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Kate Leigh
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Kate Leigh
Kathleen Mary Josephine Leigh (née 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. Leigh, known as the 'Queen of Surry Hills’, was a sly groger and fence for stolen property. She was also known as the 'Snow Queen' due to her being the largest supplier of cocaine in Sydney.
She was a leading figure in the notorious Sydney razor gang wars. 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.
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 (née Smith). 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.
Leigh married James Ernest (Jack) Lee (or Leigh) (1882–1959) on 2 May 1902. Lee was born in Tumut to a Chinese father and an Australian born mother, and became an illegal bookmaker and petty criminal. They separated in 1905 when Lee was imprisoned for assault and robbery. 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. The marriage broke up soon after the trial, though they were not divorced until 1921. Kate anglicised her Chinese surname from Lee to Leigh, and she was mostly known by that name for the rest of her life, regardless of future marriages. Kate's daughter Eileen also used the name 'Leigh' until she married in 1920.
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. The marriage only lasted for a few years, after which she reverted to using her previous surname of 'Leigh'. Though long separated, he died in Kate's home at 2 Lansdowne Street, Surry Hills on 26 June 1948, and was buried at Botany Cemetery three days later.
During the late 1920s Kate lived with Walter "Wally" Tomlinson (or Thomlinson) (c.1899–1968), whom she had employed as one of her bodyguards. He was charged in 1916, at age 16, with Shooting At, With Intent To Murder and had a reputation as a tough standover criminal by the late 1920s. That relationship—which featured prominently in an Australian television drama on Leigh's role in the razor gang wars—ended with Tomlinson's departure, and Leigh then pursued a de facto relationship from 1932 to 1949 with her business partner, Henry 'Jack' Baker (1897–1965).
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. They were separated six months later, and Ryan died in Western Australia in 1954.
Leigh earned income, variously over these years, as a sly-grog trader, drug dealer, and as a madam; she became a major New South Wales (NSW) underworld figure, and has been referred to as its "Queen of the Underworld." From 1919 to 1955 Leigh's main enterprise was the highly profitable sly-grog trade, which ensued after the NSW State Parliament legislated for six o'clock closing of drinking establishments (governed by the Liquor Act 1916, Liquor Licensing Act 1927). At its peak, Leigh ran at least twenty bootleg outlets. Although she made much of her fortune from the illegal sale of alcohol, Leigh is reported to have never drunk (or smoked).
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Kate Leigh
Kathleen Mary Josephine Leigh (née 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. Leigh, known as the 'Queen of Surry Hills’, was a sly groger and fence for stolen property. She was also known as the 'Snow Queen' due to her being the largest supplier of cocaine in Sydney.
She was a leading figure in the notorious Sydney razor gang wars. 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.
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 (née Smith). 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.
Leigh married James Ernest (Jack) Lee (or Leigh) (1882–1959) on 2 May 1902. Lee was born in Tumut to a Chinese father and an Australian born mother, and became an illegal bookmaker and petty criminal. They separated in 1905 when Lee was imprisoned for assault and robbery. 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. The marriage broke up soon after the trial, though they were not divorced until 1921. Kate anglicised her Chinese surname from Lee to Leigh, and she was mostly known by that name for the rest of her life, regardless of future marriages. Kate's daughter Eileen also used the name 'Leigh' until she married in 1920.
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. The marriage only lasted for a few years, after which she reverted to using her previous surname of 'Leigh'. Though long separated, he died in Kate's home at 2 Lansdowne Street, Surry Hills on 26 June 1948, and was buried at Botany Cemetery three days later.
During the late 1920s Kate lived with Walter "Wally" Tomlinson (or Thomlinson) (c.1899–1968), whom she had employed as one of her bodyguards. He was charged in 1916, at age 16, with Shooting At, With Intent To Murder and had a reputation as a tough standover criminal by the late 1920s. That relationship—which featured prominently in an Australian television drama on Leigh's role in the razor gang wars—ended with Tomlinson's departure, and Leigh then pursued a de facto relationship from 1932 to 1949 with her business partner, Henry 'Jack' Baker (1897–1965).
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. They were separated six months later, and Ryan died in Western Australia in 1954.
Leigh earned income, variously over these years, as a sly-grog trader, drug dealer, and as a madam; she became a major New South Wales (NSW) underworld figure, and has been referred to as its "Queen of the Underworld." From 1919 to 1955 Leigh's main enterprise was the highly profitable sly-grog trade, which ensued after the NSW State Parliament legislated for six o'clock closing of drinking establishments (governed by the Liquor Act 1916, Liquor Licensing Act 1927). At its peak, Leigh ran at least twenty bootleg outlets. Although she made much of her fortune from the illegal sale of alcohol, Leigh is reported to have never drunk (or smoked).
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