Queer Places:
Kew Asylum, 1 Wiltshire Dr, Kew VIC 3101, Australia
Edward
De Lacy Evans (born Ellen Tremayne or Tremaye, 1830? – 25 August 1901) was a
servant, blacksmith and gold miner, who immigrated from Ireland to Australia
in 1856, and made international news in 1879 when it was revealed he was born
a woman.
In late December 1879, Evans was part of events by 'panorama showmen' Augustus Baker Pierce and William Bignell in Geelong and Stawell and newspapers noted that 'neither mind nor body possesses the vigour once so noticeable'.[1] This was followed, in 1880, by appearances in Melbourne billed as ‘The Wonderful Male Impersonator' as part of the 'living wonders' at the Waxworks,[20] while Sydney shows were accompanied by pamphlets about 'The Man-Woman Mystery'.[3]
By February 1881, Evans had applied for admittance to a Benevolent Asylum and he was sent to the Melbourne Immigrants’ Home in St Kilda Road.[1] He remained there until his death, twenty years later, on 25 August 1901.[21]
In 1897, Joseph Furphy, who, from the late 1860s, lived near Bendigo, published his first novel Such Is Life and included the comparison to Evans with the mention; ‘one of those De Lacy Evanses we often read of in novels’.[1]
In 2006, sites associated with Evans were included in the Australian Lesbian and Gay Archives' queer history walk held as part of Melbourne's Midsumma Festival.[22]
My published books:
