# The Racketty Street Gang

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Book by L. H. Evers

The Racketty Street Gang Author L. H. Evers Language English Genre Children's fiction Publisher Hodder & Stoughton Publication date 1961 Publication place Australia Media type Print Pages 189pp Preceded by Make Way for Tomorrow Followed by Danny's Wonderful Uncle

***The Racketty Street Gang*** (1961) is a novel for children by Australian author [L. H. Evers](/source/L._H._Evers). It was joint winner of the [Children's Book of the Year Award: Older Readers](/source/Children's_Book_of_the_Year_Award%3A_Older_Readers) in 1962.[1]

## Plot outline

The novel is set in an old Sydney harbour suburb and follows the exploits of a group of young buys who attempt to clear the name of the father of one of them from a war disgrace.

## Critical reception

In a round-up of books of the time a reviewer in *The Canberra Times* in 1961 called the book "a remarkably good yarn". They went on to say: "The author obviously knows these parts well, and his perceptive comments give life and depth to this story...Boys and girls are almost bound to enjoy this story, which I hope finds its way into the list of books for consideration for the 1961 Book of the Year Award."[2]

## Television adaptation

The novel was adapted for Australian television over six episodes in 1961. The adaptation was written and directed by [Dorothea Brooking](/source/Dorothea_Brooking) and featured [John Abineri](/source/John_Abineri) in the role of Stephan Smertzer.[3]

## See also

- [1961 in Australian literature](/source/1961_in_Australian_literature)

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Award Winners", *The Canberra Times*, 7 July 1962, p17](http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article131726266)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["For the Giants of the Past - And the Future" *The Canberra Times*, 29 July 1961, p14](http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article103082220)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** [IMDB - *The Racketty Street Gang*](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0756189/)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [The Racketty Street Gang](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Racketty_Street_Gang) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Racketty_Street_Gang?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.