I came across this image by Ruth Hollick in my favourite image hunting
ground, the State Library of Victoria.

http://tdu.to/283_ElizabethSt_1940s-RuthHollick.jpg

It's just post war and not an uncommon subject.

What caught my eye was the awning of the shop at right - The Small Arms
Co - so I did a Google search and found a couple of items.

The best was a a story told in a book about the 1906 making of what was
arguably the world's first feature film "The Story of the Kelly Gang".

It seems that an actor who was playing the role of Dan Kelly was issued
with an old style pistol for his role and it was suggested that he find
some blank cartridges. He went to Edments (whom I remember as a
jeweller not a gun shop!) but they could not help and suggested the
Small Arms Co - who duly supplied the blank cartridges. On his way
home, the actor called in to Edments to thank the sales rep for their
advice and took out the cartridges to show the saleman.

You can guess what haeppened next.

A passer by saw the weapon and called the police, who duly arrested our
actor and put him in the cells at the old Russell St police station.

When he protested his innocence and explained that he was an actor
playing Dan Kelly, the Irish policement told him he should be very
happy. He would spend the night in the same cell that once held members
of the Kelly gang.

Mal Rowe - with a new understaning of 'method acting'