[SimoneFlen']

Janet Wright

Convicted of using an instrument to procure a miscarriage. Janet Wright was a former nurse who performed illegal abortions from her house in Kippax Street, Surry Hills. One of her teenage patients almost died after a procedure and Wright was prosecuted and sentenced to 12 months hard labour. Aged 68.

Jessie Longford

Legendary undercover policeman Constable CJ Chuck, or ‘The Shadow’ as he was known within the criminal milieu, was responsible for the arrest of Jessie Longford, a well-known shoplifter. Aged 30.

Kathleen Ward

Kathleen Ward had convictions for drunkenness, indecent language and theft. She obviously enjoyed thumbing her nose at the authorities, as can be seen in this image where she appears to have deliberately fluttered her eyes in order to ruin the long-exposure photograph. DOB: 1904.

Leslie Selina Gertrude Rees

Leslie Rees was convicted of bigamy at the Moree Quarter Sessions and was sentenced to four months light labour. Women from regional centres were transferred to Sydney to serve their time. Age unknown.

Mildred Kruss

Mildred Kruss married her first husband in 1914. After the marriage broke down she neglected to go through the difficult and expensive divorce process. Upon marrying her second husband in 1918 she was convicted of bigamy and sentenced to six months with light labour. DOB: 1892

Lillian Sproule

Tasmanian Lillian Sproule became involved in Sydney’s cocaine trade. She was labelled a ‘parasite in skirts’ by the newspapers and had multiple convictions relating to drug dealing. She was sentenced to six months in prison. DOB: 1878.

Mary Rubina Brownlee

Convicted of unlawfully using an instrument to procure a miscarriage. Mary Brownlee was a backyard abortionist who was caught during an extensive police investigation. She was sentenced to 12 months light labour, but her male accomplice was acquitted. Aged 64.

Matilda Devine

Matilda ‘Tilly’ Devine used a razor to slash a man’s face in a barber’s shop and was sentenced to two years gaol. She was Sydney’s best-known brothel madam and her public quarrels with sly-grog queen Kate Leigh provided the media with an abundance of material. Aged 25.

May Ethel Foster

May Foster worked with a male accomplice to break into numerous houses and steal the contents. She had previous convictions for vagrancy, failing to appear in court and receiving stolen goods. She was sentenced to six months with hard labour. Aliases: May Saunders, Hopkins. DOB: 19 September 1901. Criminal associate: Albert Roy Callaway (28).

May Smith

May Smith, alias ‘Botany May’, was an infamous drug dealer. She once chased policewoman Lillian Armfield with a red-hot iron to avoid arrest. Smith was sentenced to 10 months with hard labour. DOB: 1880.

[kellyhound]

i luv matilda's hat. looks like a bucket lol

[SimoneFlen']

Originally Posted by kellyhound ↗

i luv matilda's hat. looks like a bucket lol

Haha, I love all the old fashions (well any 1970's + before).

I just can't get over how much older the women, in all 3 posts of mine, look. Some that are apparently only in their 20's look at least double that, must have lead hard lives!

[Bletch]

Great post again!

[K53]

Crime didn't pay

[xxx3lix3rxxx]

For the life of me, how was anyone conceived 100 years ago?

[booboo2718]

The 25 year old girl looks 40.

None of them had a clue their pics could be seen around the world today.

[Kelseecat65]

These are so cool to look at. It looks like we are viewing pics from a movie, vs people in real life. Hard to believe people back then all looked so much older than they really were. Love this!