Greta Massey was an energetic impostor, forger and hotel barber whose aliases included the surnames Gordon, Spencer, Crawford, Robins and Simpson as well as Nurse Campbell and Nurse Nicholas. NOTE: Only lines in the current paragraph are shown. The Worst Woman in Sydney: The Life and Crimes of Kate Leigh The NSW Police Archive quoted in Larry Writer's book is part admiring but mostly damning of Kate Leigh's role in the Sydney drug trade. Kate anglicised her part-Asian surname from Lee to Leigh, and she was mostly known by that name for the rest of her life, regardless of future marriages. Toggle navigation. <>]/P 530 0 R/Pg 526 0 R/S/Link>> [19] During her heyday, Kate Leigh owned and operated more than thirty different sly grog hotels at different locations in inner Sydney that generated thousands of pounds in profit annually. Suzanne Farrington was born Suzanne Holman, on October 12, 1933, at a nursing home at 8 Bulstrode Street in London, England. Woman Discharged for Surry Hills Shooting", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kate_Leigh&oldid=1151888838, People associated with Kings Cross, New South Wales, Short description is different from Wikidata, Use Australian English from September 2013, All Wikipedia articles written in Australian English, Self-contradictory articles from November 2013, Articles with unsourced statements from November 2013, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Gangster, brothel madam, cocaine trafficker, This page was last edited on 26 April 2023, at 21:30. Kate Leigh, pictured at her 2 Landsdowne Street,Surry Hills house with her second husband, sly grog dealer Teddy Barry dressed as Santa Claus for one of their generous Christmas gift givings, The walls of Kate Leigh's old house have been adorned with graffiti for many years now, Real estate agents say the house is ready for a complete renovation and is an opportunity for someone to tunr the old sly grog shop into a stunning property. NSW Police Forensic Photography Archive, Justice and Police Museum, Sydney Living Museums. Kathleen Mary Josephine (Kate) Leigh (1881-1964), crime entrepreneur, was born on 10 March 1881 at Dubbo, New South Wales, eighth child of native-born parents Timothy Beahan, bootmaker, and his wife Charlotte, ne Smith. She said she had been to prison 13 times, but 'never for prostitution' and that the police left her alone now because everything was now legitimate. The man on the far right in the back row may be Stephen Doyle, and the man to the left of him Kenneth McLelland (or McCrerrand). She swept into the building. [5] Leigh was remembered by the press as much for her patriotism during World War II and for generous charitable acts in support of the unemployed in harsh times as for her criminal history.[5]. The home where she lived on Devonshire Street - one of 20 properties she operated as sly grog shops, including three on the same Surry Hills street - is now up for sale. endobj It was Kate Leigh's final marriage and it lasted six months. endobj 457 0 obj "England & Wales General Register Office" GRO Online Indexes - Birth (accessed 16 July 2022) Leigh, Kate (Mother's maiden name: Vowles). [5], Leigh earned income, variously over these years, as a sly-grog trader, drug dealer, and as a madam;[5] she became a major New South Wales (NSW) underworld figure, and has been referred to as its "Queen of the Underworld. <>]/P 599 0 R/Pg 592 0 R/S/Link>> Kate Leigh was a leading figure in the notorious Sydney razor . endobj By the 1940s, Leigh was known as a larger than life character - wealthy, greedy, funny and generous to those she felt sorry for - whose name as a female criminal was rivalled only by another, Leigh's bitter foe, brothel queen Tilly Devine. <>]/P 546 0 R/Pg 545 0 R/S/Link>> It would be easy to assume that the controversy arose over the choice of name. Candace Sutton for Daily Mail Australia, Leigh was well-known among politicians and police officers, and well-liked by some, although she was called 'a sinister, shadowy character,' in the, The screen for King Charles' coronation anointing is revealed, Devastating tornado picks up car and hurls it through air in Florida, Ukraine drone strike hits major fuel depot in port Sevastopol, Women's rights activists and pro-trans campaigners separated, Historic chairs to be reused by the King for the coronation service, Hundreds of Household Division members rehearse for coronation, Russian freight train derails and bursts into flames after explosion, Cambridge students party in the park during annual celebrations, 'You motherf***ers don't understand': Bam Margera details 'turmoil', Moment large saltwater crocodile snatches pet dog off beach in QLD, Monstrous tornado seen bearing down on Palm Beach, Braverman: People crossing Channel are 'at odds with British values'. 266 0 obj The dilapidated Victorian terrace home in Surry Hills, an inner-city suburb of Sydney, is where Kate Leigh sold illegal substances to an assortment of character from politicians and upper class businessmen to thieves and prostitutes. 2021-10-05T08:39:08-07:00 <>/Font<>>>/Rotate 0/StructParents 13/Tabs/S/Type/Page>> Kate Leigh and Tilly Devine's criminal feud was the subject of a 13-episode true crime television drama on Australia's Nine Network, titled Underbelly: Razor, which was the fourth in the Underbelly anthology series, it screened between 21 August 2011 until 16 November. <>]/P 671 0 R/Pg 664 0 R/S/Link>> It is a tragic but terribly true thing a great percentage of fallen women who walk the pavements of Sydney are drug-takers.'. Ronald Frederick Schmidt, 13 June 1921. Enraged over his wifes participation in a Surry Hills based free love religious cult (variously called Abode of Love or Free Love Mission by the newspapers, or Apostolic Faith Mission by its leader), Daniel Ligores, Salvation Army cook, of 110 Palmer Street Darlinghurst, shot his wife Gertrude Grace Ligores dead at the missions premises in Holt Place, off Elizabeth Street, in late November 1920. application/pdf Veronica Olive Moisa. [24] Kate Leigh was sentenced to 6 months imprisonment on 7 September 1942 for having sold liquor without a licence at 13 Pearl Street and 2 Lansdowne Street, Surry Hills. She gave birth to her only child when she was 23 years old, a daughter named Suzanne, and returned to acting afterward. Langby was charged with stealing watches, clothing and money from shops and with stealing a motorcycle and sidecar. The home at 212 Devonshire Street - one of 20 properties she operated as sly grog shops, including three on the same Surry Hills street was purchased during an auction on Saturday afternoon for more than the initial asking price of around $1 million. But it also leads to repetition, some of which can seem like padding. She was a leading figure in the notorious Sydney razor gang wars. [5], Leigh also exploited the passage of the Dangerous Drugs Amendment Act 1927 in NSW by providing lucrative illicit criminal distribution networks for the high-demand cocaine it criminalised. [4] They separated in 1905 when Lee was imprisoned for assault and robbery. They were called 'Mum's' as an allusion to the pass code of calling around 'to see Mum'. Horoscope Sagittarius. 479 0 obj <>]/P 539 0 R/Pg 526 0 R/S/Link>> (To remove the stigma of his Chinese name, she changed it to Leigh.) endobj <>]/P 661 0 R/Pg 651 0 R/S/Link>> 39. In stark contrast to Devine, who moved to seaside Maroubra when she could afford to, Leigh stuck with her working-class suburb, and when she died she was mourned. Eileen May Ranson formerly Beahan aka Beaham, Leigh, Earle, Byrnes Born 1900 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia Ancestors Daughter of [father unknown] and Catherine Mary Josephine (Beahan) Ryan [sibling (s) unknown] [spouse (s) unknown] [children unknown] Died 12 May 1987 at about age 87 in Zetland, New South Wales, Australia None of the names appears in the Police Gazette except for Dangar, which turns out to be an alias for Owen Patrick Brosnan, (also known as Brosnahan, or Brosner), a false pretender and suspected person. The family was poor, as many were at that time, and like most kids in poor neighbourhoods, urban or rural, Kate spent her days playing in the street and looking after her two younger brothers. Alice Joyce Hamilton. Every school lunch hour they cram her shop, laughing at her jokes. Feminism in the 1980s was a complicated matter, as it is now. The subjects are not named, but the woman on the left is believed to be Eileen Leigh or Barry (daughter of Kate Leigh). The Worst Woman in Sydney: The Life and Crimes of Kate Leigh. endobj <>]/P 687 0 R/Pg 677 0 R/S/Link>> 199 0 obj A judge in 1933 (above, left) says that criminal Kate Leigh 'has a good side' when she appeared in court on a charge of receiving stolen goods, whereas in 1953 (above, right) a magistrate declares Leigh's Surry Hills residence' a disorderly house'. In the eyes of decent society, they were both bad women, and very clever to boot, and which of them was the worst was the source of endless speculation. ', The comments below have not been moderated, By 37 0 obj 340 0 obj Straw deals with this in not always satisfactory ways. endobj <>]/P 507 0 R/Pg 503 0 R/S/Link>> Occasionally she was arrested for robbery, theft or, like in 1943 when police found 1001 bottles of beer, 84 bottles of whisky and one bottle of win underneath the floorboards of her Surry Hills house. 292 0 obj 422 0 obj [5] He was charged in 1916, at age 16, with Shooting At, With Intent To Murder[7] and had a reputation as a tough standover criminal by the late 1920s. In 1905, Lee was imprisoned for assault and robbery and Kate was accused of lying under oath to protect her husband and convicted of perjury and for being an accomplice to the assault. The Nine network dramatised the book in the series Underbelly Razor, portraying Leigh and Devine as glamorous figures. Catherine Mary Josephine Ryan (ne Beahan; aka Lee, Barry; preferred names Kathleen or Kate; 10 March 1881 - 4 February 1964) generally known as Kate Leigh was an Australian underworld figure who rose to prominence as an illegal trader of alcohol and cocaine dealer from her home in Surry Hills, Sydney, Australia during the first half of the <>]/P 576 0 R/Pg 575 0 R/S/Link>> Clever and unscrupulous enough to know that once a victim is made, she becomes a sure customer for life. endobj 324 0 obj Mrs Ryan, who was reported to be about 84, died on Tuesday night in St Vincent's Hospital. Its hard to believe, entering it now, that its beginnings were so bedevilled by vilification and controversy. B. Smith, Gertrude Thompson and Vera McDonald The women in the case were eventually put on good behaviour bonds. <>]/P 652 0 R/Pg 651 0 R/S/Link>> Born: Kathleen Mary Josephine Beahan 10 March 1881. About time, I say. Protected by a team of bashers and gunmen, and her own fearsome reputation, Leigh was a flamboyant and sometimes vicious character who by the mid 1920s was being called 'the most evil woman in Sydney'. Page 11 - EILEEN LEIGH STILL HERE. 25 January 1928. Her conviction was overturned on appeal, but the marriage was over. He received 12 months hard labour on each charge. Leigh wrote few letters and never kept a journal; her profession necessitated a degree of secrecy, never mind her limited education. Number 212 was the largest and known as 'Mum's'. 236 0 obj It centred on the stipulation that the cafe was for women. One of the walls in the dilapidatedhouse once occupied by the queen of the underworld, Kate Leigh, Sydney criminal Frank Green, whose prison file is pictured (above) was an associate of Kate Leigh's during her long criminal career as a drug and sly grog dealer. 197 0 obj However, Leigh was imprisoned on drug-related charges. 421 0 obj The man on the far right in the back row may be Stephen Doyle, and the man to the left of him Kenneth McLelland (or McCrerrand). 15. He is described as being five foot seven in height, and of fresh complexion; a blacksmith by trade. By the age of 15, Kate married her first husband, Jack Lee, a half Chinese illegal bookmaker and petty criminal. Eliza Dimmock. But as long as theres a fight on our hands, we will disrupt things and be deemed ugly, even bad. Fri 25 Mar 1932 - Arrow (Sydney, NSW : 1916 - 1933), A POWERFUL car, with a chauffeur at the wheel, pulled up at, 'The Arrow' office one day during the week, and out stepped, 'I'm Mrs. Eileen Earle, and daughter of Kate Leigh,' she, 'You've got a story in your paper of how I lived on little, Fay Gurner, and then left her to die a lonely death in Mel-, bourne, and be buried in a pauper's grave. endobj For all their notoriety, and the fact that their stories are strewn through a variety of sources, neither Tilly Devine nor Kate Leigh has ever been honoured with a book-length biography before, possibly because of problems Ill come to. [2] She died on 4 February 1964 at St Vincent's Hospital in Darlinghurst, and her funeral was held on 7 February at St Peter's Catholic Church in Devonshire Street, Surry Hills and was attended by over 700 mourners. This negative was found wrapped in a paper sleeve on which is written: Group of criminals, Central 1921. , updated Kate Leigh was living at 212 Devonshire from 1951. 323 0 obj Tilly Devine was one of two legendary Sydney crime bosses distinguished by the fact of their sex. 438 0 obj Her childhood and teenaged years included childhood neglect, time in a girls' home at age 12, and an out-of-wedlock pregnancy; her daughter Eileen May Beahan was born in 1900. . AppendPDF Pro 6.3 Linux 64 bit Aug 30 2019 Library 15.0.4 photocopies or electronic copies of newspapers pages. Vintage Hollywood. The Police Gazette Photo Supplement of August 1925 lists him as Podmore, Alfred. endobj uuid:c25d1d93-b261-11b2-0a00-301c7d020000 endobj endobj [5] Appearing in courtrooms with flamboyantly expensive clothes and diamonds, her wealth was legendary. Ms Leigh had established her lucrative sly grog business well before then, capitalising on the 1916 edict by the then NSW Premier, who following a riot of pub crawling World War I soldiers, called a state of emergency and closed Sydney's pubs after 6pm. GRO Reference: 1897 Jan-Feb-Mar in Axbridge Volume 05C Page 485. Kate Leigh, or Kathleen Barry as she was known during her marriage to small time crim and sly grog dealer Teddy Barry, sold cocaine, other opiates and operated a brothel but she was best know. Kathleen Mary Josephine Leigh (ne Beahan; 10 March 1881 - 4 February 1964) (other names included Kathleen Barry, and Kathleen Ryan) was an Australian underworld figure who rose to prominence as an illegal trader of alcohol and cocaine from her home in Surry Hills, Sydney, Australia during the first half of the twentieth century. But despite the biographys shortcomings, she has succeeded in presenting us with a character whos more good than evil a woman who is the product of an impoverishment difficult for us to imagine, who had the grit to overcome it, and who repaid with loyalty the community that supported her. The Nine network dramatized the book in the series Underbelly Razor, portraying Ms Leigh and Ms Devine as glamorous figures. So while all biographies require a degree of imagination, hers would demand more than most. <>]/P 684 0 R/Pg 677 0 R/S/Link>> Every school lunch hour they cram her shop, laughing at her jokes. Born Kathleen Beehan in Dubbo in 1887, Leigh was eighth in a family of ten children. 36 0 obj Was it really because Tilly like Kate, her rival was successful in a field where men dominated? The industrial school was merely the latest iteration of the infamous Parramatta Female Factory, established soon after white settlement to house the most refractory of the female convicts. 1 likes, 1 comments - Kasey Leigh (@kasey._._.leigh) on Instagram: " It's cover reveal day for BETWEEN NEVER AND FOREVER by @britbensonwritesbooks releasing June . Kathleen Mary Josephine Leigh (ne Beahan; 10 March 1881 4 February 1964) (other names included Kathleen Barry, and Kathleen Ryan) was an Australian underworld figure who rose to prominence as a madam, illegal trader of alcohol and cocaine, and for running betting/gambling syndicates from her home in Surry Hills, Sydney, Australia during the first half of the twentieth century. Smith was fined 20 pounds; Jones was sentenced to 18 months hard labour. 322 0 obj Her funeral at St Peter's Catholic Church in Devonshire Street, just up the road from her home, was attended by 700 people, including the police and politicians she had known during her career. <>stream Such a nice, agreeable dame! 13. The problem lies with the sources. Barry (43) the daughter of Kate was shot through the right arm in her home in O'Sullivan Street, Surry Hills . Photo: Katherine Heigl Instagram. 186 0 obj Such a nice, agreeable dame! | ISSN 1837-0497, Sara Ahmeds celebration of the feminist killjoy continues, Australias impassioned worries about China are in tension with better relations in the Pacific. endobj In 1936, newly appointed Sydney Police Commissioner MacKay warned them both to tone down the violence or else risk serious imprisonment. The shots were immediately taken right after these men and women were plucked from the street, so the photos were taken with the drama surrounding their 'apprehension' still in the air, which probably explains the expressions on their faces. Tilleys was the quintessential feminist project; the tables, so to speak, were turned. 237 0 obj Cornford was charged with stealing watches, clothing and money from a shop and with stealing two separate motorcycles and sidecars. He appears in the NSW Criminal Register (24 September 1930) as a thief and petty larcenist. Some of its ground floor interiors resembling the original terrace which Kate Leigh inhabited until 1964 when her fortune had dwindled and she died, Graffiti on the walls and an old poker machine in the living area at the back of 212 Devonshire Street, Mug shot: Pictured at Central Police Station after one of her many arrests, Ms Liegh still cut a stylish figure, A number of musicians have lived or visited the home in the decades since Ms Leigh's 1964. [25], Leigh was undoubtedly one of Sydney's wealthiest women during the 1930s and 1940s but the Taxation Office sent her into bankruptcy in 1954 for unpaid income tax and fines dating back to 1942. appeared to be in the pink of good health. Nothing she did improved the status of women; indeed, it could be argued that she made the lives of many worse. <>]/P 618 0 R/Pg 611 0 R/S/Link>> She began committing petty crimes with her siblings at a young age, and was sent to a reformatory school. Smith and Jones were charged with stealing seven packages of twine valued at 14 pounds. Paragraph operations are made directly in the full article text panel located to the left.Paragraph operations include: Zone operations are made directly in the full article text panel located to the left.Zone operations include: Please choose from the following download options: The National Library of Australia's Copies Direct service lets you purchase higher quality, larger sized H/T The Justice & Police Museum/Historic Households Trust | TwistedSifter, If you like this post you may also enjoy 21 Vintage Police Mugshots That Prove 1920s Gangsters Were Really Badass, The Justice & Police Museum/Historic Households Trust. Following his trial, Kate Leigh was convicted of perjury and for being an accomplice to the assault, after being accused of lying under oath to protect her husband; her conviction was overturned on appeal. <> daughter. Frank McGowan, Robert McFarlane and John Dennis McFarlane, 23 May 1921. endobj <>]/P 500 0 R/Pg 493 0 R/S/Link>> ''She is popular with the kids, particularly with her Christmas gifts. The bottom floor of the building houses a caf called 'Sly' that has leased the space until July and the remaining floors of the three-floor terrace are prime for renovation, according to the realtors First national Spencer and Servi. Samuels, Harold Fletcher and M P (Mick) Ryan were three of twenty men and one woman arrested at an International Anti-Imperialism Day demonstration in Martin Place, Sydney, on 1 August, 1930. endobj Bernstein, alias L Berman, was the subject of a warrant issued in early 1929 charged with obtaining a diamond ring value 14 pounds by false pretences from an Oxford Street jeweller. [5], Her third and last marriage was at St John's Anglican Church, Fremantle, on 18 January 1950, to old friend and convicted criminal Ernest Alexander "Shiner" Ryan. The NSW Police Gazette 29 October 1930, p. 827 lists Blake as charged with having cocaine unlawfully in her possession. She was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment and fined 250 pounds. Valerie Lowe and Joseph Messenger were were charged with breaking and entering a dwelling in 1922. Clever and unscrupulous enough to know that once a victim is made, she becomes a sure customer for life. 213 0 obj Her conviction was overturned on appeal, but the marriage was over. Eventually they were allowed to come on their own. It quoted her saying she and Tilly Devine had buried their rivalry in their old age. endobj <>]/P 579 0 R/Pg 575 0 R/S/Link>> The NSW Police Gazette of 30 January 1924 mentions Eileen May Burt, 18, being sentenced to seven days hard labour for stealing, but released under the first offender provisions of the Crimes Act, and charged to be of good behaviour for 12 months. Kate Leigh is a brand that celebrates women and girls, but also especially mothers and daughters. Safe-blower &c and he appears again in a photo supplement of 1927 as Podmore, Alfred alias Matthew Campbell. ', A newspaper report from May 1943 reports that police have raided Kate Leigh's Surry Hills house, finding 1001 bottles of beer and 84 bottles of whisky under the floorboards, Underbelly Razor cast beautiful actresses in the roles of Tillt Devine (in the red hat ) and Kate Leigh (in the black) hat in a glamourised version of the razor gang era, The article said Ms Leigh's 'official' occupation was shop keeper of a mixed business from the Surry Hills house and that 'she gives money to the Salvation Army and to church charities. Leigh, Kathleen Mary (Kate) (1881-1964) A former N.S.W. Lessee Joe Bezzina was charged with being the keeper of a house frequented by reputed thieves, and some of the others were charged with assault, and with being found in a house frequented by reputed thieves.
Unrecognized Vm Option 'cmsclassunloadingenabled' Sbt,
Jillian Escoto Child Actor,
Articles E