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Matilda Devine criminal record number 659LB, 27...

Matilda Devine criminal record number 659LB, 27 May 1925, Long Bay Gaol

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NSW Department of Prisons

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Sydney Living Museums

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Tilly Devine

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Devine, Tilly

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NSW Department of Prisons

Sydney Living Museums

Sydney Living Museums is the trading name of the Historic Houses Trust of New South Wales, a statutory authority formed in 1980. It is one of the largest state museums in Australia and is entrusted with the care of key historic buildings and sites in New South Wales.

Tilly Devine

Tilly Devine, born Matilda Mary Twiss in London, arrived in Sydney as a war bride in 1920 and became a formidable figure in the city's underworld, particularly in Palmer Street, Darlinghurst. Known for her violence and her legendary feud with Kate Leigh, Devine was the city's leading madam until the end of the 1950s. She died, in financial ruin and unlamented, in 1970 but her legend has recently been revived in popular culture.

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Devine, Tilly

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Prostitute, madam and sly-grog seller, famous in interwar Sydney for her criminal exploits.