Kate Leigh: The Worst Woman In Sydney

True Crime Conversations

It’s the 4th of February 1964. Once dubbed ‘The Worst Woman in Sydney,’ Kate Leigh lies unresponsive in a hospital bed at St Vincent's in Darlinghurst. She suffered a severe stroke just a few days earlier, and she’s about to take her final breath. But the twilight years of Kate Leigh’s life have not been marked by the debauchery and violence of her heyday. There’s no more sly grog, no diamonds and fur, no more cocaine, and no more razor gangs.

She was once one of the wealthiest and most powerful underworld figures in the country. But as Kate Leigh slips away at St Vincent’s Hospital, the 82-year-old has lost almost everything. From changes to alcohol laws, increased police powers, and a rather unwelcome knock at the door from the taxman, Kate Leigh will die bankrupt and impoverished.

But she hadn’t quite lost everything. Kate Leigh never moved away from the pocket of East Sydney she once ran, and locals never forgot about their infamous Aunty Kate. Despite her criminal past, ties to violent razor fights and deadly shootouts, some 700 mourners packed out St Peter’s Catholic Church in Kate’s Surry Hills for her funeral. Among the attendees? Kate’s long-time rival, her once ferocious enemy, Tilly Divine. And though it may have seemed the ruthless antics of Kate and Tilly were put to bed, at their prime, they were giants. Equal parts revered and feared by those who crossed them. Long before their time would be up, these force-to-be-reckoned-with women left an indelible mark on one of Sydney history’s most notorious chapters. The Razor Wars.

CREDITS

Host: Emma Gillespie

Guests: Larry Writer & Leigh Straw

Producer: Gia Moylan

Audio Producer: Rhiannon Mooney

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