<>]/P 586 0 R/Pg 582 0 R/S/Link>> [citation needed] The two women physically fought one another on numerous occasions and their respective gangs conducted pitched battles in Eaton Avenue and Kellet Street, King's Cross in May and August 1929. Later that year a warrant was issued for her having breached those conditions and a further entry in October lists her as having been arrested and charged, but then released with a caution. Or was it about something more? 405 0 obj 324 0 obj When cocaine was outlawed in 1927, Leigh sold both, at at huge profits. (The warrants related to a squatting case in Clovelly, which was to be a forerunner to the more famous eviction battles in Newtown, Glebe and Bankstown) The Sun reports that as the police van drove away, lusty strains of the Red Flag were heard from within. She said she had been to prison 13 times, but 'never for prostitution' and that the police left her alone now because everything was legitimate. biography 304 0 obj 6 0 obj In Larry Writer's book Razor, he writes that in the 1960s, Ms Leigh was still living at the Devonshire home but was impoverished because after hours grog had been legalised. The Police Gazette Photo Supplement of August 1925 lists him as Podmore, Alfred. endobj endobj endobj The women in the case were eventually put on good behaviour bonds. The Worst Woman in Sydney: The Life and Crimes of Kate Leigh. 268 0 obj Convicted for having cocaine in her possession, for which she was fined ten pounds. <>]/P 484 0 R/Pg 689 0 R/S/Link>> 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. By the age of 15, Kate married her first husband, Jack Lee, a half Chinese illegal bookmaker and petty criminal. The world would be a better place for it, for feminism is a movement about justice. uuid:c25d1d94-b261-11b2-0a00-90068915fc7f Clever and unscrupulous enough to know that once a victim is made, she becomes a sure customer for life. Kate Leigh is a brand that celebrates women and girls, but also especially mothers and daughters. endobj Safeblower., 32. After alcohol sales in pubs were banned in 1916, drinkers would come to 212 Devonshire Street (pictured) and Leigh's fleet of illegal grog shops throughout the inner suburbs. "I'm Mrs. Eileen Earle, and daughter of Kate Leigh," she . 12. Harry Chapman was charged with stealing a motor cycle and side car (value 175 pounds) and a till containing money, value 17s. Known as 'Mum's', Ms Leighs largest home was protected by a team of bashers and gunmen, and her own fearsome reputation. The subjects are not named, but the woman on the left is believed to be Eileen Leigh, daughter of Kate Leigh. endobj We are no longer accepting comments on this article. 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. Go ask Julia Gillard or Hillary Clinton. 35 0 obj [4], Kate married for the second time on 26 September 1922, to a Western Australian-born musician Edward Joseph 'Teddy' Barry (18921948), a sly-grog dealer and small-time criminal. endobj 390 0 obj The gallery was packed with friends of the accused, who loudly jeered the prosecution and police witnesses. Yet other sources were hard to come by. By then, in 1964, both she and Devine had already lost control of the crime scene to newcomers like Abe Saffron. Eileen Leigh (played by Izzy Stevens) with mother Kate Leigh (played by Danielle Cormack) on Underbelly: Razor. endobj 'Broke and embattled, Kate did her best to earn a little money, selling illegal alcohol from friends' homes and rented rooms,' the book says, but the NSW Government had put her out of business in 1955 by extending hotel trading hours to 10pm. <>]/P 645 0 R/Pg 641 0 R/S/Link>> Fitch also went on to become an active member of the Sydney underworld (see Mug shot of Alfred Fitch in this collection). In 1922, her second husband, John Barry, endobj Kate married for the second time on 26 September 1922, to a Western Australian-born musician Edward Joseph 'Teddy' Barry (1892-1948), a sly-grog dealer and small time criminal. Such a nice, agreeable dame! [1], Leigh was born on 10 March 1881 in Dubbo, New South Wales, the eighth child of Roman Catholic parents Timothy Beahan, a boot-maker, and his wife Charlotte (ne Smith). Reputedly she was neglected and at 12 was incarcerated in Parramatta Industrial School for Girls. 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 Nine network dramatized the book in the series Underbelly Razor, portraying Ms Leigh and Ms Devine as glamorous figures. She anglicised her name to Leigh and by 1922 she was married to sly grog dealer Teddy Barry. Dubbo . 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. Jones was further charged with stealing thirty horse rugs valued at 15 pounds and two bales of kapok valued 20 pounds. With women like these, Im suggesting, we are entering the realm of archetypes. 355 0 obj [8] They were separated six months later, and Ryan died in Western Australia in 1954. The subjects are not named, but the woman on the left is believed to be Eileen Leigh or Barry (daughter of Kate Leigh). 371 0 obj Numerous charges were heard against the 15 men and women arrested. <>]/P 583 0 R/Pg 582 0 R/S/Link>> You have corrected this article This article has been corrected by You and other Voluntroves This article has . ', The comments below have not been moderated, By <>]/P 655 0 R/Pg 651 0 R/S/Link>> Leigh was born on 10 March 1881 in Dubbo, New South Wales, the eighth child of Roman Catholic parents Timothy Beahan, a boot-maker, and his wife Charlotte (ne Smith). 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. No entry for Reid appears in the NSW Police Gazette for this date, but he is cited there nine months later as having been released on license following a conviction for assault in January, and for unlawfully supplying cocaine in February. endobj 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. At its peak, Leigh ran at least twenty[contradictory] bootleg outlets. Since you've made it this far, we want to assume you're a real, live human. Smith and Jones were charged with stealing seven packages of twine valued at 14 pounds. Clever and unscrupulous enough to know that once a victim is made, she becomes a sure customer for life. [31] She was survived by her daughter, Eileen May Ranson (ne Beahan, 19001987). <>]/P 572 0 R/Pg 565 0 R/S/Link>> SIX months ago that undesirable woman, Eileen Leigh, daughter of the notorious Kate Leigh, . <>]/P 539 0 R/Pg 526 0 R/S/Link>> endobj [20] This house was also used by Leigh as her main illegal hotel or Sly-grog shop during this time and was known in Sydney as the Lansdowne Hotel, not to be confused with the legal 'Lansdowne Hotel' in City Road, Broadway. GRO Reference: 1897 Jan-Feb-Mar in Axbridge Volume 05C Page 485. She was beloved for her acts of charity, including providing bail for first offenders to keep them from lives of crime, and hosting annual Christmas parties for the Surry Hills children. [26] Leigh's Statement of Affairs was given at a Bankruptcy Court hearing in Sydney on 30 September 1954 as "Assets of 1960 consisting of furniture and three properties in Devonshire Street". son. The subjects are not named, but the woman on the left is believed to be Eileen Leigh or Barry (daughter of Kate Leigh). 20. Katherine Heigl is raising her three kids away from the spotlight. C Smith, Joseph Bezzina, William J Williamson, Aiden Feutrill, George Hodder, William Thorson, 25 January 1928. Wounded Man's Death", "Underworld Feud. The D prefix on the serial number indicates that the photograph was taken on behalf of the Drug Bureau, which in the late 1920s consisted of two men, Detectives Wickham and Thompson. 323 0 obj Tarlington went on to become a well-known criminal and was eventually shot dead in St Peters by Myles Henry Face McKeon, who was himself later shot dead in Chippendale. She began committing petty crimes with her siblings at a young age, and was sent to a reformatory school. 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. endobj Celebrating Kate: The criminal-celebrity of Sydney underworld figure, Kate Leigh endobj had, and I want my version of the story published.' 236 0 obj In 1923 Lowe was finally convicted of breaking into a house at Enfield and stealing money and jewellery worth 40 pounds. 697 0 obj 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. Hunter is listed in the NSW Police Gazette, 1924 as charged, along with William Munro, with receiving stolen goods to the value of 536 pounds 4 shillings and 1 penny, from Snows department store. She was known for her continuing feud with fellow vice-regal underworld figure Tilly Devine, a madam based at Woolloomooloo, as well as her acts of generosity for the unemployed during a repressive era, and her wartime patriotism. <>]/P 559 0 R/Pg 555 0 R/S/Link>> 'Broke and embattled, Kate did her best to earn a little money, selling illegal alcohol from friends' homes and rented rooms,' the book says, but the NSW Government had put her out of business in 1955 by extending hotel trading hours to 10pm. 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. Tilly Devine was one of two legendary Sydney crime bosses distinguished by the fact of their sex. Spencer Cornford, 19, was one of a group of seven young men (see also Sidney Langby) convicted in early 1925 of a series of break and enters. Books | Was Kate Leigh a bad woman, the worst in Sydney? Hollywood Icons. Ronald Frederick Schmidt, 13 June 1921. 372 0 obj Crichton was bound over to appear for sentence if called upon within three years.. 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. NSW Police Forensic Photography Archive, Justice and Police Museum, Sydney Living Museums. Suzanne was born a month premature, in less than a year of the couple's marriage. endobj endobj A mutual friend invited me over to her house which was in the bush on an island . Thomas Bernard Hooper (39), Harold George Hooper (34), Vera Crichton, (23), and Nancy Cowman (19) are listed in the NSW Police Gazette 24 March 1924 as having been charged with conspiring together to procure a miscarriage on Isabella Higgs. Thomas Sutherland Jones and William Smith, 15 July 1921. The NSW Police also intensively policed incoming vessels for overseas cocaine suppliers in 193839, but it was naval transit restrictions associated with the World War II that led to devastating interruptions of Leigh's overseas cocaine supply.[12]. <>]/P 668 0 R/Pg 664 0 R/S/Link>> <>]/P 520 0 R/Pg 513 0 R/S/Link>> Frederick Arthur Leigh. daughter. <>]/P 556 0 R/Pg 555 0 R/S/Link>> 267 0 obj ', 'I want you to get this straight, I was the best friend Fay ever. 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. More good than evil? 407 0 obj <>]/P 549 0 R/Pg 545 0 R/S/Link>> Moreover, she is the eldest daughter of the family and has two younger siblings; a sister and a brother. She was previously married to Mark Pavlakovich. 9. 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. That relationshipwhich featured prominently in an Australian television drama on Leigh's role in the razor gang warsended with Tomlinson's departure, and Leigh then pursued a de facto relationship from 1932 to 1949 with her business partner, Henry 'Jack' Baker (18971965). [5], She lived in a terrace house at 2 Lansdowne Street, Surry Hills from 1933 until the house was demolished in 1950. 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. Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mr W. R. Lawrence, will attend the funeral of former Sydney underworld identity Mrs Kathleen Ryan, also known as Kate Leigh. 2021-10-05T08:39:08-07:00 36 0 obj Ms Leigh was well-known among politicians and police officers, and well-liked by some, although she was called 'a sinister, shadowy character,' in the NSW Police Force Archives, according to an extract in Larry Writer's book. <>]/P 533 0 R/Pg 526 0 R/S/Link>> harvnb error: no target: CITEREFAllen1986 (, harvnb error: no target: CITEREFBlaike1980 (, harvnb error: no target: CITEREFWriter2009 (, "Underworld Crime In Surry Hills. From the early 1920s to the 1940s, men crowded the streets outside her establishments at nightfall on Friday and Saturday nights to gain entry and purchase alcohol. 1 The man third from the left in the same row may be the pickpocket and three-card trickster Frederick Mewson, and the man far left in the front row is likely the pickpocket Norman Smith. 6d, in league with Harold (Tarlow) Tarlington (15) and Alfred Fitch (17). endobj Another view of thre makeshift kitchen inside 212 Devonshire Street Surry Hills, the Sydney property that was a sly grog shop and drug den in the 1940s, Bitter lifelong rivals Kate Leigh (above, left) and brothel madam Tilly Devine (above right) made up in later years when the two crime queens were nearing the end of their careers, Kate Leigh was living in 212 Devonshire Street, Surry Hils (pictured from the 1950s right up until her death from a stroke in 1964, when she was 82 years old. <>stream This photograph was taken after she was arrested for defrauding one Henry Placings in Sydney of 106 pounds, by borrowing against a forged cheque, for which she received a years imprisonment. endobj There are the police records but they are sparse; Leigh was adept at keeping clear of the law. Anybody thirsty after then would come to her home, and Ms Leigh's fleet of illegal grog shops throughout the inner suburbs. 420 0 obj The comments below have not been moderated. pital authorities were ever in touch with. Erin Eileen Leigh is the author of Navigating the Newborn Months and Beyond: A Mother's Guide to Routine, Sleep, Fussiness and Self-Care. , Topics: More Genealogy Tools. Leigh Straw has set herself the task, and it hasnt been easy. Valerie Lowe and Joseph Messenger were were charged with breaking and entering a dwelling in 1922. <>]/P 500 0 R/Pg 493 0 R/S/Link>> Leigh was also personally involved in violence, though she was never convicted of any such offense. Draped in furs and dripping with diamonds, she willingly used the feminine wiles that we feminists emphatically rejected. <>]/P 684 0 R/Pg 677 0 R/S/Link>> It was Kate Leigh's final marriage and it lasted six months. 'She is tougher than most men, can punch, bite and gouge with the fierce courage of an animal,' the magazine wrote. I noticed an old photograph in her lounge and commented on it and said how much it looked like Vivien Leigh. endobj Charles Frank Bottin. . Tv Actors. <>]/P 687 0 R/Pg 677 0 R/S/Link>> Arrow (Sydney, NSW : 1916 - 1933), Fri 25 Mar 1932, endobj Leigh had originally come from the central western NSW town of Dubbo where, as Kathleen Beahan, one of eight children of a Catholic bootmaker, she had been put in a girls' home at the age of 12 and gave birth to her first child, Eileen, the following year, in 1900. 186 0 obj The Worst Woman in Sydney: The Life and Crimes of Kate Leigh 39 0 obj On January 31, 1964, Ms Leigh suffered a stroke at her home and was taken to St Vincents Hospital where she died on February 4, aged 82. 438 0 obj 253 0 obj Although she never drank alcohol or took drugs, Leigh happily dealt in both and acted as a stand over merchant, sold stolen property and occasionally shoplifted. <>]/P 635 0 R/Pg 628 0 R/S/Link>> He was an illegal bookmaker and petty criminal.They separated in 1905 when he was imprisoned for assault and robbery. endobj The house at Devonshire Street, Surry Hills, as pictured in the real estate advertisement for its sale, At the age of only 13, Kate Leigh gave birth to a daughter, Eileen, who is believed to be the woman in the white hat (pictured, above) in a group shot of criminals at Central Police station early last century, 'Kate's only income was what she could scrounge occasionally hiring out hand-carts to vegetable and fruit hawkers for two shillings and sixpence a day.'. [690 0 R] "England & Wales General Register Office" GRO Online Indexes - Birth (accessed 16 July 2022) Leigh, Kate (Mother's maiden name: Vowles). endobj Could it have been that trivial? 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 endobj 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. <>]/P 599 0 R/Pg 592 0 R/S/Link>> Thomas Maria, Arthur Wyatt, and Patrick Dangar (alias Brosnan), c. 1920. Kate's daughter Eileen also used the name 'Leigh' until she married in 1920. Search. She was the eighth child born to the couple and her childhood included many years of neglect. 1 0 obj Straw deals with this in not always satisfactory ways. endobj 439 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). So while all biographies require a degree of imagination, hers would demand more than most. By the 1950s, in her seventies, Leigh had become a matriarch of her community, the model for Delie Stock in Ruth Parks Harp in the South. She married three times but, unsurprisingly, none of the marriages stuck. ''She is popular with the kids, particularly with her Christmas gifts. 233 0 obj 198 0 obj endobj By endobj Leigh wrote few letters and never kept a journal; her profession necessitated a degree of secrecy, never mind her limited education. 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. Please enable JavaScript in your browser to get the full Trove experience. 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 Hazel McGuinness was charged along with her mother Ada McGuiness with having cocaine (in substantial quantities) illegally in her possession. And even when women are as meek as were supposed to be, theres a fascination there, all the greater perhaps because weve been conforming. 26. The house known as 'Mum's' (pictured) has fallen into a dilapidated state. Her father Jack was a boot- and shoemaker, her mother Charlotte worked at home (and with a family of ten to look after, worked very hard). son. Leigh married James Ernest 'Jack' Leigh in 1902. The home where Sydneys Queen of the Underworld sold drugs and illegal booze for decades sold on Saturday for $1.7million nearly double its listed price. | books | crime | women, 2023 Inside Story and contributors 38 0 obj 31. Click on current line of text for options. 353 0 obj Please enable JavaScript in your browser to get the full Trove experience. He also steals laundered articles from clothes lines. 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. <>]/P 354 0 R/Pg 602 0 R/S/Link>> A report on the Martin Place demonstration in the Sun tells how police arrested the leaders before the demonstration truly got started (REDS IN MARTIN PLACE / POLICE NIP DEMONSTRATION IN BUD), claiming to have commital warrants against them. Zach Giroux/Staff. %PDF-1.7 % 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.
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