Matriarch of the criminal underworld ... or the Robin Hood of inner Sydney?
The legend of Kate Leigh, Sydney's famed brothel madam, sly grog seller and drug dealer, has loomed large in TV's Underbelly and every other account of Sydney's criminal history from the 1920s to the 1960s. But she has never had a biography of her own.
Despite having more than 100 criminal convictions to her name, Kate Leigh is also remembered as a local hero, giving money to needy families and supporting her local community through the hard times of Depression and war. Here, novelist and historian Leigh Straw teases out the full story of how this wayward Reformatory girl from Dubbo made a fortune in eastern Sydney and defied the gender stereotyping of the time to become a leading underworld figure.
Watch Leigh Straw's interview with William Yeoman for the Seven West Travel Club website here
Matriarch of the criminal underworld ... or the Robin Hood of inner Sydney?
The legend of Kate Leigh, Sydney's famed brothel madam, sly grog seller and drug dealer, has loomed large in TV's Underbelly and every other account of Sydney's criminal history from the 1920s to the 1960s. But she has never had a biography of her own.
Despite having more than 100 criminal convictions to her name, Kate Leigh is also remembered as a local hero, giving money to needy families and supporting her local community through the hard times of Depression and war. Here, novelist and historian Leigh Straw teases out the full story of how this wayward Reformatory girl from Dubbo made a fortune in eastern Sydney and defied the gender stereotyping of the time to become a leading underworld figure.
Watch Leigh Straw's interview with William Yeoman for the Seven West Travel Club website here
A Bridgerton-inspired humorous Victorian romance featuring a defiant heroine who fights to escape a bad marriage, while her love for a forbidden man jeopardizes her chance at freedom.James Standish...
As one of the country’s favourite cultural icons, Ken Done requires no introduction. Straddling the worlds of design, illustration and fine art, his wildly evocative work captures the essence of...
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