside her tunes, but she’s just too good to follow. Jasper had a bit too much influence on her songwriting and ‘where to go chords choices’. Drummers come in technical uploads these days. GarageBand Griff’s. With no heart or soul. So can’t go there. My grandson’s idea of fair play is taking off the bits of pirate ship more susceptible to throwing you into the water on his turns to wait and be dumped seaward. Also he says the hole in the deck didn’t drop him through, it caught him on the broken bits, so you are saved and can move on to the next number/place. You have to drop your pirate piece down the hole yourself! Rules are made to be broken in children’s heads. Should know that being a child once myself. Well I think I was. Your musical undertakings and social life is one in which only a 21 year old can undertake and last the course. You must be made of sterner stuff! Sounds like it was a blast…😊 Cheers Shep.
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It was pretty good.😊
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He’ll have a hole in his guitar like Willie Nelson’s before too long. Nice vibe. Bet he was great live. 👍
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He has a custom made Cole Clark guitar (only one) https://coleclarkguitars.com. specially reinforced so it has two tops with grains going in different directions. Had this one since 2014. It has had a couple of minor repairs. Used to go through them like no one’s business. Someone from the company went to a gig and then understood what trauma the guitar underwent. After a few prototypes they found the answer. A review is in the making for this month’s review Dawg Blawg. Btw love Willie’s guitar – what character. Ch S
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I watched a video regarding Willie Nelson’s guitar. I need to look again as to what makes it so good in longevity. It is constantly monitored I believe.. to be kept going. It’s good that the Cole Clark guitar is tank like and won’t go down the same road as Willie’s. But a pick hitting the wood and the woodwork being constantly drummed on is like chalk and cheese. Cheers Shep. I’ll look at the link.
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Oh…..Cheers for introducing me to Daniel Champagne. Did take a Quick Look and will go back for more later today. Love the rhythmic openings. 👍
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