"Queen of the Grog" - Kate Leigh When a product is in demand, but if for some reason is withheld by the State, the underworld will always step in to take over the distribution, and a classic example of this had its roots during World War One. From the 1880's, pubs in NSW had been allowed to trade until 11 pm each night, but during the early 1900's the Temperance Movement began to gather more power, and following disgraceful troops riots in February 1916, in which soldiers ransacked and drank dry several hotels in Liverpool and the city, the issue of 6 o'clock closing was put to the public in a referendum. Subsequently, 6 o'clock closing became law, and this stood for nearly 40 years until 10 o'clock closing was voted in in 1955. One of the earliest to see the potential created by early closing was Kate Leigh, a rough and tough lady who had been living on the fringes of the Sydney underworld, and was actually in Long Bay Gaol doing time for perjury when 6 o'clock closing come in. Kate arrived back on the streets in 1919, when she had just turned 39, and was quick to grasp the opportunities offered by the change in the law. The demand for grog after 6 pm was strong throughout Sydney, and no less than in Surry Hills where good honest working men developed a considerable thirst after their days toil. Kate lived in Riley Street, but set up 6 main beer distribution centres throughout Surry Hills, which became quickly known to the locals as well as patrons from all over Sydney, and of course, the police. As with all good businesses, the technique was simple but highly effective. Kate simply bought large quantities of bottled beer from the surrounding hotels during legal trading hours. She then stashed these at her sly grog shops, which were just rented terrace houses, with one of the main ones being 212 Devonshire Street, which still stands today. After 6 pm, customers would arrive and buy beer at a very healthy mark up, or if well known to Kate, could drink it on the premises, as long as their money held out. This arrangement quickly made Kate a very wealthy woman, and she branched out into wine and spirits to further bolster her fortunes. An astute businesswoman, she showed a real organisational talent for distribution and protection, and hired a large band of couriers to keep her supplies up to the considerable demand. She took to wearing diamond rings, and always carried several hundred pounds in her handbag to bail out any courier who happened to be arrested in the line of duty. Naturally all this activity attracted a great deal of police interest, and a running battle ensued between Kate and the law which was to last some 40 years, and Kate spent considerable time behind bars, which she merely regarded as a type of tax on her business. Eventually Kate racked up 107 criminal convictions in her specular career. More dangerous was the interest attracted from areas of the Sydney underworld, but here Kate was protected by her sheer fearlessness and animal courage. An example of this occurred when she had just turned 50, at 3am on March 27 1930, when one of Sydney's hot gunmen, Snowy Prendergast, accompanied by several mates, broke into her Riley Street terrace. Kate produced a rifle and shot Prendergast dead, putting others to flight. Kate got off that one, legitimately claiming self defence. She was also sensitive to bad publicity, and irritated by the tone of an article written about her in the Daily Telegraph, she paid the reporter a visit, accompanied by a well known stand-over man. In front of the reporter, Kate asked the thug "And what will we do with this nice boy if he writes anything more about poor Kate?" she asked. "We'll do him over, that's what" came the reply. The reporter got the hint. As the years rolled past, she became one of the top two queens of the Sydney underworld, only rivalled by the infamous Tilly Devine, who reigned supreme over organised prostitution in Sydney. It was a remarkable era in which two woman exercised an iron control over some of the most vicious and desperate hoodlums Sydney has ever seen, and this state of affairs was to continue for many years before old age and a changing society finally changed things around. Time finally caught up with Kate in 1955, when 10 o'clock closing arrived, and the demand for sly grog dropped sharply. In addition, the Tax Department was after her in a big way, and she ended up paying large slabs of her ill gotten gains back to the Government. She was eventually declared bankrupt, and lived the rest of her days quietly in Surry Hills, finally passing away in 1964. She had a royal send-off, attended by the who's-who of the Sydney underworld, and she was genuinely mourned by many people in "high and low places". "Queen of the Brothels" - Tilly Devine During the Firs World War, many an English maiden lost her heart to one of the thousands of Australian soldiers en route to the Western Front in France. However when Miss Matilda Twiss of London met and eventually married Private Jim Devine, formerly a sheerer from Victoria, in August 1917, no one could have predicted it would change the course of Sydney criminal history. For Matilda was soon to become widely known as the infamous Tilly Devine, queen of prostitution in Sydney, and along with Kate Leigh, one of the most significant figures in Australian crime during the first half of the twentieth century. The Devnes returned to Australia soon after the war, and set up house in Maroubra. However Tilly, attractive and clever, soon discovered that big money could be earnt from prostitution on the streets of 1920's Sydney, and she graduated from being an operator herself, to organising a string of brothels located along Palmer Street in Darlinghurst. During this era, many of the girls engaged in prostitution were "privateers", working for themselves and perhaps loosely and unreliably protected by a pimp boyfriend. But Tilly pioneered a high state of organisation in which she provided food, accommodation and protection for her charges in exchange for a fixed return per client. She housed her workers in a row of terraces in Palmer Street, and herself took up residence at number 191, from which she directed operations for many years during the thirties, forties and fifties. In an amazingly turbulent career she was convicted on 204 occasions, survived several shoot outs amongst her wild male companions, nearly killed an amorous admirer with a pair of scissors, and for a time became fabulously wealthy. Her "watering hole" was the Tradesman's Arms Hotel, just up the road from her bordellos, and this was also the haunt of the East Sydney underworld of the era. However it was the Taxation Office which eventually achieved what the police could never do, and she was virtually put out of business by the late 1950's. However, when she eventually died in 1970, she left a not inconsiderable estate of $11,000, so perhaps she was to have the last laugh. But Tully's position as an Australian crime queen will never be challenged, and along with her sly grog counterpart Kate Leigh, in nearby Surry Hills, formed a unique period in Sydney criminal history in which two woman virtually ran the show, and this circumstance has not been repeated since, and perhaps never will be.

Amanda, Thank you for posting this information. I heard a story recently which connects these two ladies with my Gt grandmother, and was about to start looking for information on them. Whilst I had heard of Tilly, I didn't know too much about her, and I had never heard of Kate. My Gt Grandparents (Robert & Kate Gordon) had the Hotel Gordon in Goulburn. I was visiting my aunt recently, and the hotel came up, and it was mentioned that Kate & Tilly were friends of my Gt grandmother, and were regular visitors at the hotel. Thanks again, Penny Gordon ----- Original Message ----- From: "Amanda Curran" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, September 17, 2001 9:59 AM Subject: [A.G.R. ] Queens of Crime-Sydney, NSW, Australia > "Queen of the Grog" - Kate Leigh > <snip> > > "Queen of the Brothels" - Tilly Devine > <snip>

Thankyou Amanda - I did enjoy these.... Sylvi > "Queen of the Grog" - Kate Leigh > > When a product is in demand, but if for some reason is withheld by the State, the underworld will always step in to take