'Shelspeshel' poker machine with tokens by Charles Shelley Proprietary Limited
Object No. 88/10
Because the use of gaming machines was illegal until 1956, the early history of the Australian poker machine industry is shrouded in mystery. The machines were tolerated to such an extent that at least four manufacturers were active in Sydney before 1956. The first of these seems to have been Charles Shelley Pty Ltd, which patented and made gaming machines during the 1940s. By 1950 Nutt & Muddle were manufacturing Jubilee machines. The short-lived Apex Amusement Company was also active by 1950 while the Ainsworth Dental Company (Aristocrat) began production about 1952. The Shelspeshel machine is a product of this period, when manufacturers and importers took advantage of legal uncertainty and official inaction regarding the use of poker machines in licensed clubs. Designed to be played with redeemable tokens rather than cash, the Shelspeshel was tuned to Sydney's sporting, professional, social and other clubs. Because of this role, these machines were often called 'trade stimulators' within the trade rather than pure gambling machines. Although this machine was produced during the 1940s its mechanism and functioning is identical to machines produced around 1900 by Mills and other US gaming machine manufacturers. Charles Pickett, curator.
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Summary
Object Statement
Poker machine with tokens, 'Shelspeshel', metal / plastic, by Charles Shelley Pty Ltd, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 1947
Physical Description
Poker machine and tokens, Shelspeshel, metal, Charles Shelley Pty Ltd, Australia, 1947 Poker machine, rectangular, red painted metal with angled top front edge with dial with coloured flags and five slots for coins, pulling arm at side. Red metal panel with lock lifts off to reveal green metal coin tray with coins:
DIMENSIONS
Height
365 mm
Width
380 mm
Depth
325 mm
PRODUCTION
Notes
Charles Shelley Pty Ltd imported and made poker machines in Sydney during the 1930s and 1940s. Shelley's primary market was sporting, social, services, professional and other clubs. Shelley sold or hired gaming machines to clubs, often taking a substantial share of the profits. Shelley usually supplied tokens for the machines. The use of tokens rather than cash added to the ambiguous legal status of gaming machines in clubs, the only venues in which poker machines were common during the 1930s and 1940s. The tokens were redeemed by the club for drinks, meals, cigars or cash. During the Pacific War hundreds of gaming machines were imported to Sydney by the US Army for the entertainment of US military personel. Shelley purchased many of these machines, renamed and recased them for the Australian market. The Shelspeshel appears to be one of the resulting products.
HISTORY
Notes
The 1906 NSW Gaming and Betting Act prohibited most forms of gambling in clubs and hotels. However the legal status of poker machines remained ambiguous in despite a 1921 Supreme Court ruling declaring illegal poker machines in hotels. In 1931 and 1939 the NSW Government ordered the removal of poker machines from clubs, but the decision was reversed on each occasion after protests from clubs. Meanwhile a 1932 NSW Royal Commission on 'Fruit Machines' found that Chief Secretary Gosling was offered bribes by Automatic Machines Ltd and other poker machine importers, and that he instructed that hotels and clubs with machines should not be prosecuted. From 1937 the prohibition on gaming machines in hotels and clubs was again enforced, yet In 1941 a police census found hundreds of illegal gaming machines in use in Sydney clubs.
SOURCE
Credit Line
Gift of Peterson, Reg, 1988
Acquisition Date
4 January 1988
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